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bND J , ^ACKIR ri i_ : COUNTER f law setting at Ottvars Sporting Ooods, loot# Marta, Calif*, mada If Impassible ta Pllrfay radt upright, so Ihty war* poslttonod a* an an|la. Tlia mar# dramatk appaarertse resulted In Uwroesod sales. ! with i HANK ANDMWS Squire of Winter Haven Takes a Look at Future for Tackle Sales and Finds Likely Index in the $5,000 Bass Rigs ; Fishing Tackle Editor 80 61 THE SPORTING GOODS DEALER M0.12,100 NeVGR DID I think I would see the day when a single fishing lure would sett regularly at around 15 each. Or even 96 each, for that matter! But Its happened, and one of the tackle manufacturers turning out such a bait it 91m Baglay, the effer vescent squire of Winter Haven. Fla., where his plant Is located. Jim had a ready answer for my question: "What are your tips for selling lures that cost around $5 each? As you know it is possible to make Just one cast and lose that five bucks on a snag." Said Jim: "Sort fishing, and bass fishing in particular, have taken such an astounding leap in the last 10 years that it boggles the mind to compare the difference of today's fishing against that of 10 to 15 years ago. For instance, can you imagine anybody In his right mind during the early 1960s paying $5,000 to $8,000 for a bass rig-just to fish out of? Not me! "Also, 10 to 15 years ago you could buy lures such as the old Zorro Spook and the Old Creek Chub Darter for less than a dollar. Today even your plastic lures normally list for $2.50 to $3. When fishermen will spend the fantastic amounts of money that they do for the latest professional-type fishing rods and reels such as Lew Chfldre's Speed Stick which you might pick up on a sale in the neigh borhood of $22 to $25 or his new Speed Spool reel which will run $65 or more (ifyou can find one), they are not going to cut corners on a lure, es pecially If It is one that will make them a winner. . "The Chlldre combination Is cer tainly a winner, because sales have proved it and I feel that hand-crafted balsa wood lures such as ours will be around a long time despite the fact, they sell for more than your average . mass-produced plastic lure. "As you know, these balsa lures " ' ' have 33 different hands to go thrg^h - \ Auditor Kanft Andrews with giant si boas ho caught off Fle-Wdo'e 4M<bto Island In the Oulf #f Monk#. Ssale wasn't working, so Hank tannot specify th* wolght. 1976MY** rcimustl (bacons) MONS 033036 Here's another , profit builder you asked us for. New Prescott Sea-Gull Comes in \\ 7 weights There's a Prescott Sea-Gull* lure for all your customers' needs-from trout and panfish to saltwater blues. Solid brass body e Precision machined and balanced to prevent line twist e Stainless steel rings Heavy plating resists tarnish e Available with treble and single hook, plain or dressed with white bucktail Built-in action, even on short retrieve e Arbogast quality throughout The Prescott Sea-Cull comes in a nickel finish. The Prescott See-Cull will be heavily pro moted in selected out- door consumer maga zines in 1976. So order nowand stock up. Call your Prescott rep or local distributor today or write for 1976 catalog. Include your zip code. PRESCOTT iSPinneR A Division of Fred Arbogast Company, Inc. 1002 Fairview Avenue Hamilton,Ohio 4S015 | hr Met* MewwNea Ciftta Me. 105 M Feet 45 J 74 * iter as well as a minimum of 13 coats of paint and a seven-day process time before we will allow them out of the factory. When people pay the price for one of our lures, we want them to be assured that they are buying the very best there Is." This writer can vouch for the fact that considerable time and effort go Into the making of balsa baits. The wood. Incidentally, is imported from Ecuador. On my tour of the plant, Bagley showed me 12 machines that he has rigged up to turn out 1.000 balsa baits each for every eight hours. The machines can produce 12.000 un finished baits daily. The machines, which sre covered from prying eyes, shape the bait from a block of wood. After that, of course, comes the matter of drilling holes and various other operations. For instance, the baits are dipped in a special epoxy to preserve the delicate surface of the bait while it is being processed in the plant. There Is one woman who does nothing but dot little eyes on the lures. As Bagley pointed out. there is a difference in how the eyes are dot ted because it is an individual opera tion. Banner Year Predicted and Bagley Tell* Why Next I asked Bagley how 1976 shapes up for the lure business. He replied: "In 1975 we had the best 12 months ever and 1976 looks like a banner year for all of us. Let me expound on this. As you know, a year ago last April and May any manufacturer, whether he was in the bait business or otherwise, was having to buy ma terials such as plastics, solvents and even wood anywhere he could find them and at any price. In fact, that's when sugar went to over $3 for a five- pound bag. "Needless to say, we were not the only ones who stockpiled raw mate rials anywhere we could find a place to put them. Then came the recession and a lot of people who had bought lures In great quantities found them selves unable to pay, so we lost some. "From the sales collection stand point we have to consider the (act that the pipelines were all full and the consumer suddenly was not buying. "This situation backed all the way up the tube to the manufacturer, who in turn had one of two choices-eithe* get busy and find sales outlets or start going backward. We chose the former route and It has really paid off. * ^ "Now the pipelines have begun'to * empty so I feel that 1976 will be the year when the consumer will be ready to buy. And the dealer has sold . out of his 1974 merchandise and is ready to move some 1976 merchan dise. The distributor is anxious to fullflll his dealers' wishes and the manufacturers will be hard pressed to keep up with It." This writer then asked Bagley what merchandising ideas he would like to pass on to the individual re tailer. To that he replied: "The people who seem to be getting ahead are the ones who are disre garding the apocalyptic attitudes of some of our economy experts and certain of the news media. The ones who get ahead are the ones you will see still building, promoting and ad vertising. "The ones who are standing still or. in many cases, backing up. are the ones who are waiting for doomsday to fall on them. They have taken a wait-and-see attitude and chances are this Is where they will remain." Call* (or Fight (a lad IxcIh Tax an Tacfcla Jim and I then discusaed the Amer ican Fishing Tackle Manufacturers Association and t asked him how he felt the AFTMA could aid manufac turers and dealers. "One way," he said, "would be to take immediate steps to remove the biggest cancer of the tackle industry, and that is the excise tax that is placed on even components of fishing lures. As I understand it. this was an emergency tax that was placed on certain items during the war years from 1941 through 1945. It was to be repealed at the end of hostilities. "In the face of the other taxes the government is collecting it would seem that they would let our poor Try ShargegaggagomaaBhangacliaabuaagiiaiamaiig The Massachusetts angler going fishing at a lake near the city c4 Webster may find it difficult to tell folks where he's going, but shouldn't encounter tangling of line with other anglers once he's there. Chargogoggagomanchaugochaubunagungamaug is the lake's name. Local citizens explain. "It's an Indian name meaning. `You fish on your side of the lake and I'll fish on my side.' " M0NS 033037 mi seoaTifte mom Maua/nisuasv. i*se else huh mnater 41m Ncjik'Vr rlgilifr, Wlnttr Haven, ffe., dfeeunMut Me plant fperetlen wKh Db tnnliln, wrkw' fee Ctnclnnati (inquirer. overburdened people at least be able to relax without a tax. "1 do want to say this about the AFTMA. IU recent move to have our yearly show moved about to different parts of the country has got to be one of the best things they've ever done. And certainly our last show in August of 1975 was by far the best one we ever had. This, in my estfmz- tion, is a tribute to the AFTMA lead* While touring Bagley's plant, 1 noted that he had 11 Vietnamese em ployees. He said about them, "They are working out very well. We have only four who speak our language to any extent, but they are all going to school at night to learn English. "As long as we even have one whom we can communicate with, they can pass on our instructions. As Industrious as these people are, we have no trouble." Niw Record Bwsf Jim Leeks to Loko In Cubes Since Bagley is so dose to bass fishing geographically, because he is In Florida and industrially because he makes numerous baits, 1 asked him where he thought one might go to get a world record baas. Thia la a subject that many of the consumer magazines are milking these days. Bagley thinks the world record may come from Cuba, and he ex plained It this way: "Back in the 1950s, Wayne Dyer (who makes Rat Trap plastic skirts) had a camp on Treasure Lake near the Bay of Pigs Jn Cuba. ' "I was among the many who went down before relations were cut off. I feel that this is the lake that the new world's record will come from; that is, if we are ever allowed to go back. "California has received consider able publicity for targe bass being caught from those flngerlings that they imported from Florida several years back. No doubt about it. there is something in California waters that lends to the making of monster bass. Asa native Floridian. I hate to admit that California waters could come up with a world record but facta is facts." Since we were on the subject of bass fishing, I suggested to Bagley that Florida waters no longer are as bountiful as they once were for bass. I said this because I had just been an observer at two bass tourneys-one sponsored by the Old Charter whis key people on the St. Johns River and the other sponsored by American Bass Fisherman of Cocoa Beach, Fla. Drop In Florida Bass, and Could Worse At neither of these tourneys were many baas taken. In fact, some pretty good anglers were skunked. Bagley agreed that Florida fishing is declining. "It's going to get worse unless the Florida fish and wildlife people are given the consideration and the sym pathetic ear that they need. They know what has to be done, but appar ently we don't have the same amount of outdoor enthusiasts in our law making groups as we used to have. "Therefore, It looks like the people are going to have to take a bigger hand in getting back what is right fully theirs, and that is accessible fishing areas that are neither pol luted to the point where a person would be fearful ofeating the fish nor polluted to the point that fish can no longer propagate. "I realize we do have one problem that is going to be very difficult for anyone to do anything about, and that is the hydrilla weed that is spreading so fast from one lake to an other. "But there are other things that a lot can be done to help. For instance, several years back somebody in the government got the idea that if they would dig one long continuous ditch from Lake Tbhopekaliga bordering on the city of Kiaaimmee In central Florida to Lake Okeechobee in south central Florida that everything would be peaches and cream and that we would never have any flooding problems again. To tell the truth, our flooding problems were never that bad. Anybody who spends any time on these lakes can tell you that the flooding of grasses and the like are healthful in keeping the nutrient level and oxygen level in proper bal ance for fish to live and spawn. When they stopped the natural flow of water from Lake Tohopekaliga to Okeechobee, they put in motion the steps that were necessary to kill tni seoenido ooowu M/:ire/n*RUABV, ?* MONS 033038 Here's another profit builder you asked us for. Remember the Original Water Cricket? Your customers remember the "original" Water Cricket* lure and they'll want all they can get. A proved customer-accepted lure Two models-floaling and slow sinking Sponge rubber body teeurety attached to hook to prevent twisting Soft, rubber legs for natural action For fly rod and spinning with a bubble Arbogist quality throughout The Fin "original" Water Cricketis available with #8 and #10 hooks. Comes in a variety of the fast-seiling colors. Packed singly or two m a bubble. The Fin Water Cricket will be heavily promoted m selected outdoor consumer magazines in 1976. So order now and stock up. Call your Fin rep or local distributor today or write for 1976 catalog, include your zip code. IFsmi H/&ITS 1602 Fairvicw Avenue Hamilton. Ohm 45015 A Subudwy I <r*d Aibdym Co im r New deep and deadly Bass Baggin' Bait ChecKic six colors C-IOOOeM C-IOSSIIvw Qr#tr. e<msiioiMh c-m siiw CMH0ltorw * C-m Slh*r Purl Your lunker-hunting customers will be asking you tor Cheekles--and soon. This versatile new spinner, by Creak Chub is now being adver tised in national fishing magazines to men who know good baits And the suggested price is right--only $1.05 list. Field-tested Cheekie is the all-round performer fishermen have been waiting for--an action-packed deepie ' that won't twist the line. RAIT COMPANY Dspt. H. Garrett. IN 46738 ( for Ctfd* Na. 10/ on foe* 4S ) MONS 033039 Tackle Counter these lakes. . "I understand there is now a move ment afoot by the Corps of Engineers to rectify their mistakes by re-estab lishing the old meander of the Kis simmee River. When they lake their first step in this direction. I will do my best to be the first to applaud them. "The Florida fish people proved a point recently in bringing back a lake which was in the last process of dying. They opened the locks at the lower end of Lake Tohopekaliga and drained it to the point that a large area of the bottom was exposed to sunlight. "Needless to say there was luxuri ous vegetation covering that exposed bottom, but that's what it took to do the trick. The plants gobbled up the nutrients while the sunshine did the rest. The locks were closed, the lake refilled, and right now it was the most productive lake for game fish of all types in that whole chain through the Kissimmee Valley. "If they do the same to the rest of these lakes, either one at a time or all at once, you'll see a big part of our central Florida bass fishing come back, and in no uncertain terms." Baglay CallacO 'Balsa King* by State Fishing Fapsr You can see from all this that 41m Bagley has done considerable think ing about Hah and fishing. He re cently was written up in a Florida sportsman paper. "The Bucketmouth," and in it he was named the "Balsa King" for his baits. In the story, it was pointed out that Bagley served as a pilot with the U. S. 15th Air Force in Italy and was an electrical contractor after getting out of service until 1954 when he became a tackle manufacturer. Bagley has various versions of his balsa wood baits. He has named them Balsa B. Dtvin' B, Shal'r B. Brok n B. Scru B. And he has other version* due. He also makes spinner baits, plas tic worms and other types of fish-get ters. His plant employs 14? people, and he is stepping up his advertising program in an effort to expand sales. I can't close this bit about Bagley without saying his welcome has been royally cordial. He possesses the unique quality of making people feel welcome. Undoubtedly, you have heard that man-made reefs in lakes and oceans help to improve fishing. I've read that story often and now I cun vouch for it. Recently I had a chance to fish m tm ssoarwo ooom maiii/mmuarv. tsrt Seven for Itopala The yellewtall were hlntng when Jed Welsh, left, taUi manager, Quick Cerp., and Phil Oreysheck, preildant, (Uhed the tempeny beet elf Nerth Coronado Island, San Dtege, Calif. They did the |eb trolling No. 13 and No. ) Rapala lures. I the Gulf of Mexico off Marco Island, and we fished over man-made reefs put out by the developers of Marco island. One reef was created of old auto tires compressed together over a 10acre area. Another reef was made up of an old cement mixer, 4300 tons of broken concrete and other materials. j Man-Mad* Reefs Okayl Proof's fn Hanks Catch I had the opportunity to fish over the reef made of tires. And this reef hsu been working out well, too. ac cording to Dr. Say Harmlc, chief of the Marco Marine Laboratory. He claims there are now 90 varie ties of fish using the reefs where be fore there were only sand sharks and a few catfish. 1 believe the man. While I fished the reef with Lam O'Harrn, a former guide who now works for the marine lab. I landed a giant sea bass (also known as jewfish). More properly. O'Harra and J landed ft because it took the two of us to pull the huge fish over the transom of the boat. We had used a two-pound sheepshead as bait to get this lunker. The fish look the bait and started to puli out line slowly when O'Harra told me to grab the rod. I did and it was hurt] work for 20 minutes to crank in the fish. We attempted to weigh it back at the tab. but the scales were not work ing properly. Suffice it to say the fish /4 c o 3 Tackla CounUr / weighed somewhere between 150 it reaches a stream or lake it's and 300 pounds. around forever. And therein is the Actually, the weight didn't mean problem. Many fish contain high lev that much to me. It did prove, els of PCB and it is national in scope. though, that man-made reefs attract Fish containing PCB can be harmful fish. if eaten, environmentalists say. As most of you. know, some states Nathaniel P. Reed, assistant are creating reefs in fresh water secretary of the Interior's Fish A lakes to improve fishing. Also, some Wildlife Service, says: 'The problem states have fishery workers cutting is national. I am very troubled by the down trees along shorelines so that exceedingly high levels found in fish they fall into the lake and thus create in all our drainage systems. I do not fish shelters. Many smart fishermen mean just the Hudson and the entire take crappies from these fallen trees Great Lakes system, hut the Merri- in spring. mac and Connecticut Rivers of the PCS Pollution Growing Throat to Our Flshoriot Atlantic Coast, the Ohio and Missis sippi Rivers of the Midwest, the Co lumbia River in the Northwest, the Not all the news on the fishing Sacramento in the West, the Rio front is good these days. Almost daily Grande and other Gulf Coast you can see references to PCB and streams. Even the Yukon In Alaska." what problems they create. Japan already has banned PCB PCB is the term applied to poly and by the time you read this the chlorinated biphenyls which are U. S. likely will have taken some ac used as an insulating fluid in trans tion toward restricting its use. Some formers and capacitors. companies are developing substi PCB is not biodegradable and once tutes for PCB. .. A/% i seoanao oooos autn/mauAav, ter* HONS 033040