PRE-ORDER Bill Sonnett's Deconstructing Old Ads, Volume I

GET YOUR PRE-ORDER IN! Just finished proofing Bill Sonnett's forthcoming book Deconstructing Old Ads (Volume I) and it is going to be a cracker! So much info you will never find anywhere else, updated and revised versions of his legendary articles detailing the history of so many tackle companies.



In Deconstructing Old Ads (Volume I), Wild Bill will walk you through the history of tackle advertising, and along the way illustrate just what exactly collectors, historians, and fishermen alike can learn from them. Covering a span of over a century, Sonnett deconstructs 75 classic tackle advertisements for everything from Heddon and Shakespeare's first ads to the Mitchell and Ambassadeur Reels. Along the way, you'll learn a lot about tackle, collecting, and fishing with vintage tackle. Expanded and revised from the original columns, you won't find many books with this much to teach you about fishing tackle and history.

Just a FEW of the Tackle companies, advertisements, and personalities covered in this book include: Airex, Al Foss, ABU Garcia, Fred Arbogast, Ray Bergman, Bleeder Bait Co., Bache Brown, Benjamin F. Burgess, Champion Products Co., C.A. Clark, J.F. Clark, Cotton Cordell, Coleman Lamp Co., Creek Chub Bait Company, Croaker Bass Bait, Dalton Special, Byron Dalrymple, Dazzler Bass Fly, Dickson-Clawson, Clyde Drury, Lou J. Eppinger, Eric Fare, Jim Frazier, Fritz Friebel, Paul and Wallace Gallagher, Ben Gallinger, James Heddon, Charles Heddon, Carl Heinzerling, Helin Flatfish, A.L. Hobbs, Holzapfel Mushroom Bait, Holzwarth Minnow, William J. Jamison, Jensen Froglegs, Jiffy Ice Auger, Johnson Silver Minnow, Welcome Jones, Paul Junod, Herb Larsh, Robert Page Lincoln, Live Lure Co., Luxor Reel, L&S Bassmaster, Walter Marhoff, Clarence E. Markham, A.J. McClane, Millsite Daily Double, Mitchell #300, Moonlight Fish Nipple, Nifty Minne, Ocean City Manufacturing, Old-Time Nipple Dipper, Payson's Automatic Hook Co., George Perry, Pflueger, Prescott Spinner Co., Ernst Radke, Thomas Rawson, Repp's Sporting Goods, Jay Rhodes, Jim Schottenham, Scum Frog, Charles Schaffer, Shakespeare, Mack Shreve, Shur-Luk Manufacturing Co., South Bend Bait Co., George Walker Spear, William Stanley, Charles Staph, Superior Door Catch Co., A.F. Sydenstricker, Lloyd J. Tooley, True Temper Corp., O.C. Tuttle, UMCO, Hank Werner, Whirlaway, William Mills & Son, F.C. Woods, Worden.

CLICK HERE and pre-order your copy today! At only 24.95 plus shipping (for a full color book) you won't find a better bargain for the buck anywhere. When you do so, you'll be supporting Wild Bill and Fishing for History both! The book will ship the week the week after NFLCC Nationals, but all pre-orders get a signed copy!

-- Dr. Todd

What's New from the Whitefish Press?

What's New from the Whitefish Press?

NFLCC Nationals saw the launch of five -- count 'em FIVE -- new titles on the history of fishing tackle from The Whitefish Press.

The first is Tom Jacomet and Dennis Boulais' much anticipated The Heddon River Runt Identification & Collector's Guide. The Limited Edition hardcover sold out in four days (it is spectacular) but now the gorgeous softcover is shipping! Early reviews are dynamite as this promises to be THE definitive work on the subject for the foreseeable future. It's $39.95 and you can learn more by Clicking Here.



The next book we launched was the first volume in the History of Illinois Fishing Tackle by Steve Lumpkin. This book--The Jointed River Minnow--covers the many permutations of this iconic style fishing lure, developed in Illinois. A few copies of the hardcover Limited Edition are still available. Trust me -- when the entire set is out it will be one of the finest tackle collecting resources ever published. The softcover is $39.95 and you can learn more by Clicking Here, and the Limited Edition Hardcover is $74.95 and can be found by Clicking Here



The third book we launched is an exceptionally detailed history of Bill Plummer fishing lures as well as the fishing lures of Harrison Industries, and was written by former Harrison Industries employee Tom Fusco. Some of Fusco's detailed history covers such popular lures as the Vivif, Rocky Minnow, Johnny O'Neill Weed Wing, Panther Martin, Cree-Duk, Vibra-Bat, and of course the Bill Plummer Bass Frog, as well as a number of spinning reels, rods, and terminal tackle. In my opinion it's the finest book yet published on a post-World War II tackle company. It is a thick softcover, and costs $39.95 and you can learn more by Clicking Here.



The fourth book launched at NFLCC Nationals--W.H. Dingley the Master Reelmaker--is a really amazingly detailed history of W.H. Dingley, England's most notable 20th century reelmaker. From Hardy's to Foster's to his own shop, Pat Garner and Brian Taylor cover every known detail about one of the most beloved reelmakers in history. The Limited Edition of 75 hardcovers sold out in six days, but the softcover (which has now shipped to 20 different countries) is available and $39.95. You can Click Here to learn more.



Last but not least, we have Brent Vonderheide's new book The Collector's Guide to Glass Minnow Traps. One of the nation's premier trap collectors, Vonderheide covers virtually every known glass minnow trap. With clear photos, descriptions, a value guide, and a detailed appendix chronicling the history of the glass minnow trap, this is the book that collectors have been wishing for! We sold out of this at NFLCC Nationals but now have more copies in to ship. The book is just $19.95 and you can learn more by Clicking Here.



We're on our way to ORCA Nationals where we plan to launch a sixth book--Bob Halver's A Collector's Guide to Bache Brown & Airex/Lionel FIshing Tackle. More details on this beauty will be forthcoming!



So yes, we've been busy here at the Whitefish Press. We thank each and every one of you for supporting us, and we look forward to publishing some dynamite late summer and fall offerings!

-- Dr. Todd

Thursday Review: Mark Miller's Hooked on Life

Thursday Review: Mark Miller's Hooked on Life

I can't think of a more fitting book to launch during the World Series than Mark Henry Miller's Hooked on Life: Hooked on Life: Reflections on Fishing, Baseball, and the Other Stuff of Life (Whitefish Press, 2010). This is a book very unlike any I have published before, but is something I have been meaning to do since I started the Whitefish Press five years ago.

It's a book about fishing and faith. It's also a book about baseball and faith. By now, if you've spent more than a couple minutes perusing my blog, you'll know these are three things I love.

And Mark knoweth what he speaks, having recently retired from a 44 year ministry. A graduate of Stanford (where he played baseball) and Yale, Miller writes in an engaging and direct style, as if he is standing in a room speaking to you. He is also a very accomplished angler, and the majority of these stories involve the life lessons we learn from being on the water.


At its core, what Mark teaches us is to celebrate life, to revel in the little blessings -- whether they are a rainbow in a stream, a salmon from the back of a charter boat, a crisp breaking ball, or the joy one gets from helping another in need.

Don't you think we need more of that in life?

By the way, Mark was such an accomplished pitcher he was invited to spring training by the Dodgers in the 1960s and got to be in camp with Sandy Koufax and other legends...

There are more than enough fishing stories for those whose primary goal is a good book about fish; there is an abundance of inspiration for those who seek it. For most, the combination of the two will be a delight. If you read this book and don't come out feeling better, start over--you've missed something.

The book is $14.95 and more information can be found by Clicking Here.

-- Dr. Todd