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Bass couldn't pass on the legendary Jitterbug
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Stories told about the great fishing lures of yesteryear never die. They live on and on.
A couple of baits from what used to be the Fred Arbogast Company in Akron account for many good fishing stories, a few of which I can relate from personal experience.
Extras
One of them was the
"Night of the Jitterbug." A friend and I were at Bass Lake in Hiawatha National Forest
in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Around midnight one evening, the friend, Al Nolan, and I set out in our canoe. We paddled to the edge of a weed bed offshore and began casting Jitterbugs.
With moonlight providing the only illumination, it was impossible to see where the bait landed after it was cast. Yet the splash could be heard clearly, as well as the distinctive gurgle caused by the plug with the big, wide lip.
What an enticing sound! You just knew the bait was wobbling back and forth and stirring the water. No respectable bass hunting for something to eat could pass up such a lure.
The bass at Bass Lake were respectable this night. You knew it when you heard the explosion of water in the direction of the bait. The gurgling stopped and a fish was pulling on the line.
It happened again and again and left for years to come one of the most memorable images in a lifetime of fishing. Similar stories about the Jitterbug and other baits have been related by friends.
The man who gave us the Jitterbug was Fred Arbogast of Akron, who went into the lure business in 1926. Fred, who had worked at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, talked about fishing with his friends and carved lures for many of them.
Anglers had such success with Fred's baits that they wanted more of them. Local tackle shops asked if they could stock the baits.
Besides the Jitterbug, Arbogast made the Hula Popper. It also was a surface lure and, like the Jitterbug, highly successful for the anglers who used it.
Both the Jitterbug and the Hula Popper still can be purchased, as well as another Arbogast favorite, the Sputterbuzz. The Sputterbuzz has a spinner in front and a skirt in the back.
Sadly, Fred is gone, as is the business he started. Yet Arbogast lures live on through PRADCO, a huge lure and hunting-supply company at Fort Smith, Ark. PRADCO fishing products include Bomber, Cotton Cordell, Rebel, Smithwick, Booyah, Heddon, Yum and others.
All the companies are listed and baits made by each are pictured in the 2007 PRADCO fishing catalog. While there is disappointment over the loss of individual businesses, it is good to know most of the fishing lures still can be purchased.
Another option is to get on the Internet, call up the lure manufacturer and seek information on the various fishing baits made. The Web site is www.pradco-fishing.com.
Contact Jim Robey at Dayton Daily News, 1611 S. Main St., Dayton, OH 45409.
