Grandpa’s Tackle
Grandpa’s Tackle
Every lure, every decoy, comes with a story.
A story not of the fish caught with it but a story of a grandfather and an uncle who took a young boy, me, fishing.
I do not remember the fish caught.
I do remember the stories told.
To me.
Full disclosure…those times fishing with my grandfather, Clay, my uncle, Leo took place when I was between 8 and 12 years old…I am now 73…
…at this age memories turn into lore.
A few years ago, I came across my grandfather’s old green tackle box…and inside were some of his old lures along with a few fish decoys.
I can’t honestly say I remember many of them, some I do, some as a child I fished with, supposedly. I have kept the ones I can remember holding, the ones I don’t recognize are up for sale.
What I do remember though is the smell of my grandfather’s cigar as we sat on the concrete barrier at the foot of Niagara Street fishing the Niagara River in Buffalo, NY where I grew up.
What I do remember though are the tales told to me by my uncle Leo as we sat on a log on the farmland he owned in Canada.
On this site you can buy vintage lures and decoys and every one of those items comes with a story told by a grandpa or uncle to a little boy.
It is the stories I remember, not the fish caught.
I did not become a fisherman.
I did though become a storyteller…30 some years as a columnist with ESPN and Bassmaster.
Uncle Leo and Grandpa Clay…would be proud.
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