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 Tarpon Bay, Florida. The incredible size and tremendous fight put up by these beautiful leaping salt water tarpon fish, also known as the “Silver King”, made them an immediate hit with big game sports fishermen worldwide.

Hundreds of prominent anglers such as American industrialist Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone, and world famous inventor Thomas Edison all built their vacation mansions in Florida just so they could fish for the “Silver king” annually. And, as early as 1887 the Henry Hall Sons Line company was making their special “SILVER KING” brand of linen fishing lines for a number of prominent American sporting goods firms. One such famous sporting goods firm that Hall made their “Silver King” line for in 1903 was the Schmelzer Arms Company of Kansas City, MO.

The “Silver King” Tarpon fishing line spool shown here is the only known surviving example in existence today that features Schmelzer’s famous “turn of the century” logo with their slogan “We Pride Ourselves On quality”.

Comments or questions may be sent to John at johnsetch@aol.com