Lure Legends - The Big-O

Many of us fisherman aspire to become inventors of our own Lure. Some of us have in fact, cobbled together a makeshift lure in an attempt to catch fish. I myself landed a respectable sized Bass in the late 70s using a brown piece of yarn.  I thought I was a genius. I assure you I was not.

This is the story of a LEGEND. The story of a lure that would change bass fishing forever....This is the story of "The Big-O"

The year is 1962. It is late winter in Oak Ridge Tennessee, and a young man is working at the Atomic Energy Commission when he receives a call and lunges for the a wall phone. His swivel-chair on wheels scoots out from underneath him, gravity takes hold, sending him to the floor....

the fall caused vertebra to pinch the man's spine and after 2 years and 2 surgeries, that man returned to work. 

The year is now 1966...that same man is turning a wrench on a valve. The wrench slips causing the bone grafts in his back break free and in 1967 he undergoes two more operations. He is then placed in a body cast from his neck/shoulders to his hips. The unfortunate man is Fredrick C. Young.

So what does one do when your torso is in a cast? Well, according to Fred, he was watching a friend "Earl" mow his lawn and started whittling on a piece of wood. Fred claimed he wasn't whittling anything in particular but then decided to make the wood into a fishing plug. He and Earl made a few of them and caught fish on them...when he would go to his back appointments, Fred would test his lures on the drive back at Melton Hill Lake.

Fred sent his brother some plugs to test in the mountain lakes of western North Carolina (Santeetlah, Fontana). The plugs were very successful and Fred's brother essentially became the field tester for his plugs. His brother's name was Odis and he was 6' 6" and weighed in a 250lbs - the lures were named after Odis and became "The Big-O".

Fred would keep the plugs in egg cartons, fish them and tune them, to make them "do what I want them to do". By 1970 word was getting around about these FAT plugs and top bass anglers were looking to get there hands on a few. Fred gave a few plugs to certain anglers who were representing B.A.S.S. on tournament circles and they were having success. 

In 1972 a Tournament was held on Watts Bar Lake in Tennessee. Odis was selling plugs for $10.00-$15.00 (in 1970s money) each out of the trunk of his car. It is rumored that Fred was able to carve and number around 3700 of the baits.

Fred could only carve about a dozen lures a week, never had more than a few on-hand at any time, but would receive calls from fishermen wanting them. He established a waiting list and got behind rather quickly. Fred also understood that the cost of mass-producing the Big-O would be too expensive for him.

In the spring of 1973 Fred received the trade name for "The Big-O" and then got a call from Cotton Cordell. Cordell and Young met at the Cordell plant in Hot Springs and Fred sold the Big-O to the Arkansas lure manufacturer. After securing the rights to the Big-O, Young oversaw the design of the plastic Big O, and Cotton Cordell began manufacturing plastic Big Os and getting them into Cordell’s catalog for 1973-74. Within 13 months, the artificial lure manufacturer sold 1.3 million Big Os.

Since then the Big-O has become a legendary bass-catcher and one of the first balsa crankbaits that changed bass fishing forever. Plastic or not, the Big-O continues to produce and is still a top-selling bait, retailing today for less than it cost in 1972!

Fred passed away April 16, 1985. Shortly after his death, his daughter Glenna (White) went through the house and found tackle boxes containing hundreds of lures that had been made by her father. White packed the items up with other belongings and moved to Atlanta with the rest of her family. 26 years later, she offered up 390 of her father's original hand carved Big-O's at auction in 2011. She did keep Lure #1912 (the year Fred was born) It would be interesting to know where that lure is now. Fred's grandchildren own some of the lures so there are still originals that are uncirculated.

In 1992 Cordell Released a 25th year anniversary edition of the Big O, in honor of Fred.

The Cotton Cordell Big-O is still selling today...a fitting tribute to both Fred C. Young and Cotton Cordell.

Written by Chuck's Tackle Box, 5/22/22

 

Stan Gibbs - Cape Cod's Lure Making Legend

When I think of Cape Cod Massachusetts, I think of a few things.... the birth of my son in Hyannis, my time there at Otis ANGB as an F-15 Mechanic, fried clams at "Thompson's Clam Bar", the Summer tourist crush, and fishing the Cape Cod Canal in Buzzards Bay.

It's during this time in my life, living on Cape Cod, that I learned of two local fishing lure legends Stan Gibbs and Bob Pond. 

For this post, I will focus on Stan Gibbs and write two more separate articles bout Bob Pond and the Cape Cod Canal.

First, Stan Gibbs....This man.

Stan Gibbs in 1953. More on this photo later..

 

It's hard to impress upon others throughout the country and the world, what life on Cape Cod is like, but Stan Gibbs is to Fishing on Cape Cod what Ted Williams was to baseball in Boston, a local figure of legendary status. Most around here would say, "If you don't know who Stan Gibbs is, you likely aren't a striped bass fishermen"

Born in 1915 and raised in Easton, Mass., Stan Gibbs relocated to Sagamore in 1945. Initially, he earned a living as a professional fur trapper, catching local mink, muskrat and raccoon,

He was a bigger guy and actually looked a bit like Ted Williams, and was referred to by most locals as a true Cape Codder. He made his living off the land and as a muskrat trapper, archer, woodcarver and fisherman. He kept his activities private and seldom shared where he was going or what he doing. Having moved close to the canal, Stan ended up spending a majority of his time at the canal, perfecting his art of angling and love of the sport. He would use this skill and knowledge of fishing to create lures, called "Gibbs Lures" in 1946.

The first Gibbs lure Box style "add distance to your cast"

 

Stan seemed to know every nook and cranny of the canal, from Sagamore to Bourne and Buzzards Bay. Nobody knew the canal better than Stan Gibbs. He worked out of his shed and could test his lures in the canal a short distance away. His lures contained a heavily weighted center that allowed them to be tossed long distances from shore, which was a necessity if one were to fish there in the canal. Stan knew how important it was to reach breaking fish that were out of the reach of other lures and soon word spread as it does in these sleepy New England towns, and his first customers were local fishermen.

His hand crafted fishing plugs that worked so well for him became the foundation products of this new enterprise. Names like Polaris Popper, Casting Swimmer, Pencil Popper, Needle-fish, and Darter are still common names along the canal and Popponesset Beach. Many others have been added along the way as new designs were developed and proven. Each plug had its own distinct characteristics, but common throughout was the ability to cast considerable distances into the wind. Since his first lure, Stan Gibbs plugs have been a staple on the Cape Cod Striper fishing scene - making Stan a local legend.

The Polaris Popper

 

Gibbs Casting Swimmer

After two decades, Stan sold his lure making business in the early 1970's and at that time, he was producing 35,000 lures annually. He continued to be a staple on the Cape Cod Canal and fished there into his elderly years..

Gibbs died on Tuesday February 3, 2004 at Liberty Commons Nursing Home in Chatham at the age of 89 and at his request, his ashes were scattered into the canal that he fished and called home for some 60 years. You can still fish "with" Stan today, along the canal...

Fast Forward to 2009...fundraising efforts began to erect a 10 foot statue dedicated to all the striper fishermen along the Cape Cod Canal. The statue was to to titled "The Fisherman"...

and the initial proof of the statue was to look like this:

"The Fisherman (L) and Stan Gibbs c.1953 (R)

Although they failed to specifically say so, they used the 1953 image of Stan Gibbs as inspiration for the statue with no mention of Gibbs by name. Five years later, in 2014, the Fisherman Fund had raised $80,000.00 to fund the project. The Bourne Board of Selectmen became embroiled in a controversy over the statue and the legend of Stan Gibbs. Gibb's family, residents and local fishermen did not like the lack of connection to one of Cape Cod's biggest fishing icons. After much debate,the Bourne Board of Selectmen agreed to the following title to be placed at the foot of the statute:

“The Fisherman,”  

“A tribute to past, present and future striped bass fishermen of the great Cape Cod Canal”  

“inspired by local fishing legend Stan Gibbs.”

The statue went through some minor artistic changes and is currently erected at the Buzzards Bay park  along the Canal in Bourne MA. 

Robert Willis, president of the Fisherman Fund  stated “That pose of Stan Gibbs has been etched in the memory of generations of fishermen. Thus the name "The Fisherman”.  “We are also aware of the importance to recognize and preserve the history and impact of Stan Gibbs, the lure maker and fisherman"

Stan's lures have been copied by multitudes of others looking to capitalize on his lure design, But "Stan Gibbs lures" continues to produce these iconic lures out of Rhode Island today!

Both the statue and the continued production of his lures are fitting tributes to this Legendary fisherman and lure maker...

The Pocket Fisherman and other fishing poles gone amuck!

UPDATE 2/21/22: Ron Popeil has passed away at age 86. My blog from 2010 pays tribute to Ron

If you are like me, when you were a kid you watched this commercial daily.... The Ronco ( Ron Popeil) Pocket Fisherman.

 

This brought a smile to my face while surfing the net and coming across an ad for one of them. I was surprised to find that The Pocket Fisherman is still sold today! I thought it would be funny to connect with a piece of my childhood, so I found a vintage outfit still in the box with its instructions and side holster bag... after all, I collect vintage tackle and lures. Attached is my breakdown of this piece of fishing history, as well as some other "not so successful" attempts to reproduce a similar product (to be discussed later) I'll start with the box:

The front of the box, showing the 70's icon.

The rear of the box, lets you know its as easy as 1,2,3! Draw like a cowboy, Hide behind the PF, and thirdly, get a kid to hold the net.

I scanned the manual... always fun to see these instructions and breakdown of the PF.

If you actually take a moment to mess with the pocket fisherman you realize that it is actually made pretty well. These are durable although the rod portion always made me nervous with its click in place rod backing. The pocket fisherman casts pretty easy and goes far for a itty-bitty rod. From shore it is a little clumsy and stupid, but from a boat it can be wonderful. Mechanically, the PF is of average or better quality than most things you buy today. The reel crank is metal and the storage "clip" on the handle is a witty engineering feat! I took a long look at the clip and found it to be a solid engineering solution for flipping out and locking a handle in place. In fact, I do not think today's companies would take the expense of making such a good metal crank. Bottom line is that although laughable, the Pocket Fisherman is functional and part of our fishing history. For those of us raised in the 70's, it is like connecting with an dopey old friend. 

 Speaking of dopey... let see some of the the other so-called fishing novelties that followed the Pocket Fisherman. While I have not seen these others and I do not have a relationship with these others, It seems that simply reading about others experiences will suffice. How about this abortion: The Coleman "Fish Pen"

It brags about "Reel in looks of amazement from your fellow fishermen and friends! " They will be amazed that you even bought one! Now, not to be cynical, but some of the fine print mentions that "product narratives are for entertainment purposes" aside from catching pan-fish, sunfish, or blue gill, I believe this to be something to goof on and play with...not something to fish with. Positive note: 

This product does contain metal.... not entirely plastic like this next novelty fishing set-up that I am going to SLAM! This next one was actually endorsed by Roland Martin, who apparently will lend his name to anything as long as it has the possibility of sending a check his way. I am talking about the Rocket Fishing Rod.

Really? Plastic abortion of a fishing rod for fat kids who cant even muster the energy to cast a lure! 

One review I read from a disgruntled father says that he bought one and opened it and the whole contraptions fell apart in his hands.... He brought it back and opened the new one in the store and it "seemed" ok.... He took his kid fishing and on the first Faux-cast the springs and everything shot out of the thing. A complete piece of crap with Roland's name attached to it. 

Personally, I would be embarrassed if I were Roland and distance myself as far as I could from this junk. In short, I do not believe anyone has been able to repeat the success of the Pocket Fisherman. Although dumb and laughable it is a decent item and a piece of our fishing history.