double browtine":1vrak73a said:
TheLBLman":1vrak73a said:
Your relatives appeared to be some very serious bass fishermen,
as noted by their tackle and their success.
Any idea what they were catching their fish on?
Not sure. My grandpa always liked fishing topwater, spoons, and crankbaits. I have a couple of his old tackle boxes. I have an old bait that looks like a bird, maybe a sparrow, and a couple of al Foss top water spinners. Even a bait that looks like it was made out of an old dinner spoon with deer hair and squirrel tail tied around a single hook.
Yesteryear's fishermen were quite "inventive", and making a lure from a dinner spoon was not uncommon.
Of course, bet their tackle boxes did have some "store bought" Arbogast Jitterbugs & Hula Poppers!
Their catch then may have been a bit more an accomplishment than many could imagine today.
Back in 1956 they had zero electronics, no electric motors, rudimentary bait-casting reels using the original "braid" fishing line that was more like rope. Many of today's anglers wouldn't even be able to cast those reels without backlashing and giving up.
Although monofilament line was technically invented in 1939, it didn't come into widespread use until Dupont introduced "Stren" in 1959. "Stren" was a thinner monofilament that could be used on a wide range of reels, including the newly introduced "spinning" reels. Over the next few years, "Stren" became the most popular fishing line in America, and quite possibly may still be.
