Page 52 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2023

SPORTS & OUTDOORS
52 | October 2023 www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
Some Old Lures Remain Popular and Still Catch Fish Today
Floater Balsa Jerkbait.
Most anglers immediately rush out to buy the newest “can’t fail” hot lures, but some old favorites still catch fish in
Mississippi waters.
Young J.T. Buel loved to fish. One day, he dropped a spoon into the water. As it fluttered down, a big fish smacked it. Probably when his mother wasn’t looking, the youngster swiped another spoon from the kitchen and fashioned it into a fishing lure.
In 1852, Buel obtained a patent for the Buel Spoon, the first patent awarded for a fishing lure commercially sold in the United States. Today, Mississippi anglers use spoons to catch a variety of fish, particularly redfish.
John J. Hildebrandt flattened and reshaped a dime in 1893. He drilled an offset hole through the coin and slipped his wife’s hairpin through the hole. He then fashioned an eye so he could tie line to it and attached a hook. When retrieved through the water, the spinning dime gave off fish-calling flash and vibrations.
In 1899, he founded the Hildebrandt Lure Company,
which still exists today. In-line spinnerbaits, like the venerable Hildebrandt Snagless Sally, remain popular enticements for catching bass in places like the Pearl or Pascagoula Rivers.
The William J. Jamison Company started selling fishing lures in 1904, but W. J. Jamison put a new spin on tackle in 1915. He attached two wire arms to a jighead and added a rounded metal blade to each arm. The Jamison Shannon Twin Spin evolved into the “safety pin” spinnerbaits commonly used by bass fishermen today. Saltwater anglers also throw spinnerbaits for redfish and other species.
story and photos by
John N. Felsher
Hildebrandt Snagless Sally.
Jamison Shannon Twin Spin.