eBay Report for September 2003

Nothing seems surprising in fishing tackle collecting these days, so I doubt if the sale of the Chautauqua minnow in box made the Wall Street Journal, but it certainly caused some gasps among eBay followers. This sale was certainly the highlight of the month, and probably set a record for a fishing lure.

Lures:

Here it is in all its glory. This Chautauqua Minnow in its original box with instructional brochure was bid to $45,855. There were 44 bids placed in the seven day auction. I imagine that the amount is the highest ever paid for a fishing lure.

I can't help but wonder if this wasn't a case of the "I'll make a huge bid just to make sure I get the item" philosophy gone wrong. A bid of $27,500 was made with less than a minute left which did not top the high bidder. With the bid standing at $27,600 a former high bidder pushed the button with 28 seconds remaining. He must have thought his $45,755 bid would devastate that high bidder. Imagine his shock when the message came back "you have been outbid".  

There were some other outstanding miscellaneous lures sold in September. A Moonlight 5 hook minnow in a good box, with cracked eyes but otherwise EX, topped out at $4738. A Lanes Wagtail Wonder Wobbler on a standup counter display sold for $600. A K & K Animated Minnow picture box only in VG condition reached $4307.50, and a Donaly Redfin Minnow in the box was bid to $1539. The lure was VG-EX and the box G. A Musky Expert Minnow in VG, 4-7/8" with one prop ended at $3938.88.

A mint Heddon green crackle back 150 Minnow in a 1907 white box with papers, went for the buy it now price of $4500. An EX Heddon Coast Minnow, rainbow color, in a VG box sold for $2182.50. The plastic Punkinseed shown here illustrated that plastic is still worth its weight in gold as it sold for $2225. It is EX and was color SSD.

The standout Creek Chub baits found included a Bug Wiggler that was EX and in White with red & black bug pattern. It sold for $688. A Weedbug that was EX in the box and red & white color reached $688 also.

Rods:

When you look at the bamboo rod market, you can't help but wonder if the people spending big bucks on reels and lures are buying because they enjoy the tackle, or for investments. I hope they enjoy playing with their reels and looking at their lures. The six highest bid rods either didn't meet the reserve or had no starting bid. They are still probably better investments than Enron stock...

However, fiberglass rods are a good investment if mint. A Heddon Pal Spook, solid glass, 5' #4451, new in the bag brought $276. It is pictured here. A Fenwick 6' Feralite 2 piece bass rod in EX condition sold for $664.78. It's sort of odd that these two piece rods that bass fishermen didn't want in the 1960s are now the ones in demand by the Japanese.

A 7' Edwards Quadrate fly rod, with only one tip and it was 1" short got 29 bids, and sold for $860. An Orvis Wes Jordon 7.5', 2/2 rod that was EX in a nice leather case brought $800.

Miscellaneous Fishing Stuff:

I thought the leather creel from England shown here was really neat. It had hardened with age, but looks nice. It sold for $1866. Looking at the bidding on some of those Turtle creels, one can't help but wonder if they were good investments, or are going to fade like bamboo fly rods. Another nice British item was a large Farlow line dryer, dating to the early 1900s, which received 14 bids and sold for $305.

A Creek Chub Bait Co. catalog from 1924 was a Wowser. It had the original envelope and a 4 page color insert showing the new lures for 1924. It was in VG-EX condition and sold for $1691.66.

A nice blue swirl glass minnow trap with no lid, but in VG condition brought $493.84, while a Camp glass trap in EX condition sold for $164. A dealer carton of 3 dozen Shurkatch split shot tins sold for $92.

Reels:

There were some very nice fly reels this month. A Julius vom Hofe Trout reel with raised pillars and the 1889 patent markings came up. It was in VG+ condition and reached $1080.87. It is shown here. Another Julius vom Hofe - a #3 trout reel in a box with no label was sold. It was hard rubber and German silver and in VG+ condition and sold for $565.55. An Abbey & Imbrie Trout reel, also GS/HR and VG brought 863.03.

Salmon fly reels included a Bogdan #0 size and in VG condition sold for $1075. A Kosmic Salmon reel, 4-1/4 inches in diameter and in EX condition sold for $736. An Edward vom Hofe #423 4/0 size, with Wm. Mills markings, EX in a leather case brought $1475.

A J. Conroy brass ball handle reel in VG sold for $405. A Conroy, Bissett & Malleson (c1875-81) S handle brass reel in VG brought $625.

Spinning reels of note included a rare Merit-Stalder pivoting reel in the box and all in VG condition for $276. A couple of Deluxe (gold trimmed) Mitchells brought a lot of interest. A 300 DL in the wooden box in mint condition reached $911, and a mint #410 DL in box was snapped up with a "Buy it Now" option for $1250.

Casting reels doing well included a pair of Benjamin-Sellar "Thumezy" reels, between them they had 2 screws and a handle nut missing, but otherwise they were VG and brought $1425. A Wm. H. Talbot Co #3 from Nevada, Missouri in VG-EX condition reached $921.10. A Malleson Aluminum and German silver multiplier in VG condition sold for $270.99. A J. A. Coxe #15 German silver level wind model and EX reached $264. It is shown to the right. A Shakespeare red white and blue 1976 Bi-Centennial reel, new in the box sold for $451.00

Finally, a mint Otto Zwarg Maximo #600 - a size 1/0 salt water reel - topped out at a very nice price of $2250; and an item that I missed that was of importance was a Wm. Mills & Son planetary gear reel. This reel was patented on July 11, 1882. The example sold sounded like it was in good condition only, and the gearing was shot.  This very old and historic reel is shown to the right. 

Thanks for reading this report, and thanks to Doug Jobe, Ben Wright, Chris Labuz, Heddon Spook, Mike Frome, Dean Smith, and Dave O'Rourke for sending in auctions of interest.