Thursday Review: An Hour of Wacky Fishing Secrets, Bad Jokes, and Great Gadgets

Dick Streater on DVD!

Well, the mail brought a special surprise the other day. My fellow Gopher alumnus and the Henny Youngman of Fishing Dick Streater sent me a DVD copy of his classic one hour presentation Dick Streater Presents: An Hour of Wacky Fishing Secrets, Bad Jokes, and Great Gadgets.

Anyone who hasn't seen this is in for a real treat. Not only do you get Dick's inimitable presentation and style, you also get to see a few dozen of the most bizarre tackle ideas to ever invade an angler's brain.

The DVD runs 60 minutes and I can't recommend it highly enough. If you're interested in a copy, email Dick at lureguru@ aol.com or call him (his number is in the NFLCC Directory).

-- Dr. Todd

The First NFLCC Lure Auction by Dick Streater (1979)

Dick Streater writes in with a fascinating piece of lure collecting history...

The First NFLCC Lure Auction
by Dick Streater

In the interview we did for the Sept. Gazette, we did not cover the FIRST NFLCC lure auction by mail - sale.  It was held by me - Sept. 1979.The sale list was mailed only to NFLCC members that had previously ordered my "Bible" that came out in 1978.  I guess I figured that those folks were interested in the hobby, and would be likely potential buyers.The sale was 100% Heddon baits.
 
There were 66 different bidders - and 29 of them were buyers of one or more lures.
 
Here are some of the lures and their winning bids:
 
No.500  Multiple Metal Minnow - $105      
No. 900  Swimming Minnow - $151
 Solid Red Casting Plug w/Decal - $15      
No.51  Artistic Minnow w/Buoy - $87
 No.300 Surfusser (6 trebles)  -  $55         
No.40  Walton Feathertail  -  $36
 No.700 Muskollonge Minnow (3 Trebles) - $115    
No. 610  Coast Minnow (2.5") - $158

Wow! Pretty amazing prices. How times change. I sure would love a shot at that 700 minnow for $115...of the Surfusser for $55!

Thanks Dick for sending this in!

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Minnesota has 15,291 lakes over 10 acres in size. A list would include: 261 Mud Lakes, 154 Long Lakes, 123 Rice Lakes, and 81  Bass Lakes.  Rare names include: Wet, O-Be-Good, Hooter, Flapper, Fanny, Octopus, Dirty Horse, Uff, and Balogna. Don't forget your license when fishing Violation and Jail lakes!  Waterfront lots always have a higher value, but the listings would have to name:  Deadfish, Dead, Deadcoon, Dirty Water, Pea Soup, Mosquito*, Mudhole, Dismal Swamp, and Disappointment lakes. (Note:  Both Dr. Todd & Streater are former Minnesota residents.)

-- Dick Streater

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: Mr. Charles Orvis of Manchester, Vermont began making casting rods to Dr. James Henshall's specifications in 1876.

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: Samuel Phillippe of Easton, Pennsylvania is credited with inventing the split bamboo fly rod, classified at the time by sportsman in the same category as the breech-loading rifle.

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: In the 1860s Largemouth Bass were known in some places as Carolina Trout.

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: In the 1930s the standard bait casting rod was between five and six feet in length.

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: Henry S. Dills wrote in the 1927 catalog that he had been making artificial lures for 20 years.

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: The short and stiff bait casting rod was introduced by William Locher of Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1902.

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: The first law regulating fishing in America was passed by New York City in 1734.

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: An early level-wind mechanism for reels was introduced by the Wisconsin firm of Wheeler & McGregor ca. 1900.

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: In 1919, there was a raging controversy over whether or not treble hooks were sportsmanlike.

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: Mr. A.G. Stabler, a train conductor on the Baltimore-Potomac run, planted a few bass in lakes along the railroad tracks. He would stop the train and plant the bass, and after a few years had passed, he would return and fish the planted lakes.

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: One of the first foot controlled trolling motors was illustrated in an early Creek Chub Bait Company catalog--it showed a guy fishing on the back of a horse.

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: The Trolling Spoon is one of the oldest and most successful of artificial baits. The first ones were made from real spoons, or rather the bowl part of one (in dessert size) with a hole in one end for the line and a single hook attached to the other end.

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: The Henshall Minnow Bait Rod was 8' 3" and weighed 8 ounced with a solid metal reel seat, and 7 1/2 ounces with a reel holding slider bands, which was the way he preferred it. With a single action reel, a minnow could be cast about 20 to 35 yards. With "wind to your back" it was claimed you could cast 50 yards. The standard rod of this type was a three piece affair, the butt made of white ash, and the other two joints of lancewood, greenheart, or betharaba.

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: Spanish explorers wrote about the black bass in Florida as far back as 1515.

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: Some of the earliest artificial lures were made by cutting up leather strips into shapes.

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: Bass fishing was traditionally a live bait exercise. The first artificial baits used for black bass were by Southeastern Florida indian tribes who used a "bob." A "bob" was a bone hook surrounded by deer hair, with gut or woven line and fished from a cut branch.

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: As the quality and function of rods and reels improved, the size and weight of the standard casting lure decreased. A good example of this is the Heddon Expert #200 which decreased in size to the #210.

-- Dr. Todd