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Season at a Glance: 1970 Bassmaster Trail – Part Two

May 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Dance Martin Jan Feb 1971 BM 260x300 Season at a Glance: 1970 Bassmaster Trail – Part Two

Bill Dance and Roland Martin awaiting the 1970 Angler of the Year determination. Photo January/February issue of Bassmaster Magazine.

[Editor's Note: This is part two of the 1970 Bassmaster Season at a Glance. To read part one, click here.]

In the first part of the 1970 Season at a Glance we covered the first three events of the season and also talked a bit about the new rookie on the tour, Roland Martin. Bill Dance had been the tour’s reigning champion since the inception of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society with four Bassmaster wins to his credit between 1968 and ’69 and it was obvious that Martin had placed a target on his head when he came to play in 1970. [Read more...]

Filed Under: B.A.S.S., Eastern Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How Old Is Your Line?

May 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Tri lene Ad 0667 150x150 How Old Is Your Line?

Click to see the full ad.

With all the fancy new lines at our disposal as anglers, we sometimes forget a little about the beginnings of the most basic, yet arguably most important component of many a bassin’ outfit – monofilament line. Can you guess when one of the most popular brands of monofilament, Trilene, hit the market? This black and white ad should get you close to the answer. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Retro Ads, Short Strikes Tagged With: , , , , ,

Scorecard Snapshot – Lone Star Learning Answer and Winner (May 20, 2013)

May 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Brauer from bassmasterdotcom 300x242 Scorecard Snapshot – Lone Star Learning Answer and Winner (May 20, 2013)

Photo Bassmaster.com

Congratulations to Art Miller for giving the correct answer to this week’s trivia contest sponsored by Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits! For the answer read below.

Denny Brauer’s victory in the 1984 Bassmaster Texas Invitational was the first of his 17 wins with B.A.S.S. Over the next three decades, he achieved just about every milestone possible, including a Megabucks win, a Superstars win and a Classic win. He even won at Rayburn again, just two years later, but that was his last B.A.S.S. victory in the Lone Star State. He liked the Nation of Texas enough to retire there upon leaving the Elites and managed an EverStart Texas Division victory on Toledo Bend earlier this year. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Monday Trivia Contest, Pete's Box Score Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Heddon 1940

May 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Heddon 1940 Rod 146x300 Heddon 1940

Heddon Rod ad 1940.

Yesterday we showed a couple of ads taken from a June 1940 issue of Hunting and Fishing magazine and today we’re going to continue on that track. This time, though, we’re going to talk about another company, possibly the biggest company with respect to bass fishing – Heddon.

First off we have a state-of-the-art rod ad featuring the Heddon Pal rod. Made entirely of steel this rod was compared with bamboo in lightness, balance and feel. Now although I’ve never cast one of these exact rods before, I have used a couple of bamboo rods and steel rods before and neither of them are a joy to fish with. It’s times like these where I am grateful I wasn’t born in the 20s, 30s or 40s. These rods are an absolute beast to cast with and are about as sensitive as Archie Bunker. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Old Gear, Retro Ads Tagged With: , ,

Wiggle and Jitter 1940s Style

May 21, 2013 by 3 Comments
Arbogast Jitterbug 1940 290x300 Wiggle and Jitter 1940s Style

Arbogast Jitterbug ad circa 1940.

Here are a couple of cool ads from the June 1940 Hunting and Fishing magazine. Both are from the Fred Arbogast Company out of Akron, Ohio and one features a bait that is still manufactured by PRADCO, the Jitterbug, and another that hasn’t been made for going on 30 years, the Hawaiian Wiggler.

The Jitterbug ad is neat for a couple of reasons. First off, it lets you know that this bait has been around a long time. Also, back then the baits were all made out of wood. The bait also features the option of double or treble hooks – all for the cost of a Washington. The pictures of the anglers are also interesting. That’s a nice string of fish Mr. Webster is hanging on to but I really wonder if that fish Mr. Sutton is holding really weighs in at 10 pounds. I guess we’ll never know. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Old Gear, Retro Ads Tagged With: , ,

Scorecard Snapshot – Lone Star Learning (May 20, 2013)

May 20, 2013 by 2 Comments
Brauer from bassmasterdotcom 300x242 Scorecard Snapshot – Lone Star Learning (May 20, 2013)

Photo Bassmaster.com

Denny Brauer’s victory in the 1984 Bassmaster Texas Invitational was the first of his 17 wins with B.A.S.S. Over the next three decades, he achieved just about every milestone possible, including a Megabucks win, a Superstars win and a Classic win. He even won at Rayburn again, just two years later, but that was his last B.A.S.S. victory in the Lone Star State. He liked the Nation of Texas enough to retire there upon leaving the Elites and managed an EverStart Texas Division victory on Toledo Bend earlier this year. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Monday Trivia Contest, Pete's Box Score Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Season at a Glance: 1970 Bassmaster Trial – Part One

May 17, 2013 by 2 Comments
Bassmaster Headline Spring 1970 300x235 Season at a Glance: 1970 Bassmaster Trial – Part One

Headline in the Spring 1970 Bassmaster issue describing rookie angler Roland Martin.

Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part series on the 1970 Bassmaster Tournament Trail. Part one will cover the first three events of the season while part two will cover the last four events. Because there was no Bassmaster Classic this year, there will be no part three.

The 1970 Bassmaster Trail was the third full year of Bassmaster tournament competition and would be the year of a number of firsts. To start off it was the year where the Bassmaster Angler of the Year would begin, an award that would be presented to the most consistent angler on the trail for the entire season. Although this award, at the time, didn’t offer much more than bragging rights and a nice piece of hardware, it’s become arguably the most-cherished award on any tour.

The second thing to happen was it would be the first year where a single angler would win three events in the season. For those of you that know your history, I’m sure you can figure that one out pretty easily but for those of you who either don’t remember or just don’t know, I’ll save it for later. [Read more...]

Filed Under: B.A.S.S., Eastern Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jack A. Smithwick, Sr. (The Warhorse Man)

May 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Sr 150x150 Jack A. Smithwick, Sr. (The Warhorse Man)

Jack A. Smithwick, Sr.

That’s the moniker given in a June 1965 Fishing News article (Surface Fishing: Tips from a real expert) detailing the topwater expertise of one Jack Smithwick Sr.. If you’re familiar with the old black, red and white packaging of Smithwick Lures, you might realize that Jack A. Smithwick’s father, Jack K. Smithwick, was the original founder of Smithwick Lures back in 1947. Jack A., Sr. was the “& Son” on the box. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Old Gear, Short Strikes Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Scorecard Snapshot – Learning Your ABCs Answer and Winner (May 13, 2013)

May 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Ohio River Nixon BMC from bassmasterdotcom 204x300 Scorecard Snapshot – Learning Your ABCs Answer and Winner (May 13, 2013)

Photo Bassmaster.com

Congratulations to Jay Davis for winning this week’s trivia contest sponsored by Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits! This makes his third and unfortunately final win. Read below for the answer.

Florida angler Tom Jurkewicz competed in 28 B.A.S.S. events between 1980 and 1992, making the money 15 times, including five Top 10 finishes. He also qualified for the 1982 and 1983 Bassmaster Classics, finishing 14th and 27th respectively.

His two best finishes were both runner ups, first on the Ohio River in July of 1982, then less than a half a year later closer to home on the Kissimmee Chain. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Monday Trivia Contest, Pete's Box Score Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Let’s Look Back – Part Five

May 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Wobblers...Pic 1 comp 200x300 Lets Look Back Part Five

As far as I know red and white wobblers exactly like this one are no longer being made. That’s too bad because it’s a dandy. It didn’t produce on all of the bass water I’ve fished. But years ago when I was fishing the big Columbia River’s sloughs it could be great.

I’m not at all sure I should even be writing what you are about to read.

Why would I say something stupid like that and possibly discourage a visitor to this part of the Bass Fishing Archives?  For just one reason: The lure I’m fixin’ to share thoughts about is more than likely going to be darn difficult for you to find.

If you’ve read my last Let’s Look Back column you know what I’m talking about.  That column details how a very good friend had shown me I didn’t know near as much as I thought I did about catching bass in the Columbia River log pond I was fishing every chance I got.

If you did read that last column you’re aware I took a dim view of my friend’s intention to show those log pond bass a metal wobbler. I’d never fished wobbler there myself, but I “just knew” it wouldn’t work.  The truth of the matter was I didn’t know squat!  [Read more...]

Filed Under: Let's Look Back Tagged With: , , , ,
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