Fish

"We never get over the fishing fever, it’s

a delightful disease and thank the Lord

There is no cure.”

~ Author Unknown

Wall Exhibits ~

Vintage handmade gaff fashioned from an old wooden golf club. Dates to late 1800’s

Front page newspaper photo of young boy with very large tarpon, dated 1931.

Dick Bothwell’s “Master Snooker” certificate to Loren Peruche. A local fishing legend who was still catching Snook into his early nineties. Dick Bothwell was a well-known humor columnist and cartoonist for the St. Petersburg Times.

1940’s advertising poster for Bristol metal rods. The art was also featured in Field & Stream magazine.

1930’s 8-ft perle cotton cast net. Until 1939, cast nets were made of soft-laid cotton twine. In the 1940’s, nylon began replacing cotton until 1959 when Dupont introduced Stren, a thinner and much softer monofilament material. All nets were hand tied until 1951 when a Japanese firm started manufacturing machine-made nets. Today, hand tying nets is fast becoming a lost art.

REELS ~

Glass Case Top Shelf - left to right}
Bronson Skeleton Fly Reel – This artistically designed vintage reel is from the Bronson Co. of Bronson, MI. They were in business from 1922 until the 1970’s. This particular reel was made in the 1930’s.
Perrine Fly Reel, Model 51 – This reel was acclaimed to be “The Choice of the Presidents”. Production of the popular automatic reel began in the 1930’s. This model was from the 1950’s.
Shakespeare Silent Tru-Art Fly Reel – Manufactured in the 1950’s, the automatic reel was as attractive as it was dependable. Note the nice scroll work on the side plates.
Hendryx 60-yard Raised Pillar Reel – Produced by one of the oldest reel makers (started in 1887). This little reel was made around 1900.
Meisselbach Takapart Mod. 481 – The Meisselbach Brothers from Germany started their reel company in Newark, NJ in 1885. The company, known for making sturdy precision reels, made the Takapart in 1907.
Shakespeare Wondereel Model 1920 – The company’s most popular and enduring reels. This particular model is from 1946. It’s spooled with black cotton line.
Shakespeare “Ideal” – Much in demand, this nickel silver reel of 1938 come in a nice leather case. The reel is spooled with multi-colored cotton line.
J. C. Higgins Model 48 – The Bronson Company made this reel exclusively for Sears Roebuck during the 1950’s with its fishing scene engraving on the side plates. It is one of the prettiest reels ever made.
Abu Garcia Ambassaduer 5000 – The most popular baitcast reel ever made. Produced in Sweden and introduced to the United States in the early 1950’s.
Four Prong Gaff Hook – is fashioned from a railroad spike. Circa 1840’s.

Glass Case Second Shelf - left to right}

South Bend No. 60 – More famous for its lures, South Bend did make some nice reels in the 1940’s - 1960’s. This model, 3^rd in a series, was made in the late 40’s.
Montgomery Wards “Sport King” – One of the department store’s signature reels from the 50’s was also a pretty impressive work of art. Note the engraving on the side plates.
Shakespeare Marhoff – This attractive little baitcast reel was made in 1946.
Pflueger Model 1573 Supreme – This baitcast reel from the 1930’s is from one of the oldest tackle manufacturers of all time – the Pflueger Co., established in 1864.
Johnson Century Model 100-A – The earliest of the company’s closed faced spinning reels. Made in the 1953, it was very popular since it was so easy to use.
Airex Bache-Brown Spinster - This strange looking spinning reel was made by Airex, a Division of the Lionel Corp., the same company that made toy trains. The reel is from the 1940’s.
Bache-Brown Mastereel – Another quality reel from Lionel. This spinner was a later design, debuting in the early 1950’s.
Ted Williams 450 – This spinning reel was made for Sears Roebuck by the Zanei Co. located in Torin, Italy in the late 1950’s. The Hall of Famer’s name sold a lot of reels for Sears.
Penn Spin Fisher 710 – Begun in 1933 in Philadelphia, PA, and still going strong today, the Penn name has always been associated with quality and dependability. Such was the case with the Spin Fisher line first introduced in the 1940’s.
D.A.M. Quick 330 – This West German import was from a company that started making reels in Berlin in 1902. Its spinning models, exported to the United States beginning in 1932, were quite popular. This one is from 1965.
Garcia Mitchell 300 – The reel that sparked the spinning reel craze in the 1940’s. The French import became the favorite reel of most ‘baby boomers” of today.
Glass Case Bottom Shelf - left to right}
Shakespeare “Service” – This 1945 stainless steel offering from Shakespeare was a bit larger and heavier than most traditional baitcast reel.
Garcia Mitchell 622 – A great looking stainless-steel reel with white Bakelite side plates was also a strong offshore reel. Note the power handle on this 1960 version from France.
Penn Leveline 350 – Unique yet simple. This 1950’s Penn reel was a great choice for boat and bridge anglers. The twisting level wind bar allowed for better casting with less moving parts.
Pflueger Templar 1419 3/4 – Designed for big game, this 1935 reel utilized a leather thumb tab to create a manual drag rather than using a mechanical system.
Popeil Pocket Fisherman – Even if you don’t fish, you’re probably familiar with this “As Seen On TV” sensation from 1972. Kids especially loved it. Just don’t take it Marlin fishing!

Lures – Display Case #1 ~

1st Row - left to right}

“Breakless Devon” - by A. Wakeman, circa:1910
“The Prez” - Jimmy Carter era lure by Cordell, circa 1980
“Crazy Crawler” - by Heddon, circa 1930’s
“Abu Virveln” - by Abu Garcia (Sweden), circa 1955
“Ol’ Twitch” - soft bait by Burke Flexo Co., circa 1958
“Spinno Minnow” - by Uniline Co., circa 1940

2nd Row - left to right}

“Flatfish” – by Helin Tackle, circa 1935
“Deep 6” - by Heddon, circa 1960
“Sea Hawk” – by Porter Baits, Daytona Beach, circa 1940
“Bayou Boogie” – by A. D. Mfg. Co., circa 1955
“Baby Pikie” – by Creek Chub Baits, circa 1930

“Fish-O-Bite” – by South Bend, circa 1940

3rd Row - left to right}

“Lucky 13” – by Heddon, circa 1940
“Cyclone Spinner”- manufacturer unknown, circa 1915
“Bassmaster” – by L & S MirrOlure, circa 1940
“Dardevlet” - by Lou Eppinger, circa 1940
“Devil’s Horse MA Scooter” – by Smithwick, circa 1960
“Lazy Ike” – by Kantzky, circa 1930

Lures – Display Case #2 ~

1st Row - left to right}

“Zam” – by Pfleuger, circa 1940
“Sonic” – by Heddon, circa 1950
“Darter” - by Creek Chub Baits, circa 1950
“Fin-Dingo” – by South Bend, circa 1950
“Glo-Lite” – by Shakespeare, circa 1940
“Bass-Oreno” – by South Bend, circa 1930
“Gold Minnow” – by Rapala (Finland), circa 1950
“River Runt Spook” – by Heddon, circa 1940

2nd Row - left to right}

Folk-art Shell Spoon – circa 1920
“Jitterbug” – by Arbogast, circa 1950
“Deep Dive Tiger” – by Heddon, circa 1960
“Bomber” – by Bomber Bait Co., circa 1940
“Mooselook Wobbler” – Mooselook Baits, circa 1930
“Tadpolly Spook” – by Heddon, circa 1950
Abalone Kidney Spinner – circa 1905-1910
“Glo-Lite Pup” – by Shakespeare, circa 1938

3rd Row - left to right}

“Tiny Lucky 13 Spook” – by Heddon, circa 1950
Mother of Pearl Minnow – by Pfleuger, circa 1925
“Dalton Special” – FLA Fishing Tackle, St. Petersburg, circa 1948
“Red Eye Wiggler” – by Hofshneider, circa 1928
“Hustler” – by Arbogast, circa 1960
Baby “Crazy Crawler” – by Heddon, circa 1940
“2-inch Cisco Kid” – by Wallsten Co., circa 1950
“Ol’ Frog” – soft bait by Burke Flexo Co., circa 1955

Rod and Reel Combos ~

Below - lure boxes}

Vintage fly reel maker unknown, on an extremely old steel rod from about 1880 -1890.

Between - lure boxes and Bristol poster}

This combo from around 1920 consists of an early Bristol Steel rod and a rare 1920’s Marhoff reel.

Across cast net - top to bottom}

Early offshore combo features an Ocean City reel on a custom bamboo rod. Circa 1940’s.
Webb’s City spinning combo a strange looking combo at the time (around 1945), it was as unique as Webb’s City itself (a St. Petersburg, FL landmark). Manufacturer unknown but may have been from a different planet.
Penn 78 Sea Scamp deep sea reel from 1955 on a 1940’s Tru Temper Solid Glass Road.
Penn Defiance all metal reel on a handmade custom metal rod, circa 1935.

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