The Friday Funhouse

The Video of the Week

Don't forget to check out the Fishing For History Fishing Video Tumblr Archive where all the videos ever we've posted are stored!

If you are not familiar with the Wells Catfish, have yourself a look at one in this video.



12 Things I Would Buy If Only I Could Afford Them

This 570 Wahoo is a rare, later Vom Hofe reel.


A Heddon 100 in Green Crackleback in a wooden slide top box should be the poster child for vintage tackle.


Any marked clamp reel is rare, but a Haywood clamp reel is a particularly sweet find.


You don't see many Outing lures in original boxes.


I was not aware you could color collect Hurd supercasters.


This rare color Jitterbug is driving the Arbogast guys crazy.


Turtle brand creels have great eye appeal.


Paw Paw's Bullhead is one of my favorite shaped wooden baits.


Seen any Heddon Shrimp Spooks lately? Didn't think so…


Victory can be yours.


This is kind of a cool Johnson outboard motor stand.


A Chapman marked reel is one of the rarest trade reels around.



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

-- Dr. Todd

Fishing Northern Wisconsin 2011, Part I

Fishing Northern Wisconsin 2011, Part I

I've been incredibly busy the past six months and actually took my first break last week when I went fishing in my favorite Northern Wisconsin waters. The Sand Country of Aldo Leopold fame is where I feel most at home, and this week offered everything I've come to love about this part of the world--frigid weather (high 40s), intense heat (97), unpredictable weather, and lovely vistas. And, of course, a few fish.

As I'm working on my new book in my spare time on glass fly rods, I thought I would take along three glass rods to fish with, two vintage and one newer one. For the first time I used my custom built "Gnome Glass" 4 weight. Jeff Hatton built this for me on a vintage Scott blank (that was marked "Save for L. Kenney). I'm sure Larry would be happy to know it has been put to its designed use. It's a lovely, lovely rod. I was fishing bass with some home made poppers but could not keep the ravenous freshwater piranhas off the hook.


The first fish of the year on a Jeff Hatton "Gnome Glass" fly rod.
The schools of large sunfish were so big, in fact, it was difficult to get a bass to hit. I decided to beat the fish at their own game. Up at 5 a.m. I stalked down to the end of a particular point on a lake I fish regularly and cast out a hand made red popper. Here's what hit almost immediately:


Great 16" smallmouth on the Gnome Glass.
A sixteen inch smallmouth that came out of the water several times. The 4 weight Gnome Glass threw that bug 50 feet with ease, and even with a two pound test tippet the fish was landed and back home in less than five minutes. What a blast!

I decided that since I was in Wisconsin I would fish one of the Badger state's home rods--a St. Croix. This was a 10th Anniversary rod dating from the early 1960s and threw a five weight line very nicely. In an effort to get down deeper I switched to a sinking line and a bead head green bug. Fat chance. This just gave the biggest sunfish a chance to hammer it. I was regularly pulling 7"-10" bluegill and punkinseeds in. A lot of fun, but not what I was after. I began to feel like Jeremy Wade in the Amazon fishing for a big catfish and only catching Pacu.


St. Croix 10th Anniversary glass fly rod with a nice 8" bluegill.

Clone of the previous fish.

The weather turned brutally hot by the end of the week. So hot I didn't want to fish, but instead decided to try out my new underwater camera.


Gorgeous afternoon.

It's nothing special, a little 12 megapixel model, but it's waterproof to 30 feet and has a nifty underwater mode. I decided to see why I couldn't get many bass. Here's why:


My first underwater photo. Sunfish everywhere.

But this one explained everything. We could see them from the canoe, but dang, there were thousands of silver shiners in huge schools.


Clouds of silver shiners.
No wonder the bass were reluctant to hit. My brother-in-law took some underwater video which I'll try to get uploaded tonight or tomorrow.

The problem was the weather felt off. It felt like something big was brewing, and even the night before--a calm, pretty night--when I tried out my 1960s custom built J.E. Van Wettering fly rod, I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was on its way.


Sunset on the Sand Country.

My spider sense did not fail me. The storm to end all storms was about to descend on the sand country of Northern Wisconsin.

NEXT TIME: An inland hurricane.

-- Dr. Todd

52 Trade Houses Part 14: General Merchandise Co. of Milwaukee

Over the course of the next year, we'll be detailing the history of 52 companies that sold branded fishing tackle. 52 trade houses in 52 weeks -- some obscure, some famous, and all available exclusively here on the Fishing for History Blog! If you have any items from the week's entry you'd like to share with us, please send it my way and I'll make sure it makes it on the blog.

For a discussion of what exactly trade tackle is, Click Here. Enjoy the 52 for 52!

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Trade House Tackle, Part 14:
The Tackle of General Merchandise Co. of Milwaukee

This week in 52 for 52 we are featuring one of the many mail order catalog companies that exploded in the post-war era. General Merchandise Co. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin grew from humble roots into a massive conglomerate that eventually got purchased by one of the great merchants in American history.

Founded in the 1930s, the firm dealt in general merchandise from their home on Milwaukee's famous Water Street. It was founded by David Kritzik and his sons Robert and Stanley. An article published not long after his death in 1989 said "Kritzik founded General Merchandise Co. in the 1930s. The company became one of the largest mail order companies in the world. Kritzik also founded the Treasure Island Discount Store chain as a division of General Merchandise."

Mail order was their bread and butter. By 1939 they issued a catalog of 96 pages containing "charms, games, holiday decorations, notions, and novelties." In 1943, the company advertised it still had stock despite the fact most of the items could not be manufactured due to restrictions of the War Production Board.


Advertisement from Billboard Magazine, May 15, 1943.
After World War II, General Merchandise expanded rapidly. By 1948 the wholesale catalog (No. 83) was 148 pages, and the firm was expanding every year. It was one of the first to go to automated warehousing. As early as 1948, the company was utilizing the earliest IBM 14-10 computer which helped process 400 orders in 15 minutes.


Advertisement from Billboard Magazine May 3, 1947.
By 1960 the firm was running an IBM 650 Tape Ramac system and was doing $40,000,000 in catalog mail orders. Their automated consumer warehousing (spearheaded by Jim Miranda and Stanley Kritzik) was, in fact, so appealing that when retail giant J.C. Penney was looking to enter the discount store market as well as the catalog arena, they saw General Merchandise as the perfect opportunity to do both. In 1962, J.C. Penney purchased the General Merchandise Co. outright for $11 million, rebranding the discount chain of stores as The Treasury. Soon there were Treasury stores across the South. Penneys eventually shuttered them in 1981.

The main reasons Penneys wanted General Merchandise was for their catalog and automated warehouse, which eventually vaulted Penneys into a multi-billion dollar catalog merchant. It is because of General Merchandise Co.'s outstanding automated warehouse system that Penneys shipping operations remained in Milwaukee for decades, employing 6000 workers at its height.

It seems General Merchandise Co. got into fishing tackle in the post-war era. Carl Luckey referenced the firm's 1953 catalog when writing of Arnold lures, three of which appeared in the 1953 GMC catalog. The only piece of the firm's tackle I own is a great ca. 1955 line spool marked "Silver Stream" and "Distributed by General Merchandise Co., Milwaukee, Wis." I don't know if this name was a GMC trade name or not. I have heard of tackle boxes marked with the company's name as well. So while we know they carried a full line of tackle, we don't know exactly how much tackle they branded, or what items that branded tackle might be.


A GMC line spool ca. 1955.
All fishing tackle from this company appears to be rare, so those who own a piece have a nice slice of Wisconsin history and a rare item of trade tackle.

I'd love to hear from anyone with any more info on General Merchandise and its tackle!

-- Dr. Todd

News of the Week: 05 July 2011

Don't have time to read 50+ fishing and tackle collecting blogs and web sites? Well, let us do it for you! Follow all of the latest news, articles, and stories on our Whitefishpress Twitter account! Hint: You don't need to be a member...just bookmark the Twitter Feed Page or click on latest links to the right!

Bagley owner Bill Cullerton is interviewed…Kiwi tackle shop struggles to rebuild after earthquake…ORCA's Wisconsin convention gets a nice boost…NH loons being injured by discarded tackle…Britons celebrate independents' day by catching, cleaning, eating fish…NY State Outdoors Hall-of-Fame gets a new home…British anglers have final chance to get say in future of largest lake…B.A.S.S. angler John Crews is a compassionate guy…family attacked by flying carp…Field & Stream vintage tackle winner is a home-made ice fishing rod…Austrian angler gets zapped by power line…Schuykill river returns…angling in Thailand…your cell phone is scaring off fish…don't fear the ferrule in pack rods…30 million Americans fish…it must be THE NEWS OF THE WEEK!

THE BIG LEAD: An interview with new Bagley owner Bill Cullerton.


One Kiwi tackle shop struggles to rebuild after devastating earthquake.


ORCA's upcoming convention gets a nice boost.

New Hampshire loons are dying from fishing tackle.

in Britain Independents' Day means catching, cooking, eating fish.

The New York State Outdoorsman Hall-of-Fame has a new museum.

Anglers have last chance to get input into the future of Britain's largest lake.


B.A.S.S. angler John Crews is hooked on compassion.


Family attacked by Flying Asian Carp.


A fishing rod full of memories.

Field & Stream's vintage tackle winner this week is a great home-made ice fishing rod.

Austrian angler injured when rod touches power line.


The Schuykill river is making a comeback.


Angling in Bangkok.



Why your phone is scaring off fish.

Fly Rod & Reel says don't fear the ferrule in pack rods.

The Payson Roundup declares summer trout fishing in full swing.

Finishing with a Flourish: U.S. Census Bureau says 30 million go fishing.

-- Dr. Todd

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

We are on holiday as we celebrate the independence of our nation. We'll be back tomorrow with the News of the Week!



-- Dr. Todd

1000 Words

This is a really neat canoe fishing photo ca. 1920.



-- Dr. Todd

Deconstructing Old Ads: Reverend McDonald and the Bristol "Hex" Adjustable Rod (1932)

Reverend McDonald and the Bristol "Hex" Adjustable Rod


I don't have much history on the subject of today's advertisement from the June 1932 issue of Outdoor Life. It is the introductory ad for the common telescoping Bristol “Hex Adjustable steel rod that was seen advertised in “outdoor” magazines for many years. I remember them being for sale in the local Hardware store into the 1950s. I have one that sits on a shelf in my “Man Cave.” It's really there to remind me of one particular fisherman. His name was Reverend McDonald. He was in his eighties when I entered high school in 1958. He lived in Ada, Ohio and was a simple and kind individual. He looked a little like Barry Fitzgerald, who played the old priest in the movie “Going My Way” and wore the same old fashioned spectacles. My earliest memory of him was from age five when a neighbor boy and I decided to play George Washington and proceeded to mangle the good Reverend's cherry tree with the only thing we could find that resembled a hatchet, in this case a tack hammer. My mother marched us over to his front door where we were made to apologize. He talked to us both in a gentle manner and allowed as he thought the Cheery tree would recover. During one of my last conversations with him, when I was 18, I learned he was a retired preacher. We were sitting at the time beside a limestone quarry full of water, and while he fished I told him I was about to leave for college. He allowed as he had gone to “Bible College” to train for his life's calling.


I became aware of him as a fisherman at the age of six or seven while staying at my grandfather's cottage on the shore of Indian Lake in Ohio. He would come by and always make pleasant conversation as well as offer to sell produce from his garden to my grandmother. Looking back on it, I realize the man was poor by most monetary standards. He rented a special boat at O'Connor's Landing for $1. Later they gave him use of the boat for free for some kindness he had performed. It was an old flat-bottomed wooden rowboat that was pointed at both ends. This suited him just fine as he never owned or used a motor. He always rowed in the same direction he faced with that 'old time' circular motion in which only one oar touches the water at a time.

The car he drove was a late 1930s economy model. Affording gasoline was a problem for him to as it was a 35 mile drive to the Lake. He supplemented this cost with the sale of his vegetables and freshly caught fish to folks that lived along the shore. As he rowed along, sitting absolutely upright, he would occasionally move in to shore and pick up something while still seated in his boat. I was fascinated by this and finally asked him what he was doing. He explained that he could only make the trip to the lake once or twice a week due to the cost of gasoline and that he gathered discarded tin foil from the lunches that shore fishermen left behind and rolled it into a large ball which after many trips eventually got big and heavy enough to take to the local junk yard and receive a few cents toward affording another trip to the Lake. Talk about frugal.

There were periods of time when I could catch plenty of fish from my grandfather's dock using a cane pole and bobber. There were also times when the fish just did not bite. It did not matter if the fish were biting or not, when Rev. McDonald came rowing by, his rope stringer was “full up” with crappies, bluegills, bass, catfish and perch; and they always seemed to be bigger than the ones I was used to catching. I finally asked him how he caught all those fish. He suggested that I walk along the shore and and watch him fish and he would explain what he was doing as we went along. His equipment was as basic as it gets. A Bristol “Hex” Adjustable steel rod with a cheap, raised pillar reel that had seen long service. His line was heavy, black braided casting line with a plain hook on the end. No sinker, no Bobber, no leader, just a hook. After putting a worm on the hook (which I am sure he dug up in his garden) he would quietly approach an overhanging tree, a piling, a dock or any other object in the lake then slowly lower the worm down and move it gently up and down. There was no snap of the wrist or “heave ho,” he simply lifted the fish out of the water and quietly put it on the stringer then lowered the worm back down next to whatever object he had just taken a fish from. I learned that day that patience and slow, quiet movement caught fish when excitement didn't. If the object of his attention was just beyond his reach, he would simply pull out the old Bristol telescoping rod to whatever length (up to 8 feet) was necessary to reach to desired spot.

I have grown to appreciate the versatility of his simple tackle and method. More importantly I've grown to appreciate his kindness toward children and how an act of kindness can stick with them for the rest of their lives.

I think I'll just let that old Bristol Adjustable steel rod stay right there where I can see it.

-- Bill Sonnett

Friday Funhouse

The Video of the Week

Don't forget to check out the Fishing For History Fishing Video Tumblr Archive where all the videos ever we've posted are stored!

An incredible video of a Mako attacking a marlin:



12 Things I Would Buy If Only I Could Afford Them

This ABU 5500C is just incredible.


I think you need to check out this Fenwick Lunkerstik. After you get off the floor, readjust what you think is valuable fishing tackle.


If you cast this Boomerang lure, will it come back to you?


A Pflueger 2800DF in the box will make some Supreme collector happy.


The most underrated modern bamboo rods--the Orvis Superfine.


All together now…STELLA! STELLA!


They don't come much more complete than this Luny Frog combo.


This is a nifty 12 rib Jitterbug.


A Donaly Wow from 1928 is a brilliant classic bait.


Get me this Meek & Milam #2 STAT!


A vintage California Department of Fish & Game Warden's badge is super cool.


A Striper Pikie in Dace? Yes, please.



As always, have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend, and be good to each other--and be good to yourself, too.

-- Dr. Todd from HOT Northern Wisconsin