Vintage Tackle Bass

[Bill Sonnett]

Four inches of new snow today and Michigan is on Lockdown. I enjoy looking at some great fish in these posts. I thought someone may be interested in seeing some taken on vintage tackle. First I want to say every fish shown was released unharmed. Many were taken over the past few years and I chose the photos as they show different vintage reels though all were also taken on vintage rods and lures. Each photo shows a different reel which most of you will have little difficulty identifying. I have pretty much gone to fishing with my Coxe 25N's the past three years and have not taken pictures. There was one 6.25 pounder that I would have made a great picture but no camera was available. Hope you enjoy.

[kyreels]

I’m pretty sure I caught one of those....

[Bill Sonnett]

You must have been dreaming Matt.

[john elder]

clapclapclapclap! Nice grouping, Bill! I'm jealous!

john

[Brian F.]

Nice Fish, Bill!

[Steve]

Spiffy, Bill! And kudos for getting them all to say "cheese" for their portraits.

[John Savu]

Very nice Bill !! Your pictures brought back good memories of the Irish Hills of Michigan. John

[Ray Hencken]

Nice group of fish and congratulations for releasing them to fight another day!

[Bill Sonnett]

Thank You Ray -- one of the few positive things I have to say about tournament bass fishing is that after a bad start, they have popularized "catch and release". The Bass shown below is the last Bass I ever kept. To give you an idea of how long ago that was the little boy in my arm will be 48 next month--LOL The tackle I used then is shown in the next pic. A Coxe 30C reel with a P&K glass rod. The fish was taken on a Heddon Midget Digit as seen in the photo. I weighed six pounds and thirteen ounces on a postal scale. Still wish I had let it go.

[Ray Hencken]

I am mostly a fly fisherman for trout. The best bass that I ever caught was in the Spring of 1966 from Kentucky Lake. I was a student at Murray State studying biology. It was taken in a shad Bomber Waterdog or Whopper Stopper. It still hangs on my wall 54 years later. These days I strictly practice catch and release.

[stumpstalker]

Ray:

What was the weight of that Bass that you had mounted?

[john elder]

Bill, lots of top water baits there, which is great fun after it warms up but I never had any luck with TW in the Spring. What do you typically use for early fishing? Of vintage stuff, i’ve Probably caught more on lucky 13s with steady crank to take it down plus tadpoles and bombers.

J

[Wayne B.]

I"m impressed with the variety of reels in the pics!

[arley]

No wonder daredevils, Johnson minnows, jitterbugs, hula poppers, etc are still top sellers.

[Paul Roberts]

Wow. Awesome catches. Wonderful tackle.

[Ray Hencken]

Ray:

What was the weight of that Bass that you had mounted?

It was 5+ lbs. That was the largest bass that this Jersey boy had caught at that time. I entered it in the Sports Afield contest and was awarded a certificate and a Sports Afield patch. I was fishing from shore and the wopper stopper got stuck on the retrieve. As I was yanking on the tight line, all of a sudden the bait was attached to the bass. To this day, I think the bass saw the bait moving erratically where it was stuck and grabbed it, hooking itself in the process and freeing the bait from the snag.
Another time, fishing Kentucky Lake that same year, I caught a 3 1/2lb. bass and 15 minutes later I caught a 2 1/2-3 lb. Crappie, both on a silver shore Heddon River Runt. When it hit I thought I had another bass. The local guys that I was with said that that was one of the largest crappie that they had seen.

[Paul Roberts]

Lemme see if I can guess the reels. Couldn't have come close just a couple months ago.
1. Coxe 95
2. Pflueger SkilKast
3. Coxe 25
4. Pflueger 1993L Summit
5.Pflueger 1573 Supreme
6. Shakespeare President
7. Langley Lurecast

[Bill Sonnett]

Close: Coxe 25N -- Skilkast -- Coxe 25 -- Pflueger Summit -- Pflueger Supreme -- Shakespeare Presidential Sportcast --- Coxe 30C

[Paul Roberts]

1. Image color threw me. I see the 25 handle knobs now.
...
6. Ah! The narrow spool.
7. I see the AB knob now.

Give me another couple years and I'll have em down.

Darn nice carp too!