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Those of us
fortunate enough to have grown up in the greater Portage/Summit/Stark
county
area have in turn been made well aware of our region's national
reputation as a center of
fishing development and innovation, and the responsibility inherent
in the handing down
these traditions is finally ours.
Names like Pflueger,
Creme, Moonshiner, Schumann, Arbogast, and Portage County's own
legendary Barney Spoon all eventually transcended local cult status
to attain national, and
then international, notoriety.
It comes as
no surprise then that so many lure collectors and tackle fanciers
emanate from
hereabouts. If you ever think you desire to enter into a discussion
then, comparing the fishing
tackle of the past to what is available today - both in terms of
variety and also value.
It is during
this time of year that some old and much-traveled angling veteran
will inevitably
lament the American-made quality of what is missing, rather than
blindly acquiesce to the
hype promoting the upcoming season's latest offerings.
Let's just say
that you are an angler just starting out and find yourself wondering
if indeed,
as in other areas, the past and the nostalgic reverence for it reflect
a romanticized notion of
a period that never really existed - that the old-timer's recollections
are clouded by both the
passing of a preferred era and the resentment of that which is new,
if foreign.
When was the
angler better served by his industry - then or now? When were fishing
products a better value? Let's consider it by category - this might
be fun.
BOATS
Some might immediately dismiss such categorization as a farce, that
today's crafts exhibit
user-friendly amenities and materials the anglers of the past could
barely imagine, let alone
appreciate. But keep in mind that value must also be judged to attain
any semblance of
fairness. Today's bass tourney angler needs just as fast a boat
as his peers to compete,
while angler-of-the-past needed only what basics his peers had in
order to feel he was on an
at-all level playing field. Most old-timers insist they caught just
as many fish in what today's
sophisticated angler might assume was an age of diminished expectations.
Still, lack of
effort and lighter materials are a big, big plus.
Key Product: The trolling motor.
EDGE: TODAY
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APPAREL
Here, I think, the quality gap is its most severe. Added expense
still doesn't trump today's
superior rain gear and outerwear. Ice fishing now safer and more
accessible to all.
Key Product: Neoprene.
EDGE: TODAY
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LINE
Who doesn't shudder at the thought of casting horsehair? Give those
old-timers credit - this
was the line of choice for centuries! Today it seems the pendulum
has swung ridiculously far
the other way, with so many disparate brands and formulations that
make such specialization
a costly, if not downright silly, notion. Upon actual use, the sophistication
of the advertising far
exceeds that of the line - to say nothing of the soaring costs.
Still, if you were to travel back
even only 50 or so years in time to bestow upon the angler of the
wonderful 1950s examples
of the 21st century's fishing equipment, I sincerely believe that
perhaps only the LCD fish
sonar would exceed his excitement over the improvements in basic
monofilament fishing
lines and their extended family.
Key Product: Copolymers.
EDGE: TODAY
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LURES
Whereas I much appreciate the paint jobs and durability of so many
of the old, handmade
wooden lures, fact is they weren't very versatile. The vast majority
were essentially surface
bass, pike, and muskie baits. Today's wooden and/or plastic plugs
plumb a much greater
variety of depths and speeds. Sadly, almost none are still made
domestically, and the
durability has indeed suffered. Titanium cannot be considered a
major plus in spinnerbaits
until a price adjustment - otherwise, spinnerbaits have evolved
comparatively little. I still
remember the anise smell of my dad's old tackle box. He favored
the pre-rigged worms of
the day, like Cremes and Delongs. Those relatively stiff worms have
evolved into the lifelike
variations of today. A closer call, but...
EDGE: TODAY
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REELS
What a glorious heritage! The Garcia-Mitchell 300. Zebco Cardinals.
Akron's Pflueger
Supreme. Abu's 570. Their longevity is incredible. Many (most?)
are still in evidence today.
Tackle shops with the vision to hoard them, Manda's in our area,
can still easily charge up
to 10 times their original retail cost - not for show, but to use!
If only today's makers put half
of what they put into hype into actually reel quality. Why should
they, with today's pretty
offerings so smooth in the store - like a transmission covered in
sawdust - yet so limited in
life span? Penn remains the most durable of reels and - wave that
flag - the last American
made one. The next time a salesman points out how smooth and ball-bearing
laden that new
reel is after laughing at your suggestion that it's actually inferior
to your dad's old one, ask
him how the warranty compares to the older days.
EDGE: YESTERDAY
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RODS
Nothing's more important, and the best domestic ones are better
than ever (St. Croix, Loomis,
All-Star, Falcon) - damn the cost. Economical entry-level offerings
are as reasonable as ever.
Middle-range stuff is as questionable value-wise as the reels of
today.
EDGE: TODAY
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In some ways, the old days were better. But when it comes to choice
and the range of
offerings, you are living in the Golden Age of Angling.
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