1937 Hall’s Celebrated Florida Pride Brand Twisted Linen Fishing Line Card This 1937 Hall’s Celebrated FLORIDA PRIDE brand twisted linen fishing line coiled on a rectangular card was manufactured from the highest quality flax imported from Ireland by the Henry Hall Line Company (est. 1840) of Highland Mills, New York. This line which came in […]
Tag Archives: Fin and Flame
Heddon Crab Spook Lure The Heddon Crab spook was a short lived antique lure. This plastic crab shaped lure was first introduced in 1935 and was produced all the way through 1943. The Crab Spook was given a model series number 9900 & 9909. This classic vintage lure used 2 bead eyes, and flap rig […]
Fishing For History, Trade House Tackle
52 Trade Houses Part 14 The Tackle of General Merchandise Co. of Milwaukee
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 […]
Antique Reels, Fishing For History, Fly Fishing
Alonzo H Fowler Forgotten Pioneer of the Bamboo Fly Rod Part II
Alonzo H. Fowler: Forgotten Pioneer of the Bamboo Fly Rod, Part II Alonzo H. Fowler:Forgotten Pioneer of the Bamboo Fly Rod, Part IIBy Dr. Todd E.A. LarsonCopyright 2019, all rights reserved.As tournament casting was the premier way to advertise a fine bamboo fly rod in the 1870s, the 1876 tournament was shaping up to be […]
Alonzo H. Fowler Forgotten Pioneer of the Bamboo Fly Rod Part I Today and tomorrow, I am happy to share with everyone an article I have been working on in bits and pieces for the past seven years. It deals with a forgotten pioneer of the split bamboo fly rod, and will hopefully be the […]
Decker Lure Box Chronology by Tim Clancy Today we are all fortunate to have a guest author here on the blog, Tim Clancy. Here, he illuminates one of his passions: Ans. B. Decker history. Ans. B. Decker and his father and three brothers were all well known fishing guides on Lake Hopatcong, a huge resort […]
Tight Lines Tuesday Fred Arbogast Tight Lines Tuesday by John Etchieson – Fred Arbogast made fishing line too – Among the collectors of antique and collectible fishing tackle the name Fred Arbogast is well known. Fred Arbogast was one of the true pioneers of the fishing lure industry. As with so many who enter the […]
Antique Reels, Fishing For History, Voices from the Past
Voices from the Past The History of the Nottingham Wooden Winch
The following article came from the London Fishing Gazette, 07 September 1895. It details the background history of the famed Nottingham Wooden Winch. History of the Nottingham Wooden Winch Anglers throughout the country are by this time familiar with the qualities of the Nottingham wooden winch, and a few facts in connection with its invention […]
Live Action Frog Lure The Live Action Frog Lure shown in the box below is quite a fishing lure contraption. The fishing lure was first made in 1960 by the Action Frog Corporation out of Long Beach, California. This antique frog lure is 5 1/5″ inches in length overall. This crazy frog lure has a […]
Heddon Torpedo Lure Model Series 130 This gem is a Heddon Torpedo Lure Model Series 130. The 130 was first introduced by Heddon of Dowagiac, Michigan in 1924 and would last for 35 years until 1959. The Torpedo would cross decades of composition changes from material it was made from, eye type, hook and hardware […]
52 Trade Houses Part 12 Davidson’s Firearms of Greensboro NC Trade House Tackle, Part 12:Davidson’s Firearms of Greensboro, NC This episode of 52 for 52 will deal with one of my very favorite kinds of trade houses: gun dealers that sold fishing tackle. Throughout history many legendary gun names–Winchester, Remington, Browning, etc.–lent their names to […]
Antique Lures, Antique Reels, Collectible Fishing Empherma (Books, Catalogs, Photos, Etc)
Angling Marketplace March STA Times
March 8-18, 2019 Seller Timed Auction This timed auction catalog will go live and bidding will commence Friday, March 8 at 7:00pm. After 10 days of bidding, on Monday, March 18, if any lot receives a bid during the last 10 minutes of the auction (6:50-7:00pm), an extension timer will start on that lot for […]
19th Century Fishing Lures, Antique Lures, Antique Reels, Collectible Fishing Empherma (Books, Catalogs, Photos, Etc), Fishing For History, Voices from the Past
Voices from the Past James Grant
Voices from the Past James Grant There is nothing more delightful than coming across a reference to a fishing tackle maker in an unexpected place. In my “other job” as a history professor I try to keep up on recent research. A fairly recent book I picked up called Gwen Raverat: Friends, Family and Affections […]
19th Century Fishing Lures, Fishing For History
Yankee Doodle: The American Humorist’s Take on Victorian Angling
Yankee Doodle: The American Humorist’s Take on Victorian Angling When I was working on my dissertation (which dealt with the überexciting subject of British travel writing in the Balkans), I would consistently be distracted by the British humor journal Punch. Punch was a legendary satirical political journal that took swipes at all aspects of British […]
JD Allen Antique Lure Fish Spoon This JD Allen Antique Lure Fish Spoon is kind of a 19th Century fishing lure head scratcher for me. These spoons are marked JD Allen, South Otselic, NY and a size number 4. One of the main mysteries Ive never been able to resolve is, in Arlan’s book, JD Allen […]
Antique Lures, Antique Reels, Fishing For History, Trade House Tackle
52 Trade Houses in 52 Weeks Part 11 Henry C. Lytton’s The Hub of Chicago
52 Trade Houses in 52 Weeks Part 11 Henry C. Lytton’s The Hub of Chicago Trade House Tackle, Part 11:Henry C. Lytton’s “The Hub” and its Fishing Tackle This week we get a fun little history of a venerable Chicago iconic institution–Henry C. Lytton’s “The Hub” stores and their foray into fishing tackle. Henry C. Lytton […]
Antique Lures, Antique Reels, Collectible Fishing Empherma (Books, Catalogs, Photos, Etc), Fly Fishing, The Friday Fun House
Friday Fun House February 8th Edition
Dr. Todds Friday Fun House Good Reads ABOUT THE BOOK Back after constant demand, and fully revised and expanded! It’s Don Wheeler’s Frog Lure Collector’s Guide, and it has been expanded by a full 30% (now coming in at a loaded 352 pages. It’s the largest color book we’ve ever done, or will ever likely […]
Tight Lines Tuesday The Pelican Brand by John Etchieson The Pelican Brand – H. J. Frost & Company was a jobber and wholesaler of all types of fishing tackle in New York, City in the early 1900 – 1920 period and sold under the name Jack Frost Tackle, using the trade marks KELSO, SENATE, ANCHOR […]
Antique Lures, Antique Reels, Fishing For History, The Friday Fun House
Friday Fun House February 1st Edition
Dr. Todds Friday Fun House Were testing out a few new columns in the fishing for history magazine so I thought I would add a few samples to the Friday Funhouse News & Noteworthy ORCA announced the Dates of its National Convention in Oklahoma in concert with the folks from Zebco for their 75th anniversary. […]
Collectible Fishing Empherma (Books, Catalogs, Photos, Etc), Fishing For History, Fly Fishing
Thaddeus Norris, Profile of a Rodmaker, Part 2
Thaddeus Norris, Profile of a Rodmaker, Part 2 By Dr. Todd E.A. Larson Rodsmithing 101 Thad Norris’ importance went far beyond just the fly rods he made with his own hand. His Chapter XVII in The American Angler’s Book entitled “Rod-Making” gives a succinct overview of the contemporary state of rod building that is the […]
Samuel Allcock & Company The following history of the venerable British firm of Samuel Allcock was published in the 1888 edition of Wyman’s commercial encyclopædia of leading manufacturers of Great Britain. Allcock was one of the largest — if not the largest — makers of fish hooks in the world and branched out to produce materials […]
Antique Lures, Antique Reels, Trade House Tackle
52 Trade Houses in 52 Weeks Part 1 Wyeth Hardware Company
52 Trade Houses in 52 Weeks Trade House Tackle, Part 1: Trade House Tackle Thursday, 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 Fin & […]
A Discourse on Trade Tackle Dr Todd and I decided to combine powers last year on a few fronts, besides the Fishing For History & Angling Echoes magazines, we tapped into our wonder twins powers to activate our internet powers, more specifically, our blog sites. For anyone who has attempted a site, a blog, a […]
Angling Echoes October 2018 Angling Echoes October 2018; About This Issue This is a strange issue, which is probably right in line with October being a strange month. For some reason I collected a lot of oddball articles this month, as these kinds of things always interest me, and I hope will interest you as […]
Antique Lures, Antique Reels, Collectible Fishing Empherma (Books, Catalogs, Photos, Etc), Fishing For History, Fishing For History Magazine
Fishing For History Volume 2 Number 4
Fishing For History Volume 2 Number 4 Fishing For History Vol 2 No 4 September – October 2018 About This Issue Click to Visit Fishing for History Deconstructing old Ads with Bill Sonnett: The Long Island Flasher…1 Heddon After Heddon, Part IV by Dr. Todd E.A. Larson…4 The Golden Anniversary of the Carbon Fibre Rod […]
Pepper Roman Spider Antique Fishing Lure The Pepper Roman Spider Antique Fishing Lure is a truly timeless lure. This great classic antique fishing lure dates back over 100 years and comes to us from a small central New York Town, Rome, NY. Pepper was an innovator, and inventor and a key cog in the wheel […]
Antique Lures, Collectible Fishing Empherma (Books, Catalogs, Photos, Etc), Fishing For History, Fly Fishing
Tight Lines Tuesday Silver King
Tight Lines Tuesday Silver King by John Etchieson – Tight Lines Tuesday Silver King; The “Silver King” and the Schmelzer Arms Company – The first tarpon ever caught with a rod and reel was taken in 1885 by W. H. Wood using bait and a thumb stall reel with linen line on Sanibel Island in […]
Vermilion Mouse Lure The Vermilion Mouse Lure is a cool little unit. This antique lure is wooden with faceted glass eye and has a leather tail. The mouse lure was first introduced in n the early 1920’s somewhere between 1922 to 1924, and was made by Frank Knill of Vermilion Ohio. The lure itself, minus […]
NFLCC Greater Milwaukee Lure Show NFLCC Greater Milwaukee Lure Show; Ever Wondered what it was like to look through the eyes of a antique lure collector? Mac Hoover did an amazing job in this short piece about the Greater Milwaukee Classic. If your interested in the history of fishing (Bass, Ice, Fly, Carp, Crappie, Salt […]
Antique Lures, Fishing For History, Fishing For History Magazine, Fly Fishing
Friday Funhouse January 19 2018
Friday Funhouse January 19 2018 Friday Funhouse January 19 2018; The Video of the Week If you have about 50 minutes you need to watch this beautiful movie by James Prosek, as he retraces the steps of Izaak Walton. Really well done. 10 Thing I Would Buy If Only I Could Afford Them This […]
Antique Lures, Antique Reels, Collectible Fishing Empherma (Books, Catalogs, Photos, Etc), Fly Fishing
Tight Lines Tuesday Captain’s Pride
Tight Lines Tuesday Captain’s Pride Tight Lines Tuesday Captain’s Pride; Captain Henry Hall (1821 – 1892) a seafaring man from Belfast Ireland came to America in 1838 and by 1840 established the Henry Hall Company to make Irish linen fishing lines which he called Cuttyhunk lines. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the […]
Paw Paw Old Wounded Minnow Lure The Paw Paw Old Wounded Minnow Lure was the Paw Paw Bait Company’s answer to the industry craving for injured minnows. Imitation being the nearest and dearest sense of flattery, or just pure marketing trying to get a piece of what was a booming business for both Heddon and […]
Aqua Sport Storm Diving Doodle Bug Lure This Aqua Sport Storm Diving Doodle Bug Lure was a neat novelty of its time. As I had noted in the article about the Glop Lure Storm began with the two Brothers Gary and William in 1964. After 1968 brother Richard also joined the company. It wasn’t until […]
Heddon Spin Diver Antique Lure The Heddon Spin Diver Antique Lure is one of Heddon’s most iconic, and identifiable golden age lures. The antique lure first was introduced in 1918 and wouldn’t last as long as most of the other under-water minnow versions. The Spin Diver made by Heddon of Dowagiac, Michigan was given a model […]
Heddon Tiny River Runt Spook Lure The Heddon Tiny River Runt Spook Lure was first introduced in 1953. This lure made by Heddon of Dowagiac Michigan was given a model series number 350. This Plastic spook lure was made in the likeness of all the previous runt spooks yet just made smaller. The antique fishing […]
Antique Lures, Collectible Fishing Empherma (Books, Catalogs, Photos, Etc), Miscellaneous Lure Makers
Mercury Minnow Lure
Mercury Minnow Lure This Mercury Minnow Lure Sales Sheet discusses the feature functions and benefits of the Mercury Minnow antique lure. The Mecoy Tackle Company of Grosse Point Michigan introduced this fishing lure in 1949. The Mercury minnow is just that it’s namesake coming from the ball of Mercury that rolls around inside the lure […]
Oliver Gruber Glo Worm Antique Fishing Lure The Oliver Gruber GloWurm Antique Fishing Lure is quite an interesting story. Over the last few years I’ve touched on a few of the lure makers that thought outside the box. Alfred Oliver and James Gruber thought inside the box, so to speak. As the Story is Told; “On […]