ADDENDUM to Toothpaste & Ambassadeurs
The Ambassadeur article created some great feedback, but nothing that made me laugh as loud as the note I got from Joe Klaus. Joe related the following great story about Toothpaste and Ambassadeurs; he was gracious enough to allow me to reprint it.
Your article was 100% right on the money.
The toothpaste method for cleaning ambassadors has been passed around by the "old salts" in Texas since the 60's at least. That's when I first heard it.
It took me only one time to try that and to figure out it was NOT for me.
I took both side plates apart and squirted a generous helping of toothpaste on both sides. But mostly on the handle side. I put everything back together and started turning the handle. I sat through about a 30 minute Sit-com and turned the handle the whole time.
I decided 30 minutes of turning was probably enough. I then took it apart to (hopefully) admire my handi-work. What I saw was a huge mess. It took me "forever" to get all that damned toothpaste out of there. And there was absolutely NO extraordinary "cleaning or polishing" of the gears either. Total waste of time when compared to other ways of doing the same thing. It was such a fiasco that I still get agitated just telling the story.
But that toothpaste crap story persisted in Texas for years. Mostly just word of mouth and fibs (in my opinion) about how well it worked. And just about the time the method would start to peter out on its own, some sportswriter would mention it in a column.
The truth behind the legend of the Ambassadeur Toothpaste process? The thought of opening the sideplate and seeing that mess made me laugh out loud...very funny stuff, and I thank Joe for sending it our way!
-- Dr. Todd
Thursday, August 21, 2008
UPDATE: Wigart Glirr Info Part 2
UPDATE: WIGART GLIRR PART 2
It is very cool when something works like you hope it will--this is certainly the case with the UNID Files #2: The Case of the Paper Minnow. It was positively ID'd by Jerry Martin and Joe Stag. Jerry referenced an ad which I had in my files; now, to top it off, Gary Steenbergen sends us a copy of the original packaging AND the box (or envelope in this case) papers! Amazing. Gary found this without the lure; so it is pretty cool we now know what the lure looks like, and its original packaging, and its national advertising! Nifty.
A couple of cool things about this material--including the fact that the copy reads "Reg. U.S. Pat. Office" implying the name was trademarked. Gary writes: "What's glirr skin? I am assuming it is a localized slang word for bird fish or animal.. have searched the net and found nothing thought you might ask the ??? on the blog." Indeed, what turns transparent in the water? Shark skin, as was posited before? I did a cursory search of patent files for "transparent minnow" in 1923 and 1924 and didn't find anything like this.
Regardless, thanks a ton to Gary and everyone who contributed to solve this mystery. Got a few more UNIDs to work on, maybe we can come up with another hit!
-- Dr. Todd
UPDATE
Jim Scouler writers to let us know that he ran the word "Glirr" through some language translators, and discovered that Glirr is Swedish for "small fish," which I take as synonymous with Minnow. Makes a lot of sense to me!
It is very cool when something works like you hope it will--this is certainly the case with the UNID Files #2: The Case of the Paper Minnow. It was positively ID'd by Jerry Martin and Joe Stag. Jerry referenced an ad which I had in my files; now, to top it off, Gary Steenbergen sends us a copy of the original packaging AND the box (or envelope in this case) papers! Amazing. Gary found this without the lure; so it is pretty cool we now know what the lure looks like, and its original packaging, and its national advertising! Nifty.
A couple of cool things about this material--including the fact that the copy reads "Reg. U.S. Pat. Office" implying the name was trademarked. Gary writes: "What's glirr skin? I am assuming it is a localized slang word for bird fish or animal.. have searched the net and found nothing thought you might ask the ??? on the blog." Indeed, what turns transparent in the water? Shark skin, as was posited before? I did a cursory search of patent files for "transparent minnow" in 1923 and 1924 and didn't find anything like this.
Regardless, thanks a ton to Gary and everyone who contributed to solve this mystery. Got a few more UNIDs to work on, maybe we can come up with another hit!
-- Dr. Todd
UPDATE
Jim Scouler writers to let us know that he ran the word "Glirr" through some language translators, and discovered that Glirr is Swedish for "small fish," which I take as synonymous with Minnow. Makes a lot of sense to me!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
The Colgate Compound: The Strange Connection between Toothpaste and Ambassadeur Reels
The Colgate Compound:
The Strange Connection between Toothpaste and Ambassadeur Reels
About ten years ago I got a call from a friend of mine who had just purchased a vintage Ambassadeur casting reel. These Swedish-made beauties need no introduction, as they are among the most famous—if not the most famous—casting reels in all of fishing history. Their wide-spread acceptance in the 1950s saved American bait casting at a time when the spinning reel threatened to make its casting rival a relic of the past. My friend’s initial excitement over his find was somewhat tempered by the fact that the reel’s operation was intensely sluggish, a fact easily attributed to the mounds of a grey/whiteish gunk he found on the inner gears when he cracked open the Ambassadeur to find out what was wrong. The whiteish gunk—dried from years of dessication—felt remarkably like…dried toothpaste?
That couldn’t be. Who would use toothpaste as a lubricant, especially on a high-end ABU reel? I was as perplexed as my friend was, although he was adamant that if it wasn’t toothpaste he was damned if he knew what else it might be. That is where the matter rested until almost a decade later I purchased a tackle box at an estate sale. At home I eagerly dug out the lures, spoons, and spinners and set them aside, then grudgingly picked through the bottom of the box, separating out the band-aid boxes, rusty hooks, and assorted ephemera. I picked up an incomplete newspaper article clipping, moldy and water-damaged, and was about to throw it out without bothering to look at it when a headline caught me eye. It read “It’s No Joke, Toothpaste Has Bass Casters Reeling in Glee.” As I read the surviving portion of the article, I smiled because I now knew the answer to my friend’s nearly decade old conundrum.
The article gave no sign as to date or place of publication, but the author was the noted outdoor writer C. Boyd Pfeiffer, probably best known for the classic do-it-yourself fisherman’s bible Tackle Craft. Only half the article survived the ravages of tackle-box life, so I put it on my ever-growing list of things to do to try and track down the full article. I knew Pfeiffer wrote for every major sporting journal, but was also a columnist for The Washington Post. A few months back while searching through the back issues of The Post for something totally unrelated I stumbled across the complete text, and now I can conclusively put to rest why you may find toothpaste on the inner gear workings of your Ambassadeur reel.
“Mother never told you about Ultrabrite,” Pfeiffer began in the article dated 18 September 1973, “at least when it comes to polishing your bass casting reel to a slick smoothness undreamed of by the manufacturer.” Using toothpaste as a gear polishing compound was an idea developed in the early 1950s by Texas native Gene Bullard, a Dallas custom rod builder and fisherman who turned to toothpaste when valve grinding compound failed. The theory was that the abrasive components in over-the-counter toothpastes would, through an arduous process, eventually polish the inner gear teeth to a point where performance would be extraordinary and the Ambassadeur would “cast farther, more accurately, and…will not backlash.” The last claim was based on the dubious idea that “minute spurs and uneven surfaces of machined reel parts cause the reel to slow and jerk, causing the backlash in the first place.”
The process of actually polishing the gears began with packing the side plates with a mixture of 50-50 grease and toothpaste (Colgate and Ipana being Bullard’s first choices), the grease acting as a suspending agent. Then the intrepid fisherman would continuously turn the handle anywhere from eight to twenty hours, either by hand or by hooking it up to a small motor turning at 100 rpm. The mixture was to be reapplied on occasion to the pawl and worm gears so that these parts would be polished as well. Once the polishing was done, the Ambassadeur was opened, stripped of the mixture, lubed and oiled and ready for work.
The toothpaste technique was “kept for all these years within the borders of Texas,” and publicized nationally by Pfeiffer’s article. How many Ambassadeur reels received the Colgate Treatment is unknown, but it is an interesting (albeit trivial) chapter in the history of this great reel, and exemplary of the ingenuity of the American fisherman. As for my friend’s Ambassadeur 5000, it would appear the original owner read the Pfeiffer article, got excited about fixing up his reel, squirted a tube of toothpaste inside the gear plate and started cranking. Before long, he apparently tired of this tedious task, set aside the reel, and forgot about it. More than twenty years later my friend soaked the gears to remove the crud, cleaned, oiled, and lubed the reel, and took it out fishing. He claims that it does indeed work like a dream (although it still backlashes), so maybe there is something to the Colgate Compound after all!
-- Dr. Todd
The Strange Connection between Toothpaste and Ambassadeur Reels
About ten years ago I got a call from a friend of mine who had just purchased a vintage Ambassadeur casting reel. These Swedish-made beauties need no introduction, as they are among the most famous—if not the most famous—casting reels in all of fishing history. Their wide-spread acceptance in the 1950s saved American bait casting at a time when the spinning reel threatened to make its casting rival a relic of the past. My friend’s initial excitement over his find was somewhat tempered by the fact that the reel’s operation was intensely sluggish, a fact easily attributed to the mounds of a grey/whiteish gunk he found on the inner gears when he cracked open the Ambassadeur to find out what was wrong. The whiteish gunk—dried from years of dessication—felt remarkably like…dried toothpaste?
That couldn’t be. Who would use toothpaste as a lubricant, especially on a high-end ABU reel? I was as perplexed as my friend was, although he was adamant that if it wasn’t toothpaste he was damned if he knew what else it might be. That is where the matter rested until almost a decade later I purchased a tackle box at an estate sale. At home I eagerly dug out the lures, spoons, and spinners and set them aside, then grudgingly picked through the bottom of the box, separating out the band-aid boxes, rusty hooks, and assorted ephemera. I picked up an incomplete newspaper article clipping, moldy and water-damaged, and was about to throw it out without bothering to look at it when a headline caught me eye. It read “It’s No Joke, Toothpaste Has Bass Casters Reeling in Glee.” As I read the surviving portion of the article, I smiled because I now knew the answer to my friend’s nearly decade old conundrum.
The article gave no sign as to date or place of publication, but the author was the noted outdoor writer C. Boyd Pfeiffer, probably best known for the classic do-it-yourself fisherman’s bible Tackle Craft. Only half the article survived the ravages of tackle-box life, so I put it on my ever-growing list of things to do to try and track down the full article. I knew Pfeiffer wrote for every major sporting journal, but was also a columnist for The Washington Post. A few months back while searching through the back issues of The Post for something totally unrelated I stumbled across the complete text, and now I can conclusively put to rest why you may find toothpaste on the inner gear workings of your Ambassadeur reel.
“Mother never told you about Ultrabrite,” Pfeiffer began in the article dated 18 September 1973, “at least when it comes to polishing your bass casting reel to a slick smoothness undreamed of by the manufacturer.” Using toothpaste as a gear polishing compound was an idea developed in the early 1950s by Texas native Gene Bullard, a Dallas custom rod builder and fisherman who turned to toothpaste when valve grinding compound failed. The theory was that the abrasive components in over-the-counter toothpastes would, through an arduous process, eventually polish the inner gear teeth to a point where performance would be extraordinary and the Ambassadeur would “cast farther, more accurately, and…will not backlash.” The last claim was based on the dubious idea that “minute spurs and uneven surfaces of machined reel parts cause the reel to slow and jerk, causing the backlash in the first place.”
The process of actually polishing the gears began with packing the side plates with a mixture of 50-50 grease and toothpaste (Colgate and Ipana being Bullard’s first choices), the grease acting as a suspending agent. Then the intrepid fisherman would continuously turn the handle anywhere from eight to twenty hours, either by hand or by hooking it up to a small motor turning at 100 rpm. The mixture was to be reapplied on occasion to the pawl and worm gears so that these parts would be polished as well. Once the polishing was done, the Ambassadeur was opened, stripped of the mixture, lubed and oiled and ready for work.
The toothpaste technique was “kept for all these years within the borders of Texas,” and publicized nationally by Pfeiffer’s article. How many Ambassadeur reels received the Colgate Treatment is unknown, but it is an interesting (albeit trivial) chapter in the history of this great reel, and exemplary of the ingenuity of the American fisherman. As for my friend’s Ambassadeur 5000, it would appear the original owner read the Pfeiffer article, got excited about fixing up his reel, squirted a tube of toothpaste inside the gear plate and started cranking. Before long, he apparently tired of this tedious task, set aside the reel, and forgot about it. More than twenty years later my friend soaked the gears to remove the crud, cleaned, oiled, and lubed the reel, and took it out fishing. He claims that it does indeed work like a dream (although it still backlashes), so maybe there is something to the Colgate Compound after all!
-- Dr. Todd
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Voices from the Past: The Millionth Heddon Sonic
Recently Dean Murphy—the author of the fine Fishing Tackle Made in Missouri (Second Edition)--sent along to us a very interesting article on the One Millionth Heddon Sonic lure. It was published in the obscure Outdoor Equipment Merchandiser magazine for January, 1958. Some good stuff in here!
Gold Lure Sparks Dealer Fishing Contest
WHEN JAMES HFDDON'S Sons introduced the Sonic lure they felt they had something sensational, and countless rod and reel devotees were equally approving. Sales, good from the introduction of the lure have been truly spectacular.
As they climbed toward the million mark and seemed certain to surpass it, Heddon officials felt something should be done to commemorate the event, when and if it happened.
A gold lure was planned as the millionth Sonic, to he kept in stock until the millionth order called it out. Wen the order tally showed that the 999,999th Sonic had been packed, the next order, regardless of whether it called for a single lure or 1,000, would include the golden lure. This golden Sonic was shipped on order of The Sportsman, Inc., Lafayette, Ind.
"lt was a big surprise to me," said John Walkey, one of the store's owners, as he discussed getting the lure. "When Heddon's first announced the Gold Lure Contest, I figured it would go to some large store. The purchasing power of the big stores is so much greater than ours."
The lure carried with it a $100 defense bond for John Walkey and Gene Britt. Britt is partner and co-owner of The Sportsman. A second $100 bond was intended for the lure's ultimate purchaser.
"Gene and I decided to stage a 'Big-Fish' contest to decide the winner," Walkey explained. "We put it on in three divisions. Since the smallmouth bass is the principal game fish in this area, the winner of this division took the gold lure and bond. The winner of the large-mouth bass division received a Heddon rod and reel; the winner of the silver bass division, a Heddon 'Pal' reel. The contest opened on July 1 and closed October 15."
In spite of the inclement weather prevailing throughout the period, sales were stimulated by the event. Although Walkey is modest about The Sportsman's sales, the store's tackle volume is by no means a trivial matter. While it is not exclusively a tackle operation but stocks a diversified and complete line of all sports equipment, it is well to remember that all northern Indiana is fishing country. The Wabash and Tippecanoe rivers are well-fished streams, and the area is thickly dotted with excellent fishing lakes.
Of the more than 50,000 residents of the Lafayette vicinity, some 20,000 are avid fishermen. They fish the favored spots of their home state, and those of the adjoining states as well.
When the laments of certain northern tackle merchants were mentioned, Walkey didn't agree that tackle business was in a wholly sad state of decline. "In spite of the almost unbelievable amount of rain since May 15, our sales have held up reasonably well," he stated. "However, I'd be the first to admit that the rain has hurt our sales. Seldom has there been more than two days at a time during the period when streams could be fished satisfactorily."
He emphasized, however, that in tackle merchandising the field is highly competitive. "Because of this competitive nature of the industry, sales need more aggressive merchandising than ever before. With us, selling service is as important as selling merchandise. We've tried," Walkey added, "not only in tackle but with all our lines, to offer service and good advice. We're sure this helps offset the effects of certain competition, and try to get all our personnel to give every customer this feeling."
That this policy works can easily be seen by observing the many sportsmen who drop in just to chat and ask advice, or to talk over their plans with the partners or their assistants. For them, The Sportsman is a friendly and semi-official club, with John Walkey acting as informal master of ceremonies at fishing discussions throughout the day.
It doesn't require the knowledge of a business analyst to determine the policy’s effect in sales. When an angler drops in to boast about the weekend's catch or report his failure to land the big ones, and gets understanding counsel and friendly assistance, that is the place he is going to buy tackle,
There is a second axiom which rates high in Walkey's merchandising creed, amply verified by his well-arranged and eye-catching stock. "To merchandise anything,"' he insists, "you have to display it properly. You won't sell it if it's down in the basement. Not only must it be properly displayed, but the dealer has to be completely familiar with it."
Displays are located on behind the counter shelves which line three sides of the store's spacious display room, and smaller articles are housed in glass showcases in front of the shelves. In attractively arranged groupings around the supporting pillars of the central floor area are bulkier items such as guns and rods.
John and Gene started The Sportsman ten years ago, shortly after they graduated from Purdue University. Due to the industry and acumen of both partners, the store's growth has been more than satisfactory. "It's been work," Walkey admits, "but now we have six clerks, and feel that our sales of tackle, guns and general sporting equipment are at least equal to those of any store in our area."
They began with one asset which may give them more of an edge than they realize in their particular business. Both John and Gene were sports stars at Purdue. Walkey starred in basketball and baseball; Britt in football and basketball.
Walkey looks after tackle and guns, and spends most of his time at the store. Britt spends much of his time on the road, calling on school accounts which form an important part of their business. This school trade is growing, and recently they added another man to assist Britt.
Many, many thanks to Dean for sending this in, and hopefully someone knows where the Millionth Sonic sold ended up!
-- Dr. Todd
Gold Lure Sparks Dealer Fishing Contest
WHEN JAMES HFDDON'S Sons introduced the Sonic lure they felt they had something sensational, and countless rod and reel devotees were equally approving. Sales, good from the introduction of the lure have been truly spectacular.
As they climbed toward the million mark and seemed certain to surpass it, Heddon officials felt something should be done to commemorate the event, when and if it happened.
A gold lure was planned as the millionth Sonic, to he kept in stock until the millionth order called it out. Wen the order tally showed that the 999,999th Sonic had been packed, the next order, regardless of whether it called for a single lure or 1,000, would include the golden lure. This golden Sonic was shipped on order of The Sportsman, Inc., Lafayette, Ind.
"lt was a big surprise to me," said John Walkey, one of the store's owners, as he discussed getting the lure. "When Heddon's first announced the Gold Lure Contest, I figured it would go to some large store. The purchasing power of the big stores is so much greater than ours."
The lure carried with it a $100 defense bond for John Walkey and Gene Britt. Britt is partner and co-owner of The Sportsman. A second $100 bond was intended for the lure's ultimate purchaser.
"Gene and I decided to stage a 'Big-Fish' contest to decide the winner," Walkey explained. "We put it on in three divisions. Since the smallmouth bass is the principal game fish in this area, the winner of this division took the gold lure and bond. The winner of the large-mouth bass division received a Heddon rod and reel; the winner of the silver bass division, a Heddon 'Pal' reel. The contest opened on July 1 and closed October 15."
In spite of the inclement weather prevailing throughout the period, sales were stimulated by the event. Although Walkey is modest about The Sportsman's sales, the store's tackle volume is by no means a trivial matter. While it is not exclusively a tackle operation but stocks a diversified and complete line of all sports equipment, it is well to remember that all northern Indiana is fishing country. The Wabash and Tippecanoe rivers are well-fished streams, and the area is thickly dotted with excellent fishing lakes.
Of the more than 50,000 residents of the Lafayette vicinity, some 20,000 are avid fishermen. They fish the favored spots of their home state, and those of the adjoining states as well.
When the laments of certain northern tackle merchants were mentioned, Walkey didn't agree that tackle business was in a wholly sad state of decline. "In spite of the almost unbelievable amount of rain since May 15, our sales have held up reasonably well," he stated. "However, I'd be the first to admit that the rain has hurt our sales. Seldom has there been more than two days at a time during the period when streams could be fished satisfactorily."
He emphasized, however, that in tackle merchandising the field is highly competitive. "Because of this competitive nature of the industry, sales need more aggressive merchandising than ever before. With us, selling service is as important as selling merchandise. We've tried," Walkey added, "not only in tackle but with all our lines, to offer service and good advice. We're sure this helps offset the effects of certain competition, and try to get all our personnel to give every customer this feeling."
That this policy works can easily be seen by observing the many sportsmen who drop in just to chat and ask advice, or to talk over their plans with the partners or their assistants. For them, The Sportsman is a friendly and semi-official club, with John Walkey acting as informal master of ceremonies at fishing discussions throughout the day.
It doesn't require the knowledge of a business analyst to determine the policy’s effect in sales. When an angler drops in to boast about the weekend's catch or report his failure to land the big ones, and gets understanding counsel and friendly assistance, that is the place he is going to buy tackle,
There is a second axiom which rates high in Walkey's merchandising creed, amply verified by his well-arranged and eye-catching stock. "To merchandise anything,"' he insists, "you have to display it properly. You won't sell it if it's down in the basement. Not only must it be properly displayed, but the dealer has to be completely familiar with it."
Displays are located on behind the counter shelves which line three sides of the store's spacious display room, and smaller articles are housed in glass showcases in front of the shelves. In attractively arranged groupings around the supporting pillars of the central floor area are bulkier items such as guns and rods.
John and Gene started The Sportsman ten years ago, shortly after they graduated from Purdue University. Due to the industry and acumen of both partners, the store's growth has been more than satisfactory. "It's been work," Walkey admits, "but now we have six clerks, and feel that our sales of tackle, guns and general sporting equipment are at least equal to those of any store in our area."
They began with one asset which may give them more of an edge than they realize in their particular business. Both John and Gene were sports stars at Purdue. Walkey starred in basketball and baseball; Britt in football and basketball.
Walkey looks after tackle and guns, and spends most of his time at the store. Britt spends much of his time on the road, calling on school accounts which form an important part of their business. This school trade is growing, and recently they added another man to assist Britt.
Many, many thanks to Dean for sending this in, and hopefully someone knows where the Millionth Sonic sold ended up!
-- Dr. Todd
Monday, August 18, 2008
News of the Week: 18 August 2008
Fly tying classes help returning vets deal with the real world...Steve Earle picks the fly rod over the gitfiddle...remembering Roderick Haig-Brown...English angler bested by hungry heron...19 year old fly tier has Mesa residents gaga...profiling St. Croix Rod Company...an Indy Star writer is up in arms over the confiscation of 22 worms...a man who left the rat race to work the dawn patrol at a local bait shop...the rise of Atlantic Salmon in Sweden...it must be THE NEWS OF THE WEEK!
The Big Lead: Fly tying classes are used as rehab for returning veterans. (NOTE: This was done after both WWII and Korea, to great success. I'll pen an article on it in the near future).
New Zealand's Sunday Star-Times reports that musician Steve Earle loves playing country music...almost as much as he loves fishing.
Canada's Times Colonist remembers noted angler and environmental Roderick Haig-Brown.
The trials and trevails of kite fishing.
A British angler is bested by a hungry heron.
A 19-year old girl has Mesa Bass Pro customers hooked on her flies.
A profile of the St. Croix Rod Company of Park Falls, Wisconsin is an excellent history and overview of the largest rodmaker in America .
Disabled California man boats state record blue catfish.
This Coastian is stunned by his record 113.8 pound amberjack.
This Indianapolis Star writer has a vendetta against a Minnesota DBR game warden...for confiscating 22 worms.
Just be happy Lionfish aren't coming to where you live.
The Morning Sun regales us with a tale of hooking a fish so big it feels like reeling in a coke machine.
More hullabaloo on the potential California state record striped bass.
Ah, the beauty of the Porbeagle.
The Wisconsin Sportsman informs us that river muskies are where it's at.
From the Good Idea Files: Fishing Cards help Australian kids to ID fish and know what tackle is needed to catch them.
A profile of a not-so-furry cat...
Chris Lido profiles a nice history and retrospective on Ranger Bass Boats.
One man's vintage gear gets left behind at the local car wash.
The fishing's hot at Palatine's Twin Lakes.
A man gives up his 9-to-5 desk job to live the dream of... working the early shift at the local bait shop?
From the Sad Files: Popular Okeechobee tackle shop owner dies in boating accident.
Yet another review of the latest John Gierach book.
The American Fly Fishing Museum holds its semi-annual Fly Fishing Festival in Manchester.
Finishing with a Flourish: Drift net ban is working; numbers of Swedish Atlantic Salmon rising for the first time in years.
-- Dr. Todd
Sunday, August 17, 2008
UPDATE! The UNID Files #2: The Case of the Paper Minnow SOLVED!
The UNID Files #2: The Case of the Paper Minnow has been solved! Thanks to Jerry Martin (with an assist to Joe Stag) who ID'd the bait as follows:
The lure in question was advertised in the April 1924 issue of Forest and Stream magazine as "The Celebrated GLIRR TRANSPARENT MINNOW SPINNER COSTS ONLY THIRTY-FIVE CENTS and will give you lasting fishing joy. The bait that becomes transparent under water and looks and acts like a real minnow." The lure was advertised by the Glirr Manufacturing Co., 250-40th Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. I have only found a single ad for this bait. The ad was about 2.5 x 5 inches with an artist rendition of the minnow.
I have searched for this lure for 15 years and have never seen another. I suspect the body was made of shark skin or other natural substance.
As I have a complete run of Forest & Stream advertisements I was able to pull the ad for this neat lure, which is run here.
Anyone who wants a cool UNID to be profiled, drop me a note! It really works.
-- Dr. Todd
The lure in question was advertised in the April 1924 issue of Forest and Stream magazine as "The Celebrated GLIRR TRANSPARENT MINNOW SPINNER COSTS ONLY THIRTY-FIVE CENTS and will give you lasting fishing joy. The bait that becomes transparent under water and looks and acts like a real minnow." The lure was advertised by the Glirr Manufacturing Co., 250-40th Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. I have only found a single ad for this bait. The ad was about 2.5 x 5 inches with an artist rendition of the minnow.
I have searched for this lure for 15 years and have never seen another. I suspect the body was made of shark skin or other natural substance.
As I have a complete run of Forest & Stream advertisements I was able to pull the ad for this neat lure, which is run here.
Anyone who wants a cool UNID to be profiled, drop me a note! It really works.
-- Dr. Todd
Saturday, August 16, 2008
The UNID Files #2: The Case of the Paper Minnow
The UNID Files #2: The Case of the Paper Minnow
Jim Baird posted an interesting UNID lure that someone out there may have some information on. It's a paper minnow--but it is NOT the legendary Holland Paper Minnow. Jim notes that it is marked on the propeller "Wigart Glirr" whatever that means. Could it be a manufacturer's marking? Sounds vaguely Swiss or European...
The Holland Paper Minnow had a waxy paper that folded over the hook; this looks more durable, like it is almost a very thin strip of pork rind or other such material. Regardless, it is a nifty piece. Anyone with information on the Paper Minnow UNID please contact Jim Baird at rbaird15@cogeco.ca.
Anyone seeking to profile an UNID bait to thousands of readers a week can email me. Remember to include a pic!
PAST UNID FILES (CLICK THE IMAGE):
The UNID Files #1: The Case of the Florida Trumpet Lure
-- Dr. Todd
Jim Baird posted an interesting UNID lure that someone out there may have some information on. It's a paper minnow--but it is NOT the legendary Holland Paper Minnow. Jim notes that it is marked on the propeller "Wigart Glirr" whatever that means. Could it be a manufacturer's marking? Sounds vaguely Swiss or European...
The Holland Paper Minnow had a waxy paper that folded over the hook; this looks more durable, like it is almost a very thin strip of pork rind or other such material. Regardless, it is a nifty piece. Anyone with information on the Paper Minnow UNID please contact Jim Baird at rbaird15@cogeco.ca.
Anyone seeking to profile an UNID bait to thousands of readers a week can email me. Remember to include a pic!
PAST UNID FILES (CLICK THE IMAGE):
The UNID Files #1: The Case of the Florida Trumpet Lure
-- Dr. Todd
Friday, August 15, 2008
Friday Funhouse
Yep, Bungee Fishing--it's sweeping Auckland.
We don't feature many steel rods, but this Simmons Hardware bait caster is a nice buy.
This Hinckley Silver Bird Fish Phantom is a rare rotary head bait.
A Redwing Black Bird Creek Chub Plunker is a centerpiece of any Plunker collection.
This George Lawrence creel is a work of art.
Just in time for Bob Miller's long anticipated History of the Pflueger Summit & Akron, this 1928 Summit reel has attracted tremendous interest.
A Heddon Crab Wiggler in Green Scale is nice...an uncatalogued one? Sweet.
I absolutely LOVE this Arbogast Tin Liz Snake.
The Strike Master Bass King is a very cool Ohio lure.
The North Channel Minnow is a super rare bait.
A Peters Frog is a rare hopper indeed.
The Hastings Weedless Frog Box would make a perfect mate for your loose Hastings frog.
Outing lures don't show up as often as you think.
This Lucky Strike bait has more than just Canadians in a frenzy.
This neat Heddon Torpedo in Blue Coachdog is a really, really, REALLY rare color.
I have loved this Horrocks-Ibbotson Schmoo bait ever since Ted Williams used it as a prop in a baseball card commercial.
A pair of Fenwick Wobblin Minnows have attracted some people's attention...
As always, have a great weekend, and be kind to others, and yourself.
-- Dr. Todd
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Corpus Christi Tackle Makers: Update #2
Corpus Christi Tackle Makers: Update #2
Ken Vick brought my attention to a recent eBay auction that featured some lures from the American Tackle Co. of Corpus Christi (1959-1960). Am-Tac lures were made by Dick Svertz, a tool-and-die maker from Corpus Christi who apparently made many of the molds for the other Corpus Christi companies. I emailed the lister, who turned out to be a familiar name--Ramón-Singer, a painter who specializes in watercolors of fishing lures. He very graciously allowed me to repost the neat information he had listed in this auction:
From Corpus Christi- three American Tackle Company lures- Am Tac -Texan stamped on bottom of two-- black and a yellow-both with mirror- three inches long- Queens. Smaller one is in rougher shape- Tex Jr. stamped on tail- hard to find lures.
Thought I would add some information about Richard "Dick" Svertz. I spoke with one of his two sons last year by phone. Don told me that his father Dick was a tool and die maker that invented injection molding, the double hook eye, and styrofoam. He held a Mechanical Engineering Degree from Chicago. Dick left Chicago because it was too cold for him [so he moved] to Corpus Christi where he had a tool and die shop.
It was in this shop that he designed and made many of the molds as well as the lures for the local lure companies. He did work for Doug English, Anton Stettner, Fred Nichols--both his plastic perch and plastic shrimps, as well as the Mightey Mite out of Shreveport. He and his two sons designed their own line of lures and their tackle company was called American Tackle or Am-Tac.
Their lures were well made, did not leak, and caught fish. Air guns were used by three women who sprayed the lures by hand into an aluminum sleeve. The two boys worked around the shop and helped with making the lures. The Svertz's left Corpus Christi and moved to Houston where they had a tool and die shop called Metal Plastics Inc. on Balkin Drive. They [continued making lures] and made the Mr. Champ out of brass, the Dixie Spoon, and the Little Lou [which was] a black lure with silver body, which was drawn by a woman and made by Dick, [just] to name a few. The shop was sold in the 1980's, lure molds and all. Some of the Am- Tac lures can be seen at the Corpus Christi Museum.
Don gave me a fishing story about his dad as well. He said his dad was "a stubborn" fisherman who fished off of a certain flat rock on a jetty on the Corpus Christi Bay. He used a lemon rod and fished the windward side with live finger mullets. This was his favorite fishing spot and way to fish.
-- Ramón-Singer
Many thanks to Ramón-Singer for allowing us to post this neat information, and I'll be featuring him sometime soon in an article of his own, as his artwork is really cool.
-- Dr. Todd, still trying to educate the world on the coolness of Texas Lures.
UPDATE #1 to UPDATE #2
Gerald Garrett has visited the Corpus Christi Museum of Science & Industry and took these great photos of their exhibit showing an Am-Tack Dealer Display case:
Thanks Gerry for sharing this with everyone!
-- Dr. Todd
Ken Vick brought my attention to a recent eBay auction that featured some lures from the American Tackle Co. of Corpus Christi (1959-1960). Am-Tac lures were made by Dick Svertz, a tool-and-die maker from Corpus Christi who apparently made many of the molds for the other Corpus Christi companies. I emailed the lister, who turned out to be a familiar name--Ramón-Singer, a painter who specializes in watercolors of fishing lures. He very graciously allowed me to repost the neat information he had listed in this auction:
Thought I would add some information about Richard "Dick" Svertz. I spoke with one of his two sons last year by phone. Don told me that his father Dick was a tool and die maker that invented injection molding, the double hook eye, and styrofoam. He held a Mechanical Engineering Degree from Chicago. Dick left Chicago because it was too cold for him [so he moved] to Corpus Christi where he had a tool and die shop.
It was in this shop that he designed and made many of the molds as well as the lures for the local lure companies. He did work for Doug English, Anton Stettner, Fred Nichols--both his plastic perch and plastic shrimps, as well as the Mightey Mite out of Shreveport. He and his two sons designed their own line of lures and their tackle company was called American Tackle or Am-Tac.
Their lures were well made, did not leak, and caught fish. Air guns were used by three women who sprayed the lures by hand into an aluminum sleeve. The two boys worked around the shop and helped with making the lures. The Svertz's left Corpus Christi and moved to Houston where they had a tool and die shop called Metal Plastics Inc. on Balkin Drive. They [continued making lures] and made the Mr. Champ out of brass, the Dixie Spoon, and the Little Lou [which was] a black lure with silver body, which was drawn by a woman and made by Dick, [just] to name a few. The shop was sold in the 1980's, lure molds and all. Some of the Am- Tac lures can be seen at the Corpus Christi Museum.
Don gave me a fishing story about his dad as well. He said his dad was "a stubborn" fisherman who fished off of a certain flat rock on a jetty on the Corpus Christi Bay. He used a lemon rod and fished the windward side with live finger mullets. This was his favorite fishing spot and way to fish.
-- Ramón-Singer
Many thanks to Ramón-Singer for allowing us to post this neat information, and I'll be featuring him sometime soon in an article of his own, as his artwork is really cool.
-- Dr. Todd, still trying to educate the world on the coolness of Texas Lures.
UPDATE #1 to UPDATE #2
Gerald Garrett has visited the Corpus Christi Museum of Science & Industry and took these great photos of their exhibit showing an Am-Tack Dealer Display case:
Thanks Gerry for sharing this with everyone!
-- Dr. Todd
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Heddon Chuggers by Todd Long
Last week Todd Long contributed a nice two-part article on Cotton Cordell. This week, I wanted to post his neat addendum he added on the Heddon Chugger. I have always liked Chuggers and have a small collection myself, so I particularly liked this piece.
Heddon Chuggers
by Todd Long
I didn’t really appreciate the full potential of Heddon Chuggers until the early 1990’s after losing my favorite Chugger Jr. to an angry black bass in a Nacogdoches, TX farm pond.
After morning classes at Stephen F. Austin State University, my friends and I would meet to discuss fishing reports and new pond discoveries. There was one pond in particular that had not been fished, so off we went. After parking down the road and jumping a fence or two, we were soon catching bass after bass using a black shore Heddon Chugger Jr. As the sun was setting, I made one last cast over a submerged tree….chug, chug, chug...SPLASHHHH!!!! RRRRR!!!!! POP!!!!!! My favorite (and last) chugger was history as a huge black bass took it under the log.
Losing that last chugger didn’t bother me so much until I learned how scarce they had become. My search soon turned into frustration as I drove from tackle store to store, looking for replacement chuggers. The shop owners informed me that whatever left on the rack was it, as chuggers were discontinued…This prompted me to STOP casting my favorite topwater and start saving them for what is now my prized collection.
One year later while visiting Shreveport, Louisiana I was visiting an antique store when I noticed a display of lures hanging over my head. As I looked closer, I was amazed that the display was full of chuggers, and black shore chuggers at that! I quickly paid $3 each and got in touch with the owners, NFLCC members Ed and Toni Moore. They were the nicest tackle collectors I had ever met and soon they were inviting me to their home where they’d share volumes of information about old lures and lure collecting in general.
I thought my collection was becoming quite mature as I piled up multiple colors that I now know are common: white shore, yellow shore, silver shore, black shore, and bullfrog-colored chuggers. I had no idea that Heddon made a gazillion other chugger colors! With the Moore’s help, I soon realized there were so many more colors out there than anybody knew existed.
My First “Tough” Chugger
I couldn’t sleep the night after I forked-out what I thought was a TREMENDOUS price of $20 for a white snakeline (WSL) chugger. I thought that had to be the tops that anybody or any fool must have paid for a plastic lure…I remember calling another chugger collector here in Texas soon afterwards who was liquidating his collection. I heard him mention the fact that he had about 2-300 colors to sell and was getting $20 each for them. As I was gasping for air, I just could not believe or justify such outrageously high prices----but later realized how outrageously LOW that was! I later met with other “veteran” Heddon plastic collectors who were paying 10 times that amount for the tougher colors, so I had to quickly reconsider what I would give if I was to move forth in my collection. Looking back, I shake my head at all of the dozens of rare $20 chuggers I laughed at—nowadays a steal!
People constantly ask me what chugger or what color I am hunting for. Well, I am not sure I or anybody else will ever know how many colors were produced, or if it’s even possible to find them all – so many colors were special or custom ordered…However, there are two (2) pictured above that have eluded me over and over: The Pikescale (M) White Belly and the 2) Spotted Orange (SO). I know they’re out there, I’ve just been a minute late or in the right place at the wrong time! But that’s lure collecting…the search is half the fun!
Since becoming an official NFLCC member, we attend as many NFLCC shows our schedules allow and still excited to find our favorite Cordell Spots and chuggers. I’ve also put together a website (www.heddonspooks.com) to share with our friends and other collectors our lures for sale and trade. It’s been a rewarding experience meeting all of the old tackle fanatics like me and learning more about other lures. I’ve even taken a part-time gig selling lures and bait at a local tackle shop on Galveston’s West Bay-- one of the perks includes free bait and tackle!
If you can’t find me on the water chasing redfish and trout I’m probably somewhere hunting for old tackle. Hopefully we can make more shows in the coming months and share with others our stories and collections. If not, you’ll know that I’ve finally gotten accepted into the Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Warden Academy this fall and will be patrolling the water and woods around Texas real soon!
Todd Long
www.heddonspooks.com
tlcuzin@aol.com
I am sure I speak for everyone when I wish Todd the best of luck in his new career as a Texas game warden!
-- Dr. Todd
I didn’t really appreciate the full potential of Heddon Chuggers until the early 1990’s after losing my favorite Chugger Jr. to an angry black bass in a Nacogdoches, TX farm pond.
After morning classes at Stephen F. Austin State University, my friends and I would meet to discuss fishing reports and new pond discoveries. There was one pond in particular that had not been fished, so off we went. After parking down the road and jumping a fence or two, we were soon catching bass after bass using a black shore Heddon Chugger Jr. As the sun was setting, I made one last cast over a submerged tree….chug, chug, chug...SPLASHHHH!!!! RRRRR!!!!! POP!!!!!! My favorite (and last) chugger was history as a huge black bass took it under the log.
Losing that last chugger didn’t bother me so much until I learned how scarce they had become. My search soon turned into frustration as I drove from tackle store to store, looking for replacement chuggers. The shop owners informed me that whatever left on the rack was it, as chuggers were discontinued…This prompted me to STOP casting my favorite topwater and start saving them for what is now my prized collection.
One year later while visiting Shreveport, Louisiana I was visiting an antique store when I noticed a display of lures hanging over my head. As I looked closer, I was amazed that the display was full of chuggers, and black shore chuggers at that! I quickly paid $3 each and got in touch with the owners, NFLCC members Ed and Toni Moore. They were the nicest tackle collectors I had ever met and soon they were inviting me to their home where they’d share volumes of information about old lures and lure collecting in general.
I thought my collection was becoming quite mature as I piled up multiple colors that I now know are common: white shore, yellow shore, silver shore, black shore, and bullfrog-colored chuggers. I had no idea that Heddon made a gazillion other chugger colors! With the Moore’s help, I soon realized there were so many more colors out there than anybody knew existed.
My First “Tough” Chugger
I couldn’t sleep the night after I forked-out what I thought was a TREMENDOUS price of $20 for a white snakeline (WSL) chugger. I thought that had to be the tops that anybody or any fool must have paid for a plastic lure…I remember calling another chugger collector here in Texas soon afterwards who was liquidating his collection. I heard him mention the fact that he had about 2-300 colors to sell and was getting $20 each for them. As I was gasping for air, I just could not believe or justify such outrageously high prices----but later realized how outrageously LOW that was! I later met with other “veteran” Heddon plastic collectors who were paying 10 times that amount for the tougher colors, so I had to quickly reconsider what I would give if I was to move forth in my collection. Looking back, I shake my head at all of the dozens of rare $20 chuggers I laughed at—nowadays a steal!
People constantly ask me what chugger or what color I am hunting for. Well, I am not sure I or anybody else will ever know how many colors were produced, or if it’s even possible to find them all – so many colors were special or custom ordered…However, there are two (2) pictured above that have eluded me over and over: The Pikescale (M) White Belly and the 2) Spotted Orange (SO). I know they’re out there, I’ve just been a minute late or in the right place at the wrong time! But that’s lure collecting…the search is half the fun!
Since becoming an official NFLCC member, we attend as many NFLCC shows our schedules allow and still excited to find our favorite Cordell Spots and chuggers. I’ve also put together a website (www.heddonspooks.com) to share with our friends and other collectors our lures for sale and trade. It’s been a rewarding experience meeting all of the old tackle fanatics like me and learning more about other lures. I’ve even taken a part-time gig selling lures and bait at a local tackle shop on Galveston’s West Bay-- one of the perks includes free bait and tackle!
If you can’t find me on the water chasing redfish and trout I’m probably somewhere hunting for old tackle. Hopefully we can make more shows in the coming months and share with others our stories and collections. If not, you’ll know that I’ve finally gotten accepted into the Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Warden Academy this fall and will be patrolling the water and woods around Texas real soon!
Todd Long
www.heddonspooks.com
tlcuzin@aol.com
I am sure I speak for everyone when I wish Todd the best of luck in his new career as a Texas game warden!
-- Dr. Todd
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Voices from the Past: Word War II and the Homefront
January 1943 was a bleak time for America, and for the free world. Just the previous month gasoline rationing began across the country, a shock to a nation accustomed to freedom of travel. Horrific fighting in the Pacific on Guadalcanal and New Guinea raises the death toll of American fighting dead every day; Stalin rages over the lack of a Western front even as the meat grinder known as the Battle of Stalingrad enters into its final stages. Although Allied forces are on the move in North Africa and massive air raids on Germany are just beginning, the realization that the war is going to be long, bitter and bloody as hell is just starting to sink in. America is in this for the long haul, and the sacrifices of a total war effort are being felt by Americans of all classes.
On 16 January 1943 in a Billings, Montana office, the editor of the The Billings Gazette sits in his office to pen the next day’s editorial. He looks wistfully out the window at the blowing snow and thinks longingly of warmer days. An angler, as are most of his Montana friends, a blurb on the press wire attracts his attention. He sits down and pens the following editorial, which runs the next day. It sums up the feelings of wartime America as well as anything I’ve run across.
AN ANGLER'S FANCIES
A fishing tackle manufacturer, who reports his plant tied up 100 per cent producing "headaches" for the Axis instead of rods, reels, lines and lures, has issued a bulletin to fishermen advising them to spend some of these winter evenings conditioning their outfit for next year. Rod ferrules may need resetting, reel bearings may be in want of repairs, fly lines dressed and lures put into usable shape.
In ordinary times many an angler found wintertime diversion in going through the old tackle box. What days come to mind as one sorts over each cherished piece of equipment. The old reel is much more than a spool; the line, the rod, the creel, they, too, are not to be dismissed as so much cord, cane and twisted willow as the uninitiated are wont to appraise them. Each breathes something that makes a fisherman a little sentimental.
Quite unknowingly time passes as one picks up the little feathered insect imitations in the fly box. Here's a ginger quill, a McGlnty—or is it a western bee? There's the early-season squirrel tail that was retrieved from an underwater snag last May when the streams were running high. What experiences are unfolded by each of them, modest little creations of man. They tell again the stories of rainbows and natives lost and caught while our imagination readily conjures the locale and background—a riffle above a pool, its depth obscured with the shimmering reflection of firs along the bank, and In the distance rugged peaks with here and there a glacier or patch of snow in a hanging valley.
This year such flights of fancy stop abruptly. How urgent Is the duty of getting the old rod, reel, line and other equipment into shape? Will we go back to the same places next summer? And how? Will there be angler car clubs? (But there's that sticker on the windshield asking If "this trip Is really necessary.") We've heard some ardent devotees recall the old fishing trains that used to run up Red Lodge way, letting them off near their favorite spots in the morning and picking them up in the early evening. Wonder if we will—or can—come to that again.
My point in republishing this little piece is to remind us that when we are caught up in the storm we sometimes think it will never end. But hard times--like January 1943--eventually pass, the sun comes up again on a new and better day, and the fishing tackle always remains where we last put it, silently awaiting better days.
-- Dr. Todd
Monday, August 11, 2008
News of the Week: 11 August 2008
A dead angler's last wish is to be ground into fish food...fishing as an olympic sport?...remembering Edward D. Ibbotson...the New Zealand mud snail is the newest invasive species...the Mystic Tackle BioPulse lure has anglers twitching in excitement...considering mini baits...skimming fake frogs...catching Wahoo without a hook...celebrating the life of fly tying legend Helen Shaw...it must be THE NEWS OF THE WEEK!
The Big Lead: Dying angler's last wish is to be cremated and mixed with chum to make fish food. Really.
Fishing...as an olympic sport?
A popular Ashtubula marina collapses.
The Bradenton Herald declares that fishermen stretch the impossible.
Utica OD remembers the passing of Edward D. Ibbotson (of Horrocks-Ibbotson fame).
One author gets lured into the "which lure is better" debate.
First rock snot...now the invasive New Zealand mud snail. A collective "ewww" may now be released.
In Malaysia, the fish come fast and furious.
One angling writer has a tackle shop buddy make him up the perfect small tackle box of baits.
Gordon McHenry opines on the Mystic Tackle BioPulse lure.
Sharks are biting on...fishing lures?
British kids are fishing with national soccer hero Jack Charlton.
Perhaps you should consider mini baits.
The Saipan Tribune reports on Micronesia's most popular fishing tournament.
A profile of Rhonda Wright, owner of the Brickyard Bait & Tackle.
The Washington Times reports on how angling is attempting to lure women.
Why Wales is one whale of a fishing spot.
From the Making Don Wheeler Happy Files: How skimming Fake Frogs can tempt a hungry bass.
The Sarasota Herald Tribune opines on the rise and decline of fly fishing.
A Wheaton (Illinois) fishing derby honors a fallen soldier.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports on Tom "Musky" Wehler.
Florida angler boats state record Blue Catfish.
From the Cayman Islands comes a how-to on catching Wahoo without a hook.
A Newport angler catches an Electric Torpedo Ray...and yes, I had to look it up to see what one looked like. Hint: try to avoid putting your hand in its mouth as it delivers 220 volts.
The art and science of fly fishing.
15 year old much better angler than you, catches nearly five pound crappie.
Finishing with a Flourish: Dan Basore passes on news that there will be a Memorial Service at the Red Rock Historical Society to celebrate the extraordinary life of Helen Shaw Kessler, famous fly tyer.
-- Dr. Todd
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