Fishing Frenzy

Human beings have been catching fish to eat since the beginning of our creation. Our brains became more developed over time and we began making tools. Time went on and we started devising more intricate trade items used for different purposes. This is why so many antique fishing lures exist today. They are collected by many these days because they are not made like they used to be.

Something similar to baits was something called fish decoys which actually do still last today. They were used for catching fish in frozen over bodies of water, most commonly in lakes. A hole is cut into the ice, a fish comes and it is hopefully caught by the fisherman with a spear.

These were commonly hand crafted from wood and can be worth hundreds today in good condition. They were normally painted to mimic the look of real fish and attached was something called a jig stick. The jig stick was basically a cross section of two wooden sticks attached with a string to the decoy that was used to move the fish around as if it were alive.

Things that will determine the value of one of these old decoys would be things such as materials used and present signatures indicating the identity of the crafter. Even though most people use a simply rod and lure these days, some still keep to the old ways. In some situations it may be easier to use this tool because different species of fish react in their own unique ways to things and may not bite on traditional bait.

The most common means of catching fish for the average person would be the use of the old fashioned rod and line. People used to train themselves and have great skill within their own trades. This led to the production of very high quality items which are now all collected today. Many baits are painted, however sometimes the craftsman will sometimes leave it plain.

Back in these old times aluminum was hard to come by and expensive to produce. Because of the rarity, many craftsmen used it to make their baits. For some time however, some governments banned the use of it in the manufacturing of fishing supplies because it was to rare to be used for that purpose.

Believe it or not, the first bait makers were actually jewelers. This was very common as it they easily brought their skills over. They knew what materials were good to use such as wood, cork, animal hair and plastics. The jewelers of the time were normally proud of the items they produced and would apply their brand name to all of their pieces.

The higher end models known back in the day are now worth thousands of dollars. Something to keep in mind when collecting these is that a lure by itself is essentially only half of the item. If the original box accompanies the lure, it is like having a complete item and is worth much more all together. Collecting antique fishing lures can be a very fulfilling hobby because there are so many things to take into consideration as we as having items crafted with utmost care and skill.