Friday Funhouse

The Friday Funhouse
Video of the Week
Here is a great newsreel of President Franklin D. Roosevelt landing an 80-pound tarpon in the gulf...



Things I Would Buy If I Could Afford Them
Another Water Wave River Runt Spook.


A Daredevle Klinker in the box is not a commonly found bait.


Check out this Bagley Bang-O-Lure...you won't be disappointed!


This Ed. vom Hofe 4/0 reel is a true classic.



A jointed Moonlight Pikaroon is a great classic bait.


This Franz Bergman fish pin was once owned by Charlie Helin.



This awesome Thomas J. Conroy multiplier will attract a lot of attention.


A Dingee Scribner Nova Scotia wood trout rod doesn't come to market every day.


This George Cummings Globe will make some collector very happy.


This Thoren Minnow Chaser is always a popular collector, though one wonders if it ever caught fish.


Heddon Black Suckers are so popular that they even command crazy prices with chipped tails.



Having just put Jeff Kieny's upcoming book on hooks, harnesses, and bait-holders to press, I can tell you with all sincerity that the Gaberial Fish and Animal Trap is one of the rarest of its kind.


The L&S Shiner Minnow in the box keeps climbing in price as interest grows.


There is nothing I like more than a hand-forged hook with the maker's stamp--this time an "H" which may stand for "Harrison," a British hook maker.


This Cozzone German Silver 100 yard tournament reel is a real sweetheart.


All Philip Goodwin prints have great collector interest.


I really like this Peckinpaugh Parker Feather Minnow on the card, especially since it has the A&F hang tag.


This great Heddon 150 dates from 1913 to 1918.


This Thos. J. Conroy reel has a helluva story that comes along with it.



-- Dr. Todd

A Review of the June 2008 NFLCC Gazette

A Review of the June 2008 NFLCC Gazette



The June mails brought a nice treat in the form of the latest The NFLCC Gazette for June, 2008 (Vol. 32, No. 116), which brings a number of nice articles to light.

Eric Borgerding gives us a detailed history entitled “A Real Good Wiggle and Shake: The Untold Story of Wisconsin’s Tony Burmek and his Secret Musky Bait,” which covers this awesome musky lure company from its inception to about 1957 (part 2 to come). A really, really good story, well written and illustrated profusely. Eric has contributed some outstanding works of late and this is no exception!

Another top notch author is Colby Sorrels of Texas, author of the “Enduring Zara,” not surprisingly an overview of one of the most important topwater lures ever made. Colby also contributed a nice piece on the Karl and Beverly White National Fishing Tackle Museum.

Anytime we get an article from Jack Looney I am happy, and this issue’s “Next Catch” is no exception.

Robert Vermillion’s nice “Kellers Gets-Em” profiles this interesting lure maker.

Bill Baab, a noted outdoor writer, penned a great piece entitled “Bobby Jones & E.L. ‘Buck’ Perry,” illustrating for us the relationship between the famous golfer and the famous angler.

There were some smaller articles, including Ed Bartley and Bill Marsh’s “Bartley Measle Lures,” about this small tackle maker from Tennessee. Marc Dixon wrote two articles, “Heavy Metal” and “The Best of Times.” Curt Conner’s excellent “Lazy Ike Collection and the Woman Who Made My Day,” first posted on Joe’s Board, is a heartwarming tale for those who missed it earlier.

The NFLCC Gazette is edited by Jim Fleming.

-- Dr. Todd

Collectable Boat Cushions, Part II

The Collectable Boat Cushion, Part II
by Dr. Todd Larson
© 2008

To my great surprise, one of the most popular articles I wrote for the blog is the overview of collectable boat cushions; even though it has been almost a year since I posted it, it still gets a couple of dozen hits a week, mostly from Google searches. You can read the original article by Clicking Here.

As this has proven to be a popular theme, I thought I'd update it with some new information and more pictures of collectible boat cushions, along with a rough value guide built exclusively on following these on eBay over the past year. Keep in mind this is only a guide based on sold items; such things as color, condition, age, etc. affect the value of any collectible item, including cushions.

The Pin Up Boat Cushion
Basically, there are four categories of collectable boat cushions. The first category I call "Pin Up Cushions," as they feature a bevy of (usually) bikini clad women. Some are active (water skiiing, fishing, etc.) while others are passive. They are also the most valuable cushions by far, as they definitely are a cross-collectable item. Here are a few additional ones:


Water Ski Model, ca. 1950 ($40-$60)


Surfer Girl, ca. 1950 ($60-$80)


Another water ski girl, ca. 1955 ($50-$75)


Earlier water ski girl, ca. 1945 ($50-$75)


This pair of bathing beauties brought over $300

Fish-Themed Boat Cushions
A second category of collectable boat cushions and life preservers are fish-themed. These are always popular, and value depends on the kind of fish pictured. Saltwater fish tend to bring the most money, with sharks on top, followed by marlin, tarpon. etc. Freshwater fish are more affordable.


This Largemouth Bass model from the late 1960s increases in value as it pictures fishing lures ($20-$30)


Here is a second version of the above cushion ($20-$30)


This Marlin from the early 1970s came in original packaging ($40-$60)


An older version of the Leaping Sailfish ($30-$50)

Nautical Theme Boat Cushions
A third category is loosely called "Nautical Themes," and involves any cushion with a sailing, fishing, or sea motif. This is the largest of the cushion categories.


A nice 1950s motorboat cushion ($15-$25)


A later version of the same theme ($15-$25)


One of my favorites: the History of Anchors ($40-$60)


Generic boating theme ($10-$20)


Another generic boating theme ($10-$20)


The popular 1930s nautical knot tying cushion ($20-$30)


A 1950s Captain's Hat and Binocular cushion ($15-$25)


Lighthouse and Sailboat ca. 1960 ($10-$20)


Admiral Blackie's Knots, ca. 1950 ($15-$25)


One of my favorites: 1970s John Paul Jones Cushion ($30-$50)

Rules of the Road/Storm Warning Boat Cushions
The fourth and most commonly found category of cushions are the Rules of the Road/Storm Warning models.


Storm Warning cushions are always popular ($20-$30)


Admiral Blackie's version of the Storm Warning cushion ($20-$30)


A version of the Rules of the Road in blue ($10-$20)

Boat Cushion Resellers and Manufacturers
Lots of companies sold boat cushions, but the two largest were without doubt Montgomery Ward & Co., and Sears, Roebuck and Co., both giant mail order (and retail) companies based out of Chicago. These models can date from the 1910s to the 1980s, and cover pretty much the entire gamut of life preserver production.


There were also a huge number of manufacturers of boat cushions. Elgin of Elgin, Illinois sold a huge number of cushions through Sears. My adopted state of Ohio was home to two large boat cushion makers, the Safegard Corporation (Box 66, Station B, Cincinnati 22, Ohio) and American Pad & Textile Company (Greenfield, Ohio), who sold cushions under the Ta-Pat-Co name. Emporia, Kansas was home to the Crawford Manufacturing Co. that made seat cushions, and some of the more valuable preservers today were made in Philadelphia by the Ben-Sun Products Corporation. Admiral Blackie brand cushions were made by _____ in Dallas, Texas.



Concluding Remarks
I hope this better informs everyone about the collectable boat cushion. While I am not a boat cushion collector, I would definitely be on the lookout for the pin-up cushions which would go well with my fishing pin-up art collection (the subject of a furture article). I bet there are more than a few people out there who collect boat cushions, and so there is even ephemera to go with your preserver collection:


1930s stock certificate for the National Life Preserver Company

And once again, I'll comb the labyrinth of eBay and keep track of any neat Cushion developments for a future update.

-- Dr. Todd

Voices from the Past: The Michigan Grayling, Part I

Over the next couple of weeks I want to concentrate on one of the sad stories in American fishing history: the death of the Michigan Grayling. A gorgeous fish who was once plentiful in Michigan, it went extinct by 1935. It is a sad tale with much to teach us about fish conservation. We will begin with an article from the 1904 Fort Wayne News describing its qualities as a gamefish.

Michigan Grayling: A Beautiful Fish


One of the handsomest game fishes in. American waters is the "grayling,” found more or less plentifully in Michigan. Formerly it was abundant in the Au Sable, Manntee, Marquette, Jordan, Pigeon and other rivers on the northern part of the southern peninsular. The grayling is purple gray with silvery reflections, darker on the back, the underside white; the sides of the head are of a bright bluish and bronze luster and the sides of the body are covered with, small, black, irregular dots.

At times the Detroit River, St. Clair flats and even Lake Michigan furnish good grayling fishing. Equipped with trout flies, a light rod and tackle, an enthusiastic angler is assured of sport when the grayling are rising. Unlike the trout, the grayling seldom misses the fly. At times it will rise many times to the lure but refuse to take it, and then suddenly dash for the fly like lightning and start off with it.

While the trout generally lies in pools, under banks or rocks, the grayling will be found in running water or at the bottom of deep pools, entirely in the open.

In casting for grayling, the fly should be dropped below the ripple, not above or in it as for trout Grayling will be found in schools generally, another untrout like habit.

The Montana grayling differs in appearance from the Michigan grayling, but is just as game a fish and will be found in the tributaries of the Missouri above Great Falls, in Sheep and Tenderfoot creeks, tributary of Smith river, in the Little Belt mountains, the Gallatin, Madison, Jefferson rivers and the tributaries of Red Rock Lake.

-- Dr. Todd

News of the Week: 16 June 2008

Monkeys who fish better than you...the return of the Thomas Rod Company...more on the tragedy at Lake Delton...an angler's boat is dedicated to a good cause...Bill Dance gets profiled...a tackle box used as a meth lab...an angling haberdasher...a dream of big musky...the new head of L&S tries to reinvent the fishing lure...it must be THE NEWS OF THE WEEK!

The Big Lead: In the most emailed story in Fishing for History's history, Scientists find monkeys who know how to fish; somewhere Charlton Heston is yelling "get your hands off my salmon, you damn dirty ape!"

The legendary Thomas Rod Company is back in business and gets written up in the Bangor Daily News.


A Heat Wave awakens the big largemouths.

The Toledo Blade opines on a group of fishing cronies who have angled for over four decades.


Australia's South Coast Register touts a trio of lures for bream and trout.

More on the Lake Delton disaster.


For those of you into the pro bass tour, Charlie Hartley keeps a regular blog over on ESPN.

Fishing World argues swim jigs are not just for largemouth.


There is some hot fishing in the everglades.

The Huntsville Times reviews the carrot stick.

A tale of mosquitos, flies, and fly fishing.

This fisherman's boats honors his wife's memory by promoting organ donation.

American Profile outlines the story of Bill Dance.

Fishing can be pretty sweet with Mr. Snook.

A popular fishing tackle owner shop passes away.

The Ruskin Woman's Club Catfish Tournament was a big hit.


From the I Expected a Heddon 150 File: An Athens, Ohio man goes dumpster diving and finds a meth lab inside a tackle box.

This haberdasher hopes to hook anglers with his fishing chapeaus.

The Fayetteville Museum of Art profiles the work of Yvette Dede, who makes oversized drawings of such mundane day-to-day items as fishing tackle.

The gas crisis is hurting anglers everywhere.

Canada's Wawatay News holds the great debate about baits.

Fly Expert Doug Olmstead gives his tips on striper fishing.


Dave Richey is dreaming of big musky.


Brian Thompson runs a one-man shop repairing rods and reels.


A fisherman is impressed with the effectiveness of artificial bait. Also marvels at something called an "autogyro" and gets all flummoxed by the new-fangled invention called a telephone.

The head of L&S Lures is trying to reinvent the lure.


-- Dr. Todd