The 2009 Cincinnati Spring Tackle Show

The 2009 Cincinnati Spring Tackle Show

The Cincinnati show was very well attended, in part because it was perhaps the first truly nice day of the year in these parts. Lots of familiar faces and some new ones as well made their way to King's Island, the day before the big carnival with its attendant giant rollercoaster opened for the season.

There were tables in the parking lot as well as open rooms on both sides. Inside the rooms were some neat displays, such as Al John's collection of contemporary baits made by Cedar Creek. These are some very well made baits.


Of course, one of the highlights of the show is going to Mike Hines' room and seeing what amazing thing he's just purchased. This time was no exception; I got an all-aluminum trade reel weighing about an ounce and a half marked for Abbey & Imbrie and made by the Ranger Reel Co. of Michigan. I have never seen an all-alumninum Ranger before, and the bonus of a trade reel is always a great thing for me.


Mike Hines and Steve Lumpkin relax.
Lumpkin and myself must have spent an hour and a half going through Charlie Smolsky's room, which was filled to the gills with lures in cases (partially shown in the picture below). We both ended up with nice pieces for our collection.


Getting to see some of my all-time favorite people, like Johnny Garland and John Caldwell, is always a pleasure. Johnny's roommate had a great collection of Weezel baits made in Cincinnati. Here's a pic of some of the display:


John Caldwell always has great things, too, and as a bonus he brought part of his neat Belknap Hardward Co. tackle display. Super cool stuff, and as a hardware head myself, I loved it. If you ever get anything Belknap, drop John a line!


Sometimes you find interesting and unexpected items lurking on tables. I'd never seen this Handle Rod made in Muskegon, Michigan before. With a Berylium Copper collapsible rod, it was a neat piece of obscure fishing tackle history.


While I had a small amount of money in my pocket, I was able to pick up some cool pieces for my collection. I got eight reels, including the aforementioned A&I Ranger, a Montague marked "Royal Blue Jeweled," a Union Hardware Samson reel with the hinged front plate, a German Silver South Bend 1131A, and a really weird German Silver (I think) MOntague Kentucky style reel marked "Neptune" that has the darkest patina I have ever seen in my life. Five marked hooks (two Mills, vom Hofe, Pflueger and Allcock) kept the happy hooker inside me sated, some snells and line spools for upcoming articles, and even two spinners, including one great tiny Size 1 with the second earliest Pflueger marking. Also came home with a stack of The Fisherman magazines, and even met a man who's dad used to be an editor for it!


All in all it was a great show and if you get a chance to come by in September, take full advantage!

-- Dr. Todd