by Russell Riddle

As seen in Antiques & Art Around Florida, Winter/Spring 1995

Rare is the occasion that I chance upon some truly antique fishing tackle in the hundreds of antiques shops in Florida. As a historian and collector of old and creative fishing tackle this often is discouraging, but the trend seems to be changing somewhat. Perhaps this article will persuade the reader to ferret out some of that old fishing tackle and help put it in the hands of the collectors who find it desirable.

Florida is blessed with thousands of lakes, and hundreds of miles of inland and marine rivers. In the past many people who survived in our struggling economy subsidized their food budget with fresh fish that was found in abundance. Many statesmen and popular figures in sports, entertainment and business often came here for the tremendous fishing.

Different regions of the state have morphologically different bodies of water and varying species of fish. These geographical divisions lent themselves to production of many varieties of what is known to most people as the fishing plug.

Pemberton Bug Bait, c. 1930, Seffner, FL

"The fishing plug" is a carved piece of wood that is usually painted and has anchoring devices that hold the hooks and line tie in place. It's obvious purpose is to fool the fish into thinking that it is something that should be on it's immediate culinary menu. Many of these plugs or lures (to lure the fish) were beautiful examples of good old American folk art. Most lures were hand-carved and hand-painted and so creatively designed that they often were registered with the U.S. Patent office.

The Flood Minnow, c. 1925, Frostproof, FL

Today, about two hundred purveyors of piscatorial relics (to the novice, that means lure collector) in Florida, covet and seek with some intensity these little, usually about 2 to 5 inches long, pieces of wood. Locating lure makers of the past and identifying their work is the primary objective of the serious plug collector. Another of the primary concerns of the lure collector is to record the history of the lure makers of the past and to prevent these interesting and well designed pieces of history from being carted off to the dump—often with the story of who made them. Not all lures, but some, fetch pretty high dollar prices depending on desirability, rarity, history and uniqueness of the particular example. Prices may range from a couple of dollars to as much as a couple of hundred dollars each, in some instances. Other fishing tackle collectables are huge saltwater reels, fishing lure boxes, old bamboo rods, well made wooden tackle boxes, and related informational paperwork or documents.

So before grandpa's old fishing tackle is thrown out, be sure to contact someone in the know who is usually glad to help out with information or money for your antique fishing tackle.