Deconstructing Old Ads with Bill Sonnett

Deconstructing Old Ads with Bill Sonnett
Shannon Twin Spinners


A Personal Note on the Shannon Twin Spinner
 
Not too long ago I was walking through a tackle store and saw some Shannon Twin Spinners on the shelf. This started me thinking about my Dad who was born in 1915 and passed away about two weeks before 911. He was never a die-hard fisherman, but he did enjoy baitcasting in the yard at targets and had gone to Wisconsin with close friends on a few bass fishing trips in the 1940's . He always said that the most effective Bass lure he ever used was the Shannon Twin Spinner. A couple of times he told me the story of his largest ever bass, a six pound largemouth he hooked while casting this bait over a log. He managed to convince the fish to leap back over to his side of the log before boating it. I have often wondered just when the Shannon Twin Spinner was introduced. Today's ad from 1919 and a promotional write up from the the April 1917 National Sportsman give a good idea that it was 1917. At least this appears to be when W. J. Jamison started to produce them.

 I often fish with vintage baits and have caught fish on quite a few over the years, but I have still to catch the first one on my Dad's favorite lure.


-- Bill Sonnett