Wright McGill Eagle Claw History

This Wright McGill Eagle Claw History tale was taken from an excerpt from the Company in 1974. Stories like these breath life into the companies that we as collectors seek out. Being able to bring the different pieces of the puzzle to the table and recreate history with lore.

Wright McGill Eagle Claw History

It Happened in the late 1920’s after Drew McGill and Stan Wright formed the Wright & McGill Co., for the tying of high grade fishing flies. Drew was on the Upper Colorado River Perusing his favorite sport, fly fishing that magnificent stream.

It all happened when he stopped to light his pipe and take a short rest.

The mornings fishing had not been as good as it could have been, for it seemed that even though the rainbows and the natives were rising, they were difficult to hook. While thinking of this and the ways that he could improve his fishing techniques, he watched the lazy circles of two large eagles. As he sat quietly enjoying this wilderness scene, one of the eagles slowly spiraled downward and landed beyond him in the top of a dead cottonwood; the tips of the birds talons lightly gripping a weathered bare limb. His thoughts turned to the penetrating power of the fish hooks he was using.

As the powerful bird took to the air, Drew took his fishing fly and holding it by the tiny leader pulled it across the leather of his fishing creel. The point scraped along the leather, but did not penetrate. Using his fishing pliers, he changed the shape of the hooks by slightly curving the point. He tried the fly again and found that, this time it would penetrate. He quickly modified several flies and was back on the stream. The results were encouraging, and he eagerly tested shapes and sizes until driven from the stream by an afternoon thunderstorm.

Returning to the factory in Denver, Drew started working to produce a fish hook design with greater penetrating power. A hook that would exert this power in the direct line of pull of the leader. Frlm this research came a fish hook that had sweeping curves and sharped points. It was forged for strength and was double offset for greater hooking quantities. The hook’s point was indirect line of pull and shaped like the talons of that mighty bird.

The Rest is History.

This design quickly swept the country, for it offered the first improvement in fish hooks in hundreds of years.

When Drew and Stan sat down to name their new product, what else could it have been except Eagle Claw? That’s How it all happened, and thats the story of a bird that built a business.