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More Fishing and Boating

• Anglers Outlook: Rainy season — bigger fish?
• On the Hook: A trip to the softer side of fishing
• Barracuda chases catch into boat

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Last week’s article featured some of the runts of the fishing lures and spoon industry. It spawned some nice comments. Most of them talked about using the baits up north and one fellow made the comment he also used the larger ones for larger fish. With that in mind I thought I would feature a little of both this week.

The first one for this week is a Whopper made by the Marathon Bait Company, Wausau, Wisc. The lettering on the 9 ½ inch yellow box with red lettering reads Marathon Tackle, Muskie Hawk 5/0 #111720, Pat #N/R. The total length of the lure/spoon is 8 ½ inches rigged with a spinner blade that is also stamped Marathon Muskie Hawk, a large triple hook with a large ball of red hair sprinkled with some gray hair.

It has never been used, still in the box like many baits we find. I am sure this lure would have been a real hot lure for Spanish mackerel, kingfish and fishing for snook in the inland and outer shoreline waters.

While some of their baits could date back to the 1930s, this Muskie Hawk is more likely to be from the late 1940s to the mid 1950s.

The next lure is what I call a baby bait made by the Shannon Lure Company. The box reads Shannon Twin Spinner Weedless, Snagless, Shannon Lure Co., Div. Jamison Tackle Corp., Chicago 18, Ill.

It is more like a combo of a large hand tied fly or jig and has a weedless attachment that in turn has twin spinners. The spinners are also stamped Shannon.

There is an old price tag on it that reads G.E.M. $1.22. As far as I know the company was making lures as early as 1917. I am sure this twin spinner comes from the late 1940s to mid 1950s. While the value may not be much more than the old price tag on it, it could be a nice addition to an old fly/jig display.

The third lure of the week is another neat old spoon called Pflueger Zam Spoon. The length of the spoon itself is 2 1/4 inches, total length including the hook and the large ball of hair is 4 1/4 inches. You can tell it has been used in saltwater due to a bit of rust in the screw area that holds the hook.

It’s a good bet this bait could date back to the very early 1940s. I think I will put it in a display next to the Shannon Twin Spinner, Snagless fly/lure.

My fourth item this week is an old leather fighting belt. I found it at a garage sale and like so many anglers the gentleman purchased it just before moving to our area and never used it because he focused on the lighter fishing in the inland and outer shoreline.

You do not see many of them in such great condition. The only information I have found on it is the letters Ruff ‘n Ready 1500 on the front of it. I plan on e-mailing a picture of it to some of the members of Florida Antique Tackle Collectors; maybe we can find the company that made this really nice leather fighting belt.

One last reminder, the Florida Antique Tackle Collectors (FATC) Spring Show, open to the public, is May 3, at the Mark W. Lance National Guard Armory, 190 San Marco Ave., St. Augustine, Fla. 32084. It is a good bet this show could attract a good number of people with their old tackle for Georgia and Alabama. Some will be looking for the free appraisal which the club offers. They may also place the tackle in the club auction for a small fee if they wish to sell any item.

The FATC has about 400 plus members from all over the U.S., Canada and overseas. While a small number are from overseas I think they go to the FATC winter shows.

You may go to their Web site www.fatc.net or contact the show host Mike Hall at flalake@aol.com for more information.

Their Summer Show will be in St. Petersburg. I will have more information about it later.

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.