Sunday Poll: How Old Are You?

Sunday Poll Results: How Old Are You?

I think of all the polls I have run, this is the one that gives us the best glimpse of the current state of collecting. A close look at the results show almost a perfect bell curve between the ages of 20 and 70+. The majority fall between the ages of 50 and 59 (a full 1/3). Almost 70% are below the age of 59.

Now, what does this all mean? It means that, while we have a nice percentage of collectors below the age of 40 (10% or twice the number over the age of 70) it is right in that range analysts tell us we start to develop the ability to have surplus income (i.e. 40s and 50s) that the majority of collector's lie.

Looks like a pretty healthy hobby, from the standpoint of age, to me! Now this doesn't mean that we should not be doing whatever we can to encourage young collectors, in particular kids and any neophytes regardless of age, but the poll does show that we are probably not that different than 10 or 20 years ago when it comes to average age.



-- Dr. Todd

The Inspirational Poster of the Week

Friday Funhouse

The Friday Funhouse
Video of the Week
Two words: Wunder Boner. That is all.



Things I Would Buy If Only I Could Afford Them (or as W.S. notes If I Could Only Remember to Bid On Them
An ABU Cardinal 44
would make any angler's Christmas.


The 1877 Eagle Claw auto striking fish hook is a rare and highly coveted item.


A Leonard Deluxe 703 is a truly classic rod.


A Macmonies fishing creel handmade in Portland has attracted a lot of bidder interest.


Orvis Battenkills are always popular.


This Ed. vom Hofe Celebrated Black Bass Reel #2 is a classic.


Your strange spinning reel of the week #1 is this Hardy Altex.


Your strange spinning reel of the week #2 is this Bercol.


A Heddon Dummy Double is a great lure, right down to the patented hooks.


This Heddon Hi-Tail has attracted an exorbitant amount of bidding interest.


As has this one in Checkerboard .


Just your every day, average 1689 book on fishing.


The CCBC Gar Minnow are always popular.


This Creek Chub Husky Musky #630 with box is a beautiful combo.


This card of whale bone jigs is representative of a popular upward trend in these baits.


I love these Heddon Tiger "Circus Box" combos.


An F.C. Woods 5-Hook Expert with wooden box is an awesome combo.


This is a very scarce early South Bend NLW baitcasting reel.


This 1895 T.H. Chubb catalog is a very rare catalog indeed.


This Ambassadeur 2500 is a really popular reel even today among tournament casters.



As always, have a safe weekend, and be good to each other and yourself.

-- Dr. Todd

Thursday Review: Chapman Gunsmithing Screwdrivers

Thursday Review: Chapman Gunsmithing Screwdrivers

Let's face it. If you collect fishing tackle, you have run into a situation where you've had to remove hardware to clean a lure, disassemble a reel, etc. At this time, you are constantly reminded by how much regular screwdrivers flat out suck.

At times like this you realize that nothing, and I mean nothing, is more handy than a set of gunsmithing screwdrivers. What makes gunsmithing screwdrivers great is that they generally have non-tapered heads, which means less chance of slippage (the deadly skidding effect that destroys lures and reels alike).

For years I got by on a very cheap set of screwdrivers I picked up a dollar store. It was always a chore to even loosen a screw. About five years ago, however, I got smart and invested in a nice set of gunsmithing drivers. They were made by Chapman, whom I am partial to as they sell custom bits, although I've heard very good things about Wiha as well. I purchased the ever popular Chapman Kit #8900, which includes a variety of bits, a handle, and extension.


The first time I used these gunsmithing screwdrivers, I realized how foolish I had been for not owning them earlier. For a measley $25 I now had a set that has gotten me inside some of the rarest reels around, and allowed me to remove damaged hooks on some very rare lures. I can't imagine using anything else. I liked them so much I've given the set as a gift to friends.

Trust me when I say you'll never regret owning quality tools.

There is a very good thread on gunsmithing screwdrivers over on ORCA which you can check out by: Clicking Here.

-- Dr. Todd

The 30th Anniversary of the Streater Bible

The 30th Anniversary of the Streater Bible

In 1978, a Washington state lure collector and bass angler by the name of Dick Streater self-published a book that would change fishing lure collecting forever. Dubbed "The Fishing Lure Bible," Streater's Reference Catalog of Old Fishing Lures was painstakingly compiled over a period of ten years from the pages of countless magazines and newspapers, many mouldering from years of disuse.

When it first came out The Bible was in loose-leaf format, designed from the beginning to accommodate numerous updates promised (and delivered) in the coming years. At the time, collecting vintage fishing tackle was in its infancy. The National Fishing Lure Collector's Club had just recently been founded, putting many like-minded individuals into contact, many for the first time ever.


Dick Streater at the last NFLCC National, with Jeff Kieny (Left) and Bill Sonnett (Right)
But what the hobby lacked was a flagstone--a book that would help collectors near and far begin to identify what exactly they found in the tackle boxes that were purchased so readily at garage sales and flea markets. Streater's Bible seamlessly filled this gap. Along with Clyde Harbin Sr.'s work on Heddon, it gave the fledgling hobby twin pillars on which to build.

If Clyde gave us a company history that could be used as a model for ferreting out the backgrounds of the untold number of tackle firms, it was Streater who gave the vast majority of collectors their first glimpse at just how much fishing tackle was actually available. From the earliest Flying Helgrammite to the proliferation of salmon spoons in the 1950s, if a company advertised, Dick copied it and included it in The Bible.

By the time I started collecting with my brother and dad in junior high school, The Bible was already a decade old and already through at least two updates. I remember paging in blank amazement at a copy loaned to us by Peter Haupt, legendary Hayward musky fisherman and NFLCC member. Our collecting partner Jack Banks bought a copy which I dogeared from repeated use. He had to buy those round hole reinforcements as many pages got ripped out from repeated use.

I didn't get my own copy until 1989 or 1990, when I wrote Dick a series of letters from the University of Minnesota campus. Dick graciously responded to one ludicrous question after another, and I discovered that he was a Golden Gopher--and a band member at that! So Rah Rah for Ski-U--Mah is how we have ended communications for going on two decades now.

One of the things I have always admired about Dick's book is that he makes no distinction between "expensive" lures and "cheap" lures. As Dick himself noted in an interview in Lure Collector magazine in 1985:

One thing I've neglected to do...is to try and put out a book or value guide on lures. My answer to that is that, I don't want to be the Lure God.

To him, if they advertised, he'd help you identify it. It was all about knowledge, not value. Don't get me wrong. Everyone wants an expensive lure, but those accustomed to a shelf full of reference books (some of which I'm proud to have been a part of bringing to life) and the internet can never know the sheer delight in finding one of your "unknowns" pictured in one of the ads in The Bible. The book grew so large people jokingly referenced it by its weight (seven pounds if I remember right).

Many authors followed in Dick's wake--Larry Smith, Carl Luckey, Jim Lone, Art & Scott Kimball, and Karl White, to name just a few. But there will only ever be one Bible. Several years ago a perfect bound copy of Dick's book was published by a big collectables house, introducing the work to a new generation. But I must say it lost a little bit of charm when it ditched the enormous white three ring binder.

For those who don't own it, it is still a remarkable reference tool, showing a large number of lures not pictured in any other reference book. It is a must have for the tackle collector's book shelf. As for Dick, he is still plugging away in the Pacific Northwest, ready with an email, a joke, and someday soon a manuscript on Mosquito repellant bottles.


The latest edition of The Bible
So this year, the thirtieth anniversary of the publication of the first Lure Bible, we celebrate a collecting institution and its venerable author, Dick Streater. Long live The Bible!

-- Dr. Todd

Voices from the Past: Skittering & Bobbing

Skittering and Bobbing

I often get asked questions on what these two Victorian (or older) methods of fishing are. Here is a concise definition ca. 1898 courtesy of Forest & Stream.

Skittering

In the North this mode of fishing is sometimes used for pickerel, but is practiced little, if any, by bass fishers. In Arkansas and in Louisiana I have watched native anglers taking bass in this manner. They used cane poles with strong lines tied to the tips, and the line brought down and tied again to the butt, in case the pole broke. They worked from the shore, or from a boat, skipping a spoon or a minnow over those parts of the water which were free from weeds. It is quite hard work, and involves much entanglement among the weeds, but is quite successful. There was no chance in those shallow, weedy waters to give a fish a fighting chance for its life, and so it was "yanked" in by main strength. It did not appeal to me as a mode that promised much sport, so I didn't try it.

Bobbing

Many years ago, while fishing on Bistineau Lake, in Lousiana, with that excellent colored fisherman, Augustus Caesar Trulo...he asked: "Did yo' ever fish fo' trout with a bob?" I had bobbed for eels with a bunch of worms, but bobbing for black bass, his "trout," was a new proposition, and I wanted to know all about it; but beyond the fact that "it is made of a deer's tail, sah, an' is dragged behin' de boat" the information was not intelligible. He showed me one afterward, and it proved to be a great triple hook partly hidden by the hair of a deer's tail, and having several streamers of red flannel trailing behind--a home-made article which is said to be effective in the waters of that region. Dr. Henshall says it is common in Florida.

So Skittering was a method of surface fishing with a long rod in dense brush and/or heavy weeds, while Bobbing was trolling with a deerhair bucktail. Both methods have survived down to the present in slightly altered forms (Southern Bass anglers refer to Skittering as "Flippin'").

-- Dr. Todd

News of the Week: 15 December 2008

A new 77 pound world record musky???...Will Obama be the next fishing president?...an old tackle box keeps on giving...amberjack fishing...Chinese poachers...spooning for walleyes...the 411 on fishing lines...shark fishing is fun...Australia's largest fishing tackle collection goes on display...Orvis' Helios rod...hoopster Tyson Chandler is quite the angler...the Winston Rod Company lays off staff...it must be THE NEWS OF THE WEEK!

The Big Lead: Is there a new world record 77 pound muskellunge???


Will Obama become the next in a long line of angling presidents?


An old tackle box is the gift that keeps on giving.

Cormorants are still the bane of European anglers, but now thanks to the E.U. there is hope to control their numbers.

The St. Petersburg Times gives us tips for amberjacks.

Russia Today exposes Chinese poachers who threaten fish stocks.


Spooning for ice walleyes is a lot of fun.


A trout hatchery is a great place to teach kids how to fish.


The Mooresville Tribune untangles questions about fishing lines.

The Island Packet tells us to be creative with our lures.

Shark fishing can be tons of fun.

Angling is worth almost a third of a billion to the Scottish economy.

Australia's largest vintage tackle collection is going on display.

Kingfish are bottom huggers and just waiting for anglers.

U.S.A. Rapala launches its Angler's Legacy holiday drive.

This trout program is producing big fish and big bucks.


Aussie anglers are up in arms over a proposed fishing ban.


A Brit gets hooked on Scandivanian fishing.

Orvis' Helios rod is still hot as a pistol.


How to choose bass tackle.

A profile of my favorite Florida fishing destination: Anna Maria Island.


NBA star Tyson Chandler is hooked on fishing.

Famous shark angler Dan Ficocello is bravely battling cancer.

Finishing with a Flourish: In a sign of the times, the Winston Rod Company is laying off workers.

-- Dr. Todd

Gratuitous Fish Pictures

Starting this week I'm going to start running an occasional feature on the blog: Gratuitous Fish Pictures. This week's gratuitous fish pictures come courtesy of Dale Caudell of Riverside, California. Here is his brief description of this fishing trip and some cook photos:

Todd: I was on a 10 day trip aboard the First String which returned on 11-20 08. This fish was caught on a Avet Whoo reel using 350 yds, 80 lb spectra with a topshot of Izorline (130 yds. & a 100lb steel leader). It took about 40 minutes of fighting the fish. It was 62 inches long & tipped the scales at 83.5 lbs...this was not to easy as I am 67 years old.





Man, this makes me very jealous I am not fishing right now. Thanks Dale!

Anyone who wants to submit some photos for Gratuitous Fish Pics feel free to email me!

-- Dr. Todd

Friday Funhouse

The Friday Funhouse
Video of the Week

Oversized claws? Check. Ability to turn that claw into a deadly weapon? Check. Ability to create weaponized sonic waves that disrupt submarine communications and bubbles as hot as the sun to kill prey? Check. Folks, your Shrimp Cocktail is angry and looking for payback.



Things I Would Buy If Only I Could Afford Them
Wow. An H.L. Leonard Bi-Metal fly reel is a wonderful way to lead off the Funhouse this week.


An Abbey & Imbrie Silver Lake fly rod is a nice later offering from when the firm was owned by Horrocks-Ibbotson.


These Neptune Bait Co. lures come to market every couple of years on dealer cards, but are always an attractive set.


This Winchester Split Shot tin is a very nice tin indeed.


A very old automatic fly reel--Yawman & Erbe to be exact--is always a nice find.


A very old Abbey & Imbrie stop latch reel would make someone a fine Christmas Present.


3 old fish spears for one bid means someone's den wall is going to be looking sweet very soon.


H.D. Folsom Arms sold some very neat (and somewhat mysterious) fly rods in their long history.


This fabulous E. Vom Hofe salmon reel was retailed by the Boston store of H.C. Litchfield & Co.


Instant Collection Alert: 22 pieces of Joseph Pepper metal.


How about a Horrocks-Ibbotson gaff hook in the box?


A Lyle Dickerson split bamboo rod is a work of art.


Creek Chub Bait Co. #100 Wigglers in intro boxes don't come around often at all in any condition.


Someone REALLY wants this Gladding Donegal 45 lb. line spool.


Charmers are sure charming baits.


A spinner marked "The Newell Co., Ogdensburg, N.Y." is a very rare piece of old New York metal.


This is a really neat Chicago leather tackle box known as The Knickerbocker.


This is a neat Heddon Chief Do-Wa-Gi-Ac casting reel in the box.


This a neat Dam Quick Microlite ultra lite spinning reel was one of the best of its kind when it came out.



As always, have a safe and happy weekend, and be good to each other, and yourself.

-- Dr. Todd