Fishing for History: The History of Fishing and Fishing Tackle: NFLCC Nationals 2009 (Part II)

NFLCC Nationals 2009 (Part II)

Yesterday was about the sights and sounds of the NFLCC Nationals; today, it's about the tackle. In particular, it's about the displays. Permit me a brief editorial here.

I am in awe of many people's collections. But in particular, I was utterly blown away by how many NFLCC members are willing to bring their tackle literally thousands of miles, in some cases, just so the rest of us can have great tackle to look at. I never knew how difficult it was to set these up until I helped my friend Steve Lumpkin set up his Millsite display. It took us several hours of heavy lifting to get the displays out of his house, into the truck, out of the truck, on to the floor, and then set up. Then repeat, only backwards, on Saturday. All the while hoping you won't damage one of your precious pieces.

So as an entire club, we owe a massive thank you to EVERYONE who took the time to bring a display for us to view. From the single-case display to the ones that took up a dozen tables, I cannot express to you all how much I respect each and every one of you for educating the masses with your hard work. Now, everyone in unison, let's all say it together:

Thank you.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU!!!

Give 'em a call, send 'em an email, buy 'em a beer. But for God's sake, take a minute out of your day and tell someone "I loved your display, and I really want to thank you for lugging it across the state/country so I could see it."

OK, on to some of the displays that caught my eye. Server space limitations mean that I can only cover some of them, so I'll miss some and for that I apologize. Every display deserves to be viewed. These are the ones I was able to photograph, along with other interesting items people brought by for me to see.

We all know I love reels; John Caldwell was kind enough to lug his box of Montagues down to Louisville so I could photograph them. Here's a great Jarvis Special.

Fellow trade reel collector Bill H. brought this great Montague Ultra Trout reel, made for Shapleigh Hardware, by the table.

David Evanko's great early Fred Young BIG O was a real beauty.

Gloria Thompson always comes up with neat hooks; this is no exception.

The award for the neatest piece of terminal tackle I saw at the show goes to this incredible 1880s Niagara Chugging Rig owned by Layton Pozza.

Andy Stoy is rapidly building a world class McGinty collection, and this one is no exception. Anyone with an ID?

I'm also a fly rod fool, so this early John Landman marked for H.D. Folsom Arms, from Paul Narlefsky, was an eye catcher for me.

Who wouldn't like a Pflueger shark hook?

Steve Scarborough came home with a lot of tournament casting material, including this incredible Talbot.

Bill Sonnett brought by this amazing collection of Outdoor Life books, still in the original shipping container!

When it came to large-scale collections crossing many themes, I was astonished by how great Joe Hilko's Sheridan Jones collection was.

Another incredible collection was that of Joe Nelson, who brought this incredible Jamison display.

Bill Kingsley brought by his Spoon Jack and Michigan Life-Life collection for me to see. I was simply blown away!

Here's the second half...

Steve Knight's John B. McHarg collection was top notch...

Steve Lumpkin is an artist at creating a display, and this Millsite collection is just beautiful.

I found this four-sided display of fishing and sporting goods postal stationary simply inspiring.

A nice selection of Spinning gear rounds out our brief look at just a few of the displays.

For the finale today, I give you a photo essay taken by my nine-year old daughter. She was given a camera and instructed to take a picture of anything that caught her eye. The NFLCC Nationals through the eyes of a child, if you will...Here are ten of her photos: