Great Old Warmwater Patterns
Old Fly Rod Lures
 

Old Fly Rod Lures: The Way We Were

 

By Dennis Galyardt
Not long ago in a land that we all know well there were two ways to catch bass and panfish on artificial lures. Either the angler reeled them in with a bait casting outfit or fought them to a standstill with a flyrod. Bait casters tossed the wildest plugs, spoons and spinners that could be imagined. The fly stingers cast lighter objects for the same fish. It was only natural that the flyfisher would want to try casting lures in scaled down versions. Tiny Pikie-minnows, Bass-0-Renos, Lazy Ikes, Silver Minnows, and Flatfish showed up in hardware stores. Old-timers have varying opinions of these fly rod lures. Some said that the little plugs and spoons were great fish getters and just as good as modem day bass bugs. Others complained that treble hooks on some tangled with the leader or line and the density of the 1-2 inch lures made them hard to cast in wind.

Most of these fly rod lures have passed by the wayside with changes in America's fishing styles. With the introduction of spinning tackle at mid-century, anglers had a technology that allowed casting of objects that were too light for the bait casting rod and too heavy or too wind resistant for the fly rod., with minimal entry level skill. Early spin fishers saw this new technique as an answer to a prayer and a generation of fishers grew up with it. Many readers cannot remember the time before spinning and not just a few had their initial experience with monofilament.

Lures that were a tad too heavy for the flyrod were just about right for the ultra-light spin rig. The flyrod lures slowly changed into spinning, lures and somehow only "flies" became acceptable for flyfishers; anything that resembled a "spinning lure" was viewed as not appropriate. As a matter of historical fact most early spinning lures were simply old fly rod lures. Today, many flyfishers unaware of their warm water fishing roots, look down upon the use of any such hardware.
Antique fly rod lures certainly caught fish. As colorful and fascinating as the old lures were, most now ate seen only in antique shops, flea markets, and valuedcollections of early-tackle buffs. Intrigued by old tackle, and looking for anexcuse, I set out to collect a few old fly rod lures. It wasn't easy or cheap. Since old fishing tackle once labeled "junk" is now "collectible", country auctioneers and even garage sale folk raise prices when interest is shown.
After collecting, sorting and finally casting and actually catching a few fish on an assortment of "out dated" lures I am convinced fish will catch anything. It is the style of-lure however that makes it castable, retrievable and fishable. Walt Holman of Madison, Alabama, who makes some of the most beautiful balsa wood bass bugs, commented that his experience with fly rod plugs was not satisfying, even the "plug-bugs" of his own design. His favorite fly rod "lure" is the in-line spinner and fly combination which he has fished for years for bluegill and bass in Southern waters. The light weight spinners, with blades the size of fingernails, often take fish when plain flies fail. The spinner sends out vibrations, picked up by the lateral lines of fish in murky waters and the flash of the tiny blades is a powerful attractant. Big bluegill, crappie and aggressive largemouth, smallmouth and Kentuckies hammer these fly rod lures. They are easy to pick up and cast even with light weight outfits.
Ray Bergman, in his original work, Just Fishing, 1932, refers to casting fly lures for stream smallmouth. He indicated that when the bass were sluggish on warm summer days the lures were more likely to pro- duce than standard flies or bugs. Another author, Harold Hollis, in Bass Tackle and Tactics (1945), shows a color plate of "fly rod lures" that includes: bass bugs (cork, wood and hair), tiny plugs, spinner flies, mini spoons and wiggle blade streamers. Of these, Hollis stated, the spinner flies were the most effective. Deadliest of all was a Yellow Sally wet fly tied on a 1/0 hook with a 3/8" blade ahead of it Gold blades were the best for streams and silver blades on lakes. He went on to say that on hard fished public waters the splash of a large bait casting lure sent the bass scurrying for cover while the more delicate landing of a smaller fly rod lure attracted fish rather than alarming them.
During 1947-1949, William Tate, state fisheries manager in Iowa, reported catching 638 smallmouth bass in the state's streams, all with flyrod. He preached in the book, Iowa Fish and Fishing that the flyrod was the most versatile weapon for stream bass. The data Tate gathered are still interesting today. Tate divided flyrod lures in ten categories including: wet flies, cork floaters, hair floaters, feather streamers, bucktails, spinner/wet flies, spinner/streamers, spinner/bucktails, spoons and plugs. The most productive enticer was the feather streamer, with 37% of bass failing to these heavily dressed flies fished near the surface. The next most effective lures were spinners combined with wet flies, streamers or bucktails. These combos were best early and late in the season or when the water was slightly turbid. In very fast water narrow blade spinners, like the willow leaf, produces less drag. Wide blade Indiana style worked best in slower, deeper pools. Today very few flyfishers use spinner/flies, but yesterday they were the favorites. The hair and cork floaters were next in productivity (hair frogs the best). Fly rod plugs and spoons brought up the rear.
As I prowled the tackle boxes and libraries of our grandfathers and discovered the menagerie of Creek Chub Darters, Trix-Orenos and Daredevils I soon realized that I was making a judgment on just what is a fly rod lure. Are cork poppers lures? Certainly. How about plastic and wooden plugs? No doubt. Metal spoons and spinner baits? Absolutely not, those are only for spinning and ...oops! All of these, plus deer hair bugs, streamers and flies are all "lures". It is just semantics.
Today many old lures have fallen into disfavor, perhaps unfairiy, and may still be a legitimate with a flyrod. Just because someone says that it is not "sporting" to cast a plug, spinner or split shot with a flyrod doesn't necessarily make it so. Bass bugs, spinners, plugs, and spoons may not have as big a place in the fly box of the 90's as they did in 30's, but their historical contribution is significant to warm water flyfishing. Many trout oriented fly rodders are proud of their tradition and histories. While not as ancient, warm water fly tackle has a colorful past that is equally fascinating and-certainly unique.
If you would like to investigate fly tackle of the past the best source I found is a book entitled Old Flyrod Lures by John Muma, with over 600 color photos and 900 lures. You will find some of our "modem" flies are directly linked to the past and many "new" ideas first appeared 70 or more years ago. If you would like a copy of this book contact James Muma at 1706 Pine Street, Belleville, IL 62220. Another source is the National Fishing-a Lure Collector's Club (NFLCC), an organization devoted to collecting lures, rods, reels and other equipment associated with fishing. For more information write: NFLCC, P.O. Box 0184, Chicago, IL 60690.
As we glance back to a time when life was lived at a little slower pace, we can learn some- thing of the way we were. First, a fly rod lure is just about anything the flyfisher can dream up. Second, if it can be cast, something out there will try to cat it. Third, collection of old lures is a pleasant activity that relates to fly fishing as does fly tying and book collecting. Lastly, more modern flyfishers should be more open minded about what was and what is tied to the end of a leader. Sportsmanship is not determined by the bulk of one's lure.

Dennis Galyardt currently lives in Tecumseh, Missouri. He was the Warm Water editor of the Federation of Fly Fishers magazine Flyfisher. He is the 1999 recipient of the Federation of Fly Fishers' Dr. James A. Henshall Warm Water Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Promoting the Enjoyment or Convervation of Warm Water Fishiers.