IGFA - 15 fishing firsts…do you agree?

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Mike N
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IGFA - 15 fishing firsts…do you agree?

Post by Mike N »

The website of the International Game Fish Association has a neat list…but do you have reason to doubt any of the 15 “firsts?” May be worth a little scrutiny here.

Here are fifteen American fishing firsts.

BY ERIN BRENNAN, October 9, 2019 (From a list researched via the Joe Brooks collection on some American fishing firsts by a Harold H. Smedley, of Muskegon, Michigan. He prepared the record for the National Association of Angling and Casting Clubs (now the American Casting Association.)

https://igfa.org/2019/10/09/fifteen-fishing-firsts/


1. 1732: First Angling Club in the U.S.

Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1732, the Schuylkill Fishing Company claims the title of the first angling club. The club had a limited membership of 25. To date, the Schuylkill Fishing Company remains the oldest continuously operating social club in the English-speaking world.

2. 1810: First Multiplier Reel

George Snyder, President of the Bourbon County Angling Club in Paris, Kentucky, produced the first multiplier reel. It was likely also the first jeweled reel—inlaid with garnet bearings. Not something you’d want to lose overboard.

3. 1813: First Steel Hooks

A gentleman by the name of Ed Jenks of Colebrook, Connecticut, made the first steel hooks in the U.S.

4. 1845: First Split Bamboo Rod and First American Angler’s Guide

Samuel Phillippi, of Eaton, Pennsylvania, made the first split bamboo rods. Made of three splits, the tip and the middle joint were bamboo. The butt of the rod was made of ash. Also that year, the first known American Angler’s Guide appeared. John J. Brown wrote the inaugural guide.

5. 1859: First Fishing Line Company

Henry Hall established the first fishing line factory in Harlem, New York. He made lines of linen and silk.

6. 1860: First Complete Bamboo Split Line

Following in Eaton’s footsteps, the first complete bamboo rod was made by Mr. E. A. Green of Newark, New Jersey. These rods were made of four split sections and were sold through Andrew Clerk & Co. Later, the rods were sold by Abbey & Imbrie (1876).

7. 1864: First Grayling Identified

Professor Cope of the Academy of Science in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania identified the first grayling in the U.S. The fish was sent to him by Dr. Manly Miles of Lansing, Michigan. Cope named the fish Thymallus Tricolor.

8. 1868: First Wire Centered Rod

Mr. Hyde, of Maiden Lane, New York, made the first reinforced wooden rod.

9. 1870: First Six-Section Split Bamboo Rod

Hiram L. Leonard of Bangor, Maine, put together the first six-section split bamboo rod on the market.

10. 1878: First Winding Reel

The reel deal appears! The first level winding reel appeared on the market in 1878. It was a product of Wheeler and McGregor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It came in two different spool widths and were marked the No. 3 and the No. 4. The reel was sold mainly by the Wilkinson Co. in Chicago for only a few years.

It came in nickel silver (German silver) and nickel-plated brass versions. The reel has two patent dates of May 29th and June 26th, 1894 marked on the reels. The patents were for the level wind and the direct drive of the crank handle to the level wind worm gear, respectively.


11. 1883: First Brown Trout

Welcome home, brown trout! The first brown trout eggs made it over from Europe in 1883. In April 1884, the U.S. Fish Commission first released 4,900 brown trout fry into the Baldwin River, a tributary of the Pere Marquette River in Michigan.

Between 1884 and 1890, brown trout were introduced into suitable habitats throughout the U.S. and by 1900, 38 states and two territories had received stocks of brown trout. Their adaptability resulted in most of these introductions establishing wild, self-sustaining populations.

12. 1887: First Steel Rod

Horton of Bristol, Connecticut, patented the first steel fishing rod on March 8, 1887, changing the course of fishing forever.

13. 1888: First Cork Grips

The original cork grips appeared on rods in 1888.

14. 1896: First Silk Fishing Line

The first fully silk fishing line was made by Elisha J. Martin, a worker at Belding Bros. in Rockville, Connecticut. Later, Martin founded the first silk fishing line company, also in Rockville.

15. First Wooden Casting Weight

E.R. Letterman, of Chicago Illinois, made the first wooden casting weight. Three years later, Letterman also crafted the primary aluminum casting weight.
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Re: IGFA - 15 fishing firsts…do you agree?

Post by Richard Lodge »

Interesting list, Mike. Looks like you are missing a date on #15, though.
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Mike N
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Re: IGFA - 15 fishing firsts…do you agree?

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Richard Lodge wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2023 1:47 pm Interesting list, Mike. Looks like you are missing a date on #15, though.
Lol. That date wasn’t in the story linked above.

I was hoping we could correct any errors, maybe add a few more “firsts,” and post a photo or two of the earliest fishing items in our individual collections.
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Re: IGFA - 15 fishing firsts…do you agree?

Post by Steve »

Saw that years ago. Looks like an early ChatGPT product.
A few comments on the list, which was compiled by Harold Smedley, who wrote about flies too early to have had the advantage of ORCA's The Reel News.

1st multipliers. ORCAns know that the Brits had multipliers as of 1860 or thereabouts, and we imported them by the end of the 18th century.

1st steel hooks. ORCAns know that Israel Mead made hooks in Boston at least as early as 1796.

1st fishing line company. ORCAns know that a Philadelphia almshouse was making fishing lines for sale as early as 1736.

1st winding reel. ORCAns know that several "modern" mechanical level winds were invented as early as 1860, well before the Wheeler-McGregor reel appeared about 1895, when their reel company was incorporated.

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Re: IGFA - 15 fishing firsts…do you agree?

Post by Mike N »

With regard to # 14. 1896: First Silk Fishing Line

The article states: “The first fully silk fishing line was made by Elisha J. Martin, a worker at Belding Bros. in Rockville, Connecticut. Later, Martin founded the first silk fishing line company, also in Rockville.”

I’m not sure if EJ Martin was “first,” but…

E.J Martin used the Kingfisher brand name. The late John Etchieson wrote an interesting tidbit on Fin & Flame about the three earliest of these “thread spools,” dating them between 1890 and 1905.

https://finandflame.com/the-first-kingfisher-lines/




A few years ago, John allowed me to add these three thread spools to my line collection. The gold foil and red label brands came with their original boxes.



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Re: IGFA - 15 fishing firsts…do you agree?

Post by Ray Hencken »

There are a couple of mistakes in the 15 fishing firsts.
#4 should list Phillippi from Easton, PA not Eaton.
#7 should read "following in Phillippi's footsteps" not "following in Eaton's footsteps"
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Re: IGFA - 15 fishing firsts…do you agree?

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E.R. Letterman of Chicago and the CFCC (Chicago Fly Casting Club) made the first wooden bait casting weights around 1901. In 1904, E.R. Letterman developed a ½ ounce aluminum weight, turned on a lathe. Early versions had a wire line tie.
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Re: IGFA - 15 fishing firsts…do you agree?

Post by Eric J »

I believe the Pohoqualine Club in Pennsylvania (“Many Happy Days”) is the oldest fishing club in the US.
In 1984 I was in the Catskills and visited Harry Darbee’s fly shop. I mentioned that in Michigan we were celebrating the centennial of the first Brown Trout stocking in the US, and Harry just about came unglued. He went to his bookshelf and started searching for a book to prove to me that they were first planted in the Catskills. I politely told him I had to go fishing, and left.
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Re: IGFA - 15 fishing firsts…do you agree?

Post by Steve »

I believe the Pohoqualine Club in Pennsylvania (“Many Happy Days”) is the oldest fishing club in the US.
The Pohoqualine Fishing Club (now Association) is the oldest fishing club in Monroe County, Pa., founded in 1894. Monroe County is where Laban Lewis made reels after he and Rees left New York. For all we know, Laban may have had a part in organizing the club.

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Book: ANTIQUE FISHING REELS, 2nd Ed.
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Re: IGFA - 15 fishing firsts…do you agree?

Post by Mike N »

Eric J wrote: Mon Feb 13, 2023 1:59 pm I believe the Pohoqualine Club in Pennsylvania (“Many Happy Days”) is the oldest fishing club in the US.
In 1984 I was in the Catskills and visited Harry Darbee’s fly shop. I mentioned that in Michigan we were celebrating the centennial of the first Brown Trout stocking in the US, and Harry just about came unglued. He went to his bookshelf and started searching for a book to prove to me that they were first planted in the Catskills. I politely told him I had to go fishing, and left.
That’s a great, great story, Eric.
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Re: IGFA - 15 fishing firsts…do you agree?

Post by gadabout »

The first brown trout eggs arrived at the Cold Spring Harbor fish hatchery in Long Island, NY. Not sure where they were first stocked though.
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