About a half-century ago

[Phil Lilley]

Have any of you guys been to the Fishing Museum here in Branson?  I'd love to be the bug on the wall and listen to you guys talk about the stuff in that place.

If an OA group every wanted to meet and go, I can get a group rate.  He needs more exposure for his place.

[Al Agnew]

That would be fun, Phil!

We've been concentrating on river smallmouth lures, but there are a bunch of lures that I occasionally still use on the rare occasions when I fish for reservoir largemouth.  Back in the old days of my dad and I fishing Wappapello, we caught a LOT of big bass on two crankbaits, the Bomber and the Hellbender.  Back then, the stump fields were still full of stumps instead of the somewhat scattered remnants that are left now, and the fish would move up onto those stump fields in 5-8 feet of water in the summer, where those two lures really shined.  Funny, those fish were feeding on shad, and neither lure looked anything like a shad; we used two colors of Bombers, the Christmas tree color and a color we called the ladderback, both of which vaguely resembled shad colors, and we used the shad colored Hellbender, but as a kid, my favorite hellbender color was frogback, and my mom's favorite color was coachdog.  So Dad would fish the shad color, I'd be fishing frogback, Mom coachdog...and it didn't seem to make a bit of difference to the fish. 

Other than those, we used a Pico Perch, which was a non-rattling predecessor to the Rattletrap, and a variety of topwater lures.  Our main topwaters were the Porter Pop Top and Duz Biz, the Hoodler, the Lucky 13 with a prop added on the rear, the Smithwick Devil's Horse and Buck'n'Bawl, and occasionally a few other lures.  I'll post some pictures later.

[DADAKOTA]

Oh my.  Thanks for bringing back the memories of my wife's Grandpa Clarence Cavender.  Before Table Rock was built he owned the drug store in Galena, MO and sold fishing gear as well as set up and guided float trips on James river. He later was on the Lake Committee when Table Rock was being born and was at the dedication.  Later they moved to Stockton where he was head of the lake Committee to get Stockton put in.   He had a couple old tackle boxes that held many of the lures they used to sell in the drug store including several of the Peck and Shannon baits.  His favorite river bait was a lucky 13.  I watched him catch some nice bass on the Sac with that bait.  He was also a great woodworker and built display boxes for the old baits.  Unfortunately one of the local antique dealers caught wind of these boxes and she made him an offer he couldn't refuse.  Luckily she didn't get his old glass minnow traps, one of which resides in my man cave.  Thanks again for this topic as I remember him, the times we fished, and stories he told me.

[Al Agnew]

First picture is of crankbaits from back in the 1960s...frogback and shad Hellbenders on top, ladderback and Christmas tree Bombers beneath them, and on the left a Creek Chub Crawdad.  This lure had rubber legs screwed to its belly; you can still see one of them, but the rubber has mainly become so brittle it breaks off easily.

Second picture is of topwaters.  I can't find my Porters right now, but on top is the Smithwick Devil's Horse on left and Buck'n'Bawl on right.  Beneath them, the Injured Cisco on left and Hoodler on right.  I've caught fish on all these lures in recent years.

We also caught fish in the early spring on the Helin Flatfish.  And occasionally Dad would throw a big Shannon Twin Spin.  But our lure selection was pretty limited back then.  

[fishinwrench]

Here are a couple of interesting ones.

[snagged in outlet 3]

I've seen the first one.  But what the heck is that second one?

[Chief Grey Bear]

Here is a oddity for you. This was developed and made by a man in Detroit. 

The design was so you could quickly change colors by simply changing out the body onto the main frame.  Each body had two pins that would snap into the frame.  The fellow that developed this did so with the mindset of selling it to a large lure manufacturer.  No manufacturers were interested in his idea and this is the only known set to still exist!  I do not know the name that he had for this lure. 

[Chief Grey Bear]

 

Have any of you guys been to the Fishing Museum here in Branson?  I'd love to be the bug on the wall and listen to you guys talk about the stuff in that place.

If an OA group every wanted to meet and go, I can get a group rate.  He needs more exposure for his place.

Lets do it! I'm open on dates. 

Al, what works for you?

Anyone else?

[Chief Grey Bear]

I forget the name of this one.

[fishinwrench]

 

I've seen the first one.  But what the heck is that second one?

It's a Johansson fish trap.   Here's a pic of it cocked and loaded.

Pretty much the scariest thing you'll ever hold in your hand.  There is some serious tension on that spring.