Our memories using lures

[WRB]

2020 is the year I stopped buying bass lures and started selling them after 65 years,

Six decades of buying and keeping lures resulted in having thousands of them.

Looking back a big part of bass fishing comes from buying and modifying lures.I tended to keep the lures to use to remember the successful outings and pass them on to my son. 

Lure memories isn’t reserved for my fresh water bass fishing it included salt water.

Every lure had a memory associated with it. Looking at them was a trip through time remembering the fish caught and who I was fishing with at the time.

Lures were a part of my life and I didn’t fully understand that until they were all gone after selling them.

I have the photos and comfortable with the knowledge the folks who bought them may enjoy the lures and memories that may have catching bass.

Tom

 

[A-Jay]

I've collected a few myself over the years.

Fish many of them.

Sold a bunch.

And saved some special ones to help remember a certain time in my life,

a notable trip, or that special fish.

It's just one of the many aspects of this sport that can always

'take you back' to a memorable time & place.  

This Mud Bug does that for me. (circa 1974)

A-Jay

[Bird]

What was the reason for selling all those lures  ?

I'm guessing you no longer fish but still enjoy the nostalgia. 

 

I do remember going to the bait shops as a youth and asking " what's catching fish ? " and using my hay making money and buying what was recommended. 

Never found lures to hold much sentimental value though but remember hair jigs and pork trailer as the first bait being recommended by the older men that frequently came in.

 

That's when fishing became an addiction because their advice lead to many successful outings. 

 

Furthermore, I'm guessing many years of fishing has lead to emotional connection that I've yet reached. 

 

 

[scaleface]

2 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

I've collected a few myself over the years.

Fish many of them.

Sold a bunch.

And saved some special ones to help remember a certain time in my life,

a notable trip, or that special fish.

It's just one of the many aspects of this sport that can always

'take you back' to a memorable time & place.  

This Mud Bug does that for me. 

A-Jay

I   have a few Mudbugs and still carry one or two in my crankbait box . I caught some hawgs with them back in the late 70's and early 80's .

[WRB]

16 minutes ago, Bird said:

What was the reason for selling all those lures  ?

I'm guessing you no longer fish but still enjoy the nostalgia. 

 

I do remember going to the bait shops as a youth and asking " what's catching fish ? " and using my hay making money and buying what was recommended. 

Never found lures to hold much sentimental value though but remember hair jigs and pork trailer as the first bait being recommended by the older men that frequently came in.

 

That's when fishing became an addiction because their advice lead to many successful outings. 

 

Furthermore, I'm guessing many years of fishing has lead to emotional connection that I've yet reached. 

 

 

My only son who I was saving everything for to inherit passed away 22 Jan this year in our arms at home from Renal cancer.

Overwhelming grief knowing all we cherished and saved for was gone. 

Selling kept me busy during Covid lock downs. I am not going to use my stuff so why not sell for other to enjoy.

Tom 

[Bird]

12 minutes ago, WRB said:

My only son who I was saving everything for to inherit passed away 22 Jan this year in our arms at home from Renal cancer.

Overwhelming grief knowing all we cherished and saved for was gone. 

Selling kept me busy during Covid lock downs. I am not going to use my stuff so why not sell for other to enjoy.

Tom 

Oboy, completely understand. 

Having children myself I can only imagine that level of devastation.

 

You likely posted this previously and I didn't know, sorry if I rekindled any feelings of sorrow. 

[WRB]

48 minutes ago, Bird said:

Oboy, completely understand. 

Having children myself I can only imagine that level of devastation.

 

You likely posted this previously and I didn't know, sorry if I rekindled any feelings of sorrow. 

No problem. It’s impossible to know grief of losing your son or daughter until living though it and know one should.

Tom passed away 5 days after his 38th birthday, he loved his career as a web engineer developer and we enjoyed fishing together since was old enough to walk.

Tom

 

[ThatZX14Fella]

Our hobbies are always more than they seem to be. Even if we love the hobby, the time we spend with loved ones doing what we love are the memories we cherish. Inanimate objects can and may change hands until the end of time, but memories stay with us.

[Mobasser]

I've always liked lures of all kinds, and have always been fascinated by "why" some work better than others. I have a modest collection of older ones. My first spinnerbait,  a Bomber Bushwacker, a scarred up  Bass Oreno, that my brother gave me, and my first deep diver, like A-Jay and scaleface, an Arbogast Mud Bug. These were three that I had luck on when I started. I have a few more also. Good post WRB.

[Jigfishn10]

11 hours ago, WRB said:

My only son who I was saving everything for to inherit passed away 22 Jan this year in our arms at home from Renal cancer.

Tom 

So sorry to hear that.

[Catt]

@WRB ?

 

Hunting/fishing for Cajuns was a food source & way of life. We didn't cook turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas the men folk got together & went duck/goose hunting.

 

I have a box of 12 ga. 2 3/4" paper shells of Winchester, Remington, & Peters.

 

@A-Jay Toledo Bend during the 70s was the Mudbug Capital of the World, second place was Whopper Stopper's Hellbender.

[WRB]

Some of the hot spots in lakes were named after lures like Bomber Alley and Mudbug point.

Whopper Stopper lures fought harder the the bass!

Duck and goose hunting was a family sport for us. I sold all my shotguns, rifles and pistols keeping 1 357 mag this year.

Still have 75 decoys, plus    duck calls in the attic to do something with.

The old Shannon twin spin bucktail with a swing head is interesting lure that caught/lots of big bass including 8 lb at Big Bear in the early 60’s. Forgot about that bass until looking at the lure recently. I sent a photo of the Shannon for the old stuff reel thread.

Tom 

 

[river-rat]

3 hours ago, Catt said:

@WRB ?

 

Hunting/fishing for Cajuns was a food source & way of life. We didn't cook turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas the men folk got together & went duck/goose hunting.

 

I have a box of 12 ga. 2 3/4" paper shells of Winchester, Remington, & Peters.

 

@A-Jay Toledo Bend during the 70s was the Mudbug Capital of the World, second place was Whopper Stopper's Hellbender.

 

 

Wow. So many memories over the past 56 years of bass fishing. Almost too many to count.

 

H&H spinnerbait (caught my first bass on this)

Arbogast #2 Hawaiian Wiggler

Snagless Sally and Johnson Silver Minnow (I still catch fish on these)

Fliptail and Creme Shimmy Gal worms

Bagley Balsa B's

Arbogast Mudbug (Agree 100% that Toledo Bend was the Mudbug Capital of the World. In fact when I was there in mid-October I caught most of my fish on a Mudbug that I bought in the mid-70's.)

 

 

 

 

[bulldog1935]

Until I caught the 28" river largemouth on the Sabinal, my PB was an 8-lb bass caught on a Jitterbug with my dad in a bowl-shaped cove at the top of Canyon Lake (TX).  

She took it on the stand.  I was retrieving the lure for a few paddles and letting it sit.  

In my life I've caught five 4-y-o white bass, 19-20" and 5 lbs (four were on fly rod).  One was trolling Canyon with a Pico Texas Trailer, sriped-bass-looking Bomber in front, and Shyster spinner in back.  

34 minutes ago, WRB said:

...

The old Shannon twin spin bucktail with a swing head is interesting lure that caught/lots of big bass including 8 lb at Big Bear in the early 60’s. Forgot about that bass until looking at the lure recently. I sent a photo of the Shannon for the old stuff reel thread.

Tom 

 

Tom asked me to post these photos of the Shannon lure for him 

[WRB]

22 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

Until I caught the 28" river largemouth on the Sabinal, my PB was an 8-lb bass caught on a Jitterbug with my dad in a bowl-shaped cove at the top of Canyon Lake (TX).  

She took it on the stand.  I was retrieving the lure for a few paddles and letting it sit.  

In my life I've caught five 4-y-o white bass, 19-20" and 5 lbs (four were on fly rod).  One was trolling Canyon with a Pico Texas Trailer, sriped-bass-looking Bomber in front, and Shyster spinner in back.  

Tom asked me to post these photos of the Shannon lure for him 

Just wanted to share this old Shannon twin spin with a “swing head” that dates back into the 30’s. This unique design allow changing trailer hooks by simply opening the snap. I used this lure with my new “vintage”  Langley reel in the 50’s with 9” uncle josh black widow eel for a trailer. Hook a big bass and the reel handle spun backwards and smoked your thumb pad trying to stop the bass. Memories.

Tom

PS, thank you for posting the photo.

[A-Jay]

1 hour ago, bulldog1935 said:

Until I caught the 28" river largemouth on the Sabinal, my PB was an 8-lb bass caught on a Jitterbug with my dad in a bowl-shaped cove at the top of Canyon Lake (TX).  

She took it on the stand.  I was retrieving the lure for a few paddles and letting it sit.  

In my life I've caught five 4-y-o white bass, 19-20" and 5 lbs (four were on fly rod).  One was trolling Canyon with a Pico Texas Trailer, sriped-bass-looking Bomber in front, and Shyster spinner in back.  

Tom asked me to post these photos of the Shannon lure for him 

The lure is interesting but we need to see a pic of the 28 inch Largemouth ! 

Best pic I have is only a 25 inch dink 

A-Jay

[bulldog1935]

Hi AJ, there's a photo of it in my Introduction thread - it was really skinny in gin-clear flagstone eating mostly nickel-size crayfish, dime-size minnows, the occasional bluegill.  

But I will never forget when his mouth flared on my cats whisker.  

Saw him in a pod cruising down the river, and cast way out front for stealth, letting my fly slowly sink and just moving it enough to keep it off the bottom.  

The fish ran twice into my backing and I had to keep him out of a stand of watercress.  

Pretty good witnesses, I had a half-dozen friends with me - at the time I was running a fly fishing life group from my church, and we fished every other week.  

The rod was Vince Cummings glass, and the reel a 1930 Medalist.  

I'm 6'3"

The photo above isn't a short-focal length, but cropped out of a long-focal length photo.  

This one kind of shows its length better - going after my cats whisker

my best rainbow in the Guadalupe tailwater is about the same size

my best speckled trout

bigger redfish, though

Gonna need a bigger net

[Catt]

14 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

The lure is interesting but we need to see a pic of the 28 inch Largemouth ! 

Best pic I have is only a 25 inch dink 

A-Jay

 

Just for perspective I'm 5' 11 3/4" ?

 

 

[MGF]

I've never really been a collector of "things" but going through some of my old tackle boxes I find some lures that go back to the beginning. I'm almost 62 and I've been fishing since my legs were long enough to keep up with my dad walking around the quarries near home.

 

I still have  one of the old red and white dardevles  that I used to catch pike on while musky fishing with my dad when I was a kid. I found an old river runt that I caught my first small SMB on. I've got a bunch of the reels I used as a kid including an ancient Pflueger bait caster that I got from my grandfather. The list goes on. Oh, I found a little super duper my dad gave me when I was a kid that I thought I had lost.

 

I've learned to not get attached to "stuff" but some of it sure does bring back memories of people, places and times that are worth being attached too. 

[12poundbass]

I’ve started my very own retirement collection this year when I retired a Pad Crasher I’ve had for over a decade I believe. I’ve caught a ton of bass on that frog, lost it a few times and went through hell to get it back. That’s my only lure at this point and probably won’t add to it for years to come but it’s fun to look at it and reminisce. 

[Bird]

1 hour ago, bulldog1935 said:

Hi AJ, there's a photo of it in my Introduction thread - it was really skinny in gin-clear flagstone eating mostly nickel-size crayfish, dime-size minnows, the occasional bluegill.  

But I will never forget when his mouth flared on my cats whisker.  

Saw him in a pod cruising down the river, and cast way out front for stealth, letting my fly slowly sink and just moving it enough to keep it off the bottom.  

The fish ran twice into my backing and I had to keep him out of a stand of watercress.  

Pretty good witnesses, I had a half-dozen friends with me - at the time I was running a fly fishing life group from my church, and we fished every other week.  

The rod was Vince Cummings glass, and the reel a 1930 Medalist.  

I'm 6'3"

The photo above isn't a short-focal length, but cropped out of a long-focal length photo.  

This one kind of shows its length better - going after my cats whisker

my best rainbow in the Guadalupe tailwater is about the same size

my best speckled trout

bigger redfish, though

Gonna need a bigger net

That has got to be the longest LM bass I've seen, crazy. 

[FishTank]

5 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

Until I caught the 28" river largemouth on the Sabinal, my PB was an 8-lb bass caught on a Jitterbug with my dad in a bowl-shaped cove at the top of Canyon Lake (TX).  

She took it on the stand.  I was retrieving the lure for a few paddles and letting it sit.  

In my life I've caught five 4-y-o white bass, 19-20" and 5 lbs (four were on fly rod).  One was trolling Canyon with a Pico Texas Trailer, sriped-bass-looking Bomber in front, and Shyster spinner in back.  

Tom asked me to post these photos of the Shannon lure for him 

 

Holly cow...  I haven't seen those in years, like 40+.  My father use to fish them.  It was one of his favorites.  It brings back some great memories.   Thanks for sharing.

[king fisher]

When I was 25 I moved to Alaska.  I didn't think I would ever need or miss my bass fishing gear I had acquired since childhood, so I sold it to a tackle store that sold used lures hung on a peg board.

      Years later I had the opportunity to start bass fishing again.  I still had a few lures at my moms house, and of course bought lots of new gear.  I started missing all my old lures, so I went on ebay and starting buying old tackle boxes, whenever I saw one that I had a lure the same size and color I had sold.  Excellent way to spend time and waste money on old lures I rarely fish.  I now have almost all the lures I had when I was growing up and hundreds of other lures that came with the ones I wanted. ( bait monkey calls these bonus lures, similar to free) My wife wonders how I can't remember to stop at the store on my way home, but remember every singe lure I owned 40 years ago.  I haven't told her, I also remember where I bought, them, how much they cost, where and what size of bass I caught on each one.   Lures are a great way to bring back memories.

[Bankbeater]

I was going through one of my dad's tackle boxes after he passed away. It was amazing to see some old lures that I hadn't even thought of since I was a kid. I received a lot of offers from his fishing buddies wanting to buy those lures, but I am going to hold on to them.

[scaleface]

The first bass lures that I had consistent  results with were Beetle Spins and Storm Thin Fins . I still use Beetle spins regularly but dont even have a Thin Fin  because they are too hard to cast .