Fishing Lures From the Past
Vintage Lures
by Robb Hoff
September 6, 2012
I'm not a collector of fishing lures, but I have held onto about 75 older lures over the years. Some of these were given to me and others were ones that were included with tackle boxes that I bought. Many of the older lures that I acquired in these ways aren't with me today because I used them.
First and foremost, if it looks like it will catch fish, I'm going to tie it to the end of a line and cast it.
I brought out the container that held these lures and unwrapped the bubble wrap that had protected them for the past couple years since the last time I looked at them.
And once again, it wasn't to have a look at my collection as much as it was to see what I might be able to use in the place of the Rapala Shad Raps I lost the last time I went fishing on the Ohio River.
The whole of process of revisiting these old lures made me concede that I wouldn't be using most of them no matter how tempting they were. So I settled for a not-so-old Red River Jack-the-Ripper here and a dinged balsa wood largemouth bass fingerling crankbait there to add to my real tackle box for future use.
With the Ohio River water disturbed and stained by recent heavy rains, it may be awhile before I fish the river again, but until then I can enjoy some of these older, retired lures for what they are....and were at one time.
