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More Fishing and Boating

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• Seaworthy: Start the season right

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Don’t forget the Annual Isles of Capri Garage Sale this Saturday — a one day event! There has been some really nice lures and other marine items sold at it in years past. Please drive carefully, there will be a bunch of people walking the neighborhood.

Lure number one for this week is an old wood Creek Chub Minnow. The metal lip is stamped 9-7-20 then under that is stamped CCBCO then under that Garret, Ind. You can tell it has been used as it sports tooth marks and one of the glass eyes was hit hard enough to take a small piece out of it.

The question is does the 9-7-20 mean September 7, 1920?

I had my doubts until I looked it up in a Creek Chub publication — Fishing Lures Collectibles by Dudley Murphy and Rick Edmisten. It was one of the first books I had when I started getting interested in antique tackle.

According to the information in the book, they kicked it all off in 1906 so this could mean this lure is one made in 1920 making it 86 years old. I would call this lure in fair condition for its age. It is remarkable how something like this can lay around for so long.

Lure number two is another lure I let lay around for some time. At first glance it looked like a homemade lure. Some of the painting on it looked like fingernail polish. I remember thinking whoever made this really used very good hardware and put it on my desk. It is a wood four-inch plug that I would call a spotted frog color. The under belly is a lighter wood color with red dots, finger nail polish maybe, three sets of hooks and a metal spinner on the tail. The darn thing kept haunting me until the other day so I decided to take a closer look. I cleaned the metal spinner up, put it under a magnifying glass and low and behold the lettering on the spinner was Shakespeare USA. So, it looks like it is not homemade after all but a really old Shakespeare Special instead. I am not sure how far it dates back but it is a good bet it is at least 40 years old plus.

The fact that it has a better hook hardware and the Shakespeare name is on the spinner convinces me Shakespeare made it. I do believe someone along the line did doctor the paint up dropping the value if so. Anyone out there that would like to comment on it, please do.

Now for a really old thing. Several years ago I was cleaning an old tackle box out and stumbled upon a small compass with a like new leather wrist strap.

It looks like it was made for a child. I took a quick look at it, smiled and said to myself, “I wonder what kind of cereal box top or label the kid sent in to get this.”

I was really savvy as to the drill to get these items. A special hat, compass or that code ring that only the listeners of the show could get by sending a cereal box top or a label or top of that special cold drink was a favorite pastime of mine as a kid.

I started to throw it away and then my mind drifted back to the days I was 12 years old, living in Greensburg, IN and would rush home from school to catch Superman, Capt. Midnight, The Shadow, Sky King radio broadcast and for some reason put the compass back in the box.

About a year later I came across the compass again and decided to clean the dust off of it and when I turned it over I found a price tag on it. The price was faded out but the words, The Fair, Chicago were as clear as a bell.

It was probably purchased for a kid and made its way into that tackle box. I typed the Chicago World’s Fair in search on the computer and here is what I got.

1933 Chicago World’s Fair, a century of progress, May 27, 1933/October 31, 1934 features Sally Rand’s Fan Dancing.

I wish this little compass could talk.

Collecting antique tackle and other old things can spawn some very interesting stories, not so much about the item but the context behind them.

I will never forget what happened several years ago with a phone call. “Hi, Mr. Stier, I have some of my father’s fishing tackle and thought you might be interested in it. My husband and I will be on Isles of Capri tomorrow, would around 9 a.m. be okay for you?”

I said “fine!” and they pulled into the drive the next day.

We started to chat as her husband popped the trunk lid. Two old large Penn reels rigged with split bamboo rods were in the truck. I turned to them and said, “you are welcome to come in and see my stuff but there is no real need to bring the rods in as I already have two sets like yours inside.”

I told them what I paid for my two rods and reels and added that theirs would be worth more if there was some special history to them.

The lady turned to me and said, “my father chartered his boat in the Keys during the winter and owned a fishing lodge up north that was quite busy during the spring, summer and fall months. It was more of a hobby to him but he had some very interesting clients that included the Kennedy family and President Herbert Hoover who was his favorite.”

I said, “the Kennedy family?”

“Yes,” she replied, “and I have pictures of my dad and Mr. Hoover standing in the stern of the boat with these two rods and reels in the rod holders. Also a fishing poem Hoover wrote for my dad, signed by him and a letter from John John Kennedy when he was a little boy. He was thanking my dad for taking him fishing. I have more photos and documents!”

“The value of the rods just went up,” I said, “why don’t we take them inside and talk?”

I purchased the tackle from her and invited her to be my guest on Anglers Outlook. She said she would think it over, called the next day to say yes but added, “I don’t want to overdo my father. He was a very good father but was not around much with all his activities.”

“No problem,” I assured her, “we will just go with the flow.”

She was great on the show, talking about her father but when we were off the air I turned to her and said, “you have some tears in your eyes, did I say something wrong?”

“No,” she replied, “you were fine. I am so happy I came to your show. It forced me to talk about my father and I realize now what a wonderful and interesting person he really was with his hunting and fishing and politics.”

I hope this story touches you, pass it on if it did.

Good hunting!

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Red Stier is a weekly contributor to the Marco Island Eagle. Questions or comments may be directed to redstier@aol.com or 172 Trinidad St., Naples, FL 34113.