"Greetings" and Welcome to .............. Canadian Fishing Tackle & History
This site is currently open to view , but is a work in progress (a slow one) ... If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer. email me at [email protected]
***Please note .. All content and images are copyright protected.. If you wish to use anything from this site, please contact me directly***
Thank You, TerryV
1900's early tackle box from India once owned by a British Colonel as found complete with 1912 price list
This site is being presented in an attempt to increase interest and broaden the scope of vintage fishing tackle collecting in Canada.
I am also hoping to aid in preserving the great angling history that Canada has developed over the past centuries.
The ongoing results of my 30+ years of collecting angling artifacts and my efforts to preserve history of sport fishing in Canada will be seen on these pages.
Sport fishing, along with the items produced for it, are a key part of the development of this great country we call Canada.
Please email me if you have any suggestions to improve this site or need information on old fishing items you may have or may wish to sell.
I am always in the market to purchase interesting old angling items, especially those which played a part in Canada's Angling History.
You will see on these pages that I have concentrated on collecting lures/plugs, reels and rods.............. however I am also keen to find and study many other fishing items, such as:
Old photograps or documents, angling licences, brochures, maps, derby pins, angling catalogs, books... the list is almost endless.
I hope you enjoy this site ........ Terry Venables (Vancouver Island BC Canada)
Some History
Back in the late 70's when I was a resident of the Canadian prairies , my collecting was very different. Antique bottles were my thing, dug from old farm dumps and scavenged wherever they could be located.
The turn to vintage fishing tackle came in 1977 when a friend of mine who was renovating an old house discovered 2 identical beer bottles, with caps and labels intact ...inside on ancient wall.
They were both given to me and I promptly passed one on to another bottle collecting friend who was amazed at the find. A short time later , in gratitude for giving him a very rare item, Bob Dolan handed me a box containing some early fishing lures, (one was a well fished Heddon Spin Diver) a 1925 Creek Chub catalog , a 1918 Bristol Catalog and a few other fishing items. They had been given to him by a departed dentist friend who knew he was an ardent antique collector.
I can still recall his words. "Terry, you really love fishing and collecting and I think this is the kind of thing you should start collecting"
Well, I still have most of those items, and also a tiny brass reel that I found one day digging bottles. Those objects still amaze me to this day, and they started my love of vintage fishing tackle, though the majority of my collection has been gathered since 1991 after leaving the prairies and arriving on the West Coast.
I have had many great finds through the decades, in many areas :
British fly reels, Canadian & worldwide Lures & reels, early angling catalogs, historical information, interviews with well known anglers and makers of fishing tackle.... and it seems every so often something quite extraordinary comes along ..... That story to come later, as the research continues...
*see salmon photo below*
Inside this site the highlights of the Daily Colonist King Fisherman's Contest will be displayed. (Organized, and run by Alec Merriman & Jim Tang of the Victoria Colonist Newspaper. ca. 1955 - 1980's
This beautifully hand painted plaster /wax cast of a giant British Columbia Spring Salmon arrived fall 2013 and the mystery of its origin is being uncovered ... stay tuned for developments on this story..... This great salmon and the story of catching it may have played a large role in the developement of sport fishing in this province.... More to follow.
! PLUGS... LURES !
At the start of my collecting insanity, I mainly focused on finding old fly reels. Everywhere I looked, there was yet another reel to buy that I had never seen before. Hardy Bros. and various British makers got my attention, but I also found some interesting Canadian made reels................
However,
Once I discovered the beauty of LURES..... There was no hope for me and I dove head first into the crazy world of compulsive tackle collecting!
Very early on in the 1990's I had a vision to build a sport fishing museum here on Vancouver Island to ensure that many elements of our Canadian fishing history would be preserved. I could see that US collectors were miles ahead of most of us in Canada, and much of our historical angling past was traveling South of the border.
I am pleased to say that there are some very dedicated collectors now in Canada who are working hard to keep Canadian made angling artifacts here.
Though my hopes of building a sport fishing museum are now tempered with the reality of it being a monumental task and very $$$ costly, I have not abandoned my dreams. This site , as previously mentioned comes with desires of generating interest in this history that I feel is a valuable part of our Canadian heritage.
Now......... On to the lures, reels & tackle........... :) (see headers at top to navigate)
At the start of my collecting insanity, I mainly focused on finding old fly reels. Everywhere I looked, there was yet another reel to buy that I had never seen before. Hardy Bros. and various British makers got my attention, but I also found some interesting Canadian made reels................
However,
Once I discovered the beauty of LURES..... There was no hope for me and I dove head first into the crazy world of compulsive tackle collecting!
Very early on in the 1990's I had a vision to build a sport fishing museum here on Vancouver Island to ensure that many elements of our Canadian fishing history would be preserved. I could see that US collectors were miles ahead of most of us in Canada, and much of our historical angling past was traveling South of the border.
I am pleased to say that there are some very dedicated collectors now in Canada who are working hard to keep Canadian made angling artifacts here.
Though my hopes of building a sport fishing museum are now tempered with the reality of it being a monumental task and very $$$ costly, I have not abandoned my dreams. This site , as previously mentioned comes with desires of generating interest in this history that I feel is a valuable part of our Canadian heritage.
Now......... On to the lures, reels & tackle........... :) (see headers at top to navigate)
