Tackle Tips by Big Nemo: NFLCC History Part I

NFLCC History Part I

BY: “Big Nemo”

Forty two years ago on November 30, 1970, it was my 22nd birthday and I got up to go to work. Like every other day since I can remember after college in my Fathers Sporting Goods Store in the small Town of Guthrie, Oklahoma pop. 9,000. The Store was full line we carried everything from Crestliner Boats & Johnson Outboard Motors to Shakespeare, CCBCO, Heddon, Southbend and all the rest of the major sporting goods brands. We also carried athletic equipment, guns, and ammo “Everything’s for the Outdoorsman” which was my Dad’s store theme. The basement of the store held a gun range, a gunsmith, and motor repair shop we had it all and I lacked for none of it growing up. I did everything in that store from sweep the floors to string Tennis rackets by hand.



My two uncles Marvin and Chuck Austin, Bill Nelson and my Grandfather John Austin in Bill Nelson Sporting Goods, 1938<.br>
My Dad was a Gentleman outdoorsman that grew up when the fish and game were plentiful in North Central Oklahoma and working at Jack Talbot Sporting Goods in Guthrie in 1920’s sweeping floors just like me was his dream job. He married my Mother Zelma in 1931 and with saving from both their jobs and a little help from their parents they opened Bill Nelson Sporting Goods in 1936.



Sign from outside my Dad’s store painted in 1938.

This was a downtown location on the square next to the Fire Station and across the street from the Post Office. The Building was a Historic Building built in 1890 by the famous architect Joseph Fuchart one year after the land run and was 25’ wide and 125’ deep.

Back to this birthday of mine in 1972, it was a day like any other day in most ways but I had no idea how my life would change after that day.

About 1:30 after I had returned from the drug store up the street to grab a Ham and cheese on rye and a soda fountain Coke, a little man walked into the store and began looking around at tackle. My Dad suggested he look behind the wall that ran half the length of the store at the lures hanging there. Six strains of piano wire running 50’ in length and on those wires were hundreds of glass eyed lures from 35 year prior. After about an hour he came out from behind the wall with what looked like 50 plus lures. My Dad rang him up on the old brass NCR cash register and it totaled over $100 which was a very large sale for any retailer in those days. I did not think much of it till about a week later on a Saturday another customer came in the store a very big man and he went directly to the old lure section on the store and started loading up. I worked Saturdays allot by myself so I ask him where he was going fishing and he was quick to reply “I’m not going fishing, I collect these”! I was a little set back, but asked right away, “Why”? and he replied “These things are drying up, you just can’t find them anymore”.

Well as Paul Harvey said, now the rest of the story, the little man that had came in two weeks back was Karl White from Edmond, sixteen miles down the road and the big guy was Willis Logan from OKC, later to become one of my best lure collecting buds. On that day in 1970 began my lust for old lures and I hit the ground running and when we got word in 1976 of a group of guys in Missouri that were starting a club I was quick to respond. Karl had gone to the 1st meeting at the School of the Ozarks with his wife Beverly and others there were John Goodwin, Dudley Murphy, and Paul Hardrich. James Wisdom, Clyde Harbin, and about eight others packed into a little classroom to form the club we know now as NFLCC.

I joined shortly after and became the clubs 1st Gazette editor. It was indeed a special Birthday day in 1970 when I was infected with the bug called lure collecting.

More Club History next time, till then remember, take pride in your collection and others will too.

Big Nemo

Tackle Tips by Big Nemo

Display Tips volume No. 3

BY: “Big Nemo”

We have all wanted to display original tackle paper work and have struggled with the problem of how to do it. The answer is simple DON’T DO IT!

They’re much too rare to expose to objects that could harm their integrity in any way. Take your piece to the copy shop and make a high resolution copy. If it’s done right it will look as good as and sometimes better than the original. Now store your original away in a safe place. I put mine in acid free plastic sleeves and into a three ring binder, then into the safe or book shelves for storage.

Now for the mounting project. I have a little frame shop in town I do business with on occasion and they’re happy to cut Plexiglas to any size I want. I take the trimmed paper to them and have it cut to fit with a little wiggle room on the out sides. I have also had them add holes in the corners for mounting but have discontinued this as it’s not necessary. I put the paper behind the glass and secure it with four straight pins at an angle as to put pressure on the glass to hold the paper tight top and bottom.



Now if you want to add a lure or two you can do that as well. I take a lure that is the same as the one pictured on the paper work and add a tiny dab of hot glue from a hot glue gun to the back side and set in on the Plexiglas to hold it in place. I have never had a problem with this as a little heat from a hair dryer will releases the glue from the lure and glass with no damage. I use lures that are not in great condition but have a good side just to be safe. Be sure and use low priced craft glue from Hobby Lobby or a craft store, don’t use industrial glue from Lowes or Home depot as it’s too strong and not needed and may harm your lures. This is where I add my disclaimer.

“I‘m not responsible for any damage done to anything using the above listed instructions for mounting lures to Plexiglas”.

This mounting idea also works great for catalogs on your display board, this adds information and sometimes color to your display and that is always a good thing. If you don’t want to use Plexiglas just have the paper work copy laminated and mount it with two way tape. If you do this it now looks like a copy because no one would believe you were so dumb that you lamented you 100 year old paper work.



Hope this helps you enjoy you collection more having the paper work makes the display much more interesting to the non collector and seasoned one as well.

Next time will visit the right display case for your needs. Till then, remember to take pride in your collection and others will to.

-- Big Nemo

Tackle Tips by Big Nemo

Display Tips volume No. 2

BY: “Big Nemo”

I want to start this week’s tip with a suggestion. What you think looks good and what looks good are two entirely different things. If you don’t have a 6 or larger Mega Pixels camera get one. There are several great little cameras in the $100-$200 range. Why is this important? Because you can be your second opinion with a good high resolution pic of your own displays. I have worked hours on displays only to get done, take a camera shot and see the imbalance of the display and stuff I want to change. Which can be many things that we’ll get into later? Things always look different in a photograph, but as they say a picture never lies.

We’re going to visit mounting lures in boxes and beside boxes and determine which is the right choice for your collection. I always like to lay out the whole group you intend to display in the case laying flat on a table that you can walk around. Don’t do this on a desk against a wall as your view is, what my old Granddad called, tunnel vision. You need to be able to walk around the display and view it from all angles. Always use T-Pins to pin your lures down when arranging and u-pins when you’re ready to make it permanent.



Funny story about display pins, I’m standing proudly at my table at Nationals and my old friend Dick Streater approaches my table. Dick and I go way back and have always tried to out insult each other in a humors way. We have been friends since 1977 and I want to impress him as much as anyone at the show. He stands and looks at the collection for what seemed like ten minutes and then looks up at me and says “nice display of t-pins, the lures looks ok too.” Boy was I hot. But Dick was right I had over 80 t-pins on that display and it was very distracting. So began the search for a better way.

Rule number one, never, never put a lure under a box, looks good lying flat but when you stand it up 1/3 of the lure is shadowed by the box. This is important not only for viewing but for photography as well. So, now we have laid the boxes where we want them it’s time to mount them. The best thing is a U-Pin that can be bought at most hobby stores as seen in the pic here, Take a good set of pliers’ and bend the pin flat. Now you have a flat wire that push firmly onto your board and will slide between the box top and the bottom. I just do the top myself, but top and bottom using four pins is much more secure for travel.



Now if you want to display the lure in its own box the fun starts. First take some 6X tippet fly leader or any light clear monofilament, 2lb or 4lb test is best. I used green here for demonstration purposes so you can see the line which you don’t want. Lay your open box the top labeled half first over the bottom of the box with the lure laying in it and wrap the mono around the box in two places to retain the lure and hold the lure in the box. I tie my knots on the front then slide them around to the back when I’m done and trim off the extra line. Two times is usually enough but You may need to do this three times on larger boxes like saltwater lure boxes or Musky Nemo boxes and “if you have one call me NOW!”.

OK, we’re almost done, now take the same flattened u-pins as above and put them on your board about 3” apart and slide the box over them between the top and the bottom halves. This gets a little testy on Fly Rod lure boxes so be prepared to walk away and pour a single malt beverage of your choice at your first desire to belch some two or three word profanities.

The lures now are mounted in their boxes and suspended in your display case and they can’t escape. Again, do all this while your display is flat on the table so you can move stuff around and get balance from all four sides. I have used the Boss’s dining room table longer than she would like many times because I keep coming back and making adjustments. It takes me several days but the message from the boss is it’s been there a month! WARNING” do not start this project the week of Thanksgiving as it takes the boss a week to set the table. Don’t want to interfere with the important things in life like FOOD.

After you’re all done, take your first picture, put it up on the computer monitor and look it over. You’re looking for any imbalance and all the other misgivings like the lure not lying right in the box or the mono not spaced evenly or the box is slanted and so on. I sometimes take several pics till I get the right arrangement.

The big thing you have just done is make your display non-permanent and changeable. Hope I did not ramble too long but there is not only satisfaction in this, but your display just took on its own personality and a reflection of your hard work.

Next time, we’ll mount original paper work to your display and a few other tricks. Tell then remember to take pride in your collection and others will to.

-- Big Nemo

Display Tips Volume No. 1 by Big Nemo

Display Tips volume No. 1

BY: “Big Nemo”
  
I was lucky enough to win “Best Shakespeare display” at one of our 1st Club meets at the Lake of the Ozarks in 1978. Ever since that day I have been fascinated with ways to display tackle of all kinds. This first article is an attempt to get you to rediscover your collection by using patent copies to enhance you displays, it’s is fun and easy. First, go to Google patents and see if your item is on the site. If so, download it and you’re ready to go. If the information is too large, cut and paste or even remove some of the patent information to make it the size you need as sometimes it’s repetitious.  You can, in some cases, just reduce it to 75% of the original size in that works well. Then apply the copied patent to a sheet of dark colored construction paper with rubber cement and trim.  After I have played with mine on the copier and computer I take them to Staples and have them and the item id strip laminated. ID strips are just that where you name the item and if you wish date it as well. You can apply these with looped scotch tape or two way tape, they will peel right off the laminate and the display board with little or no effort and you can move them around. I change mine up about every month and rotate lures on and off the display. Don’t like  patents? Use catalog pages instead.


 
What you’re trying to achieve here is to pique the interest of the novas as to  information about our hobby and to draw the seasoned collector to your display as well. It's the same concept used by museums across the country. You will also notice a light neutral background lets the items stand out without background color distraction or enhancement. This is also the preferred application used by museums. Once you do this you will be amazed at the way your display boards come alive and people will gravitate to them as well.



It’s fun to see your tackle in a different light and it keeps your interest high when you can’t find a damn thing new to add to your collection.  Next time I will talk about mounting original paperwork and boxes. 
 


Link to Google patents, it’s free!

-- Big Nemo