#419687 - 03/04/08 12:39 PM
Old Jigs & Jig Fishing Question?
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King of the Beach
Registered: 12/11/02
Posts: 5207
Loc: Carkeek Park
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I was talking to a fishing buddy recently about jig fishing. He mentioned he still has some old packages of Leo Jigs.
I can remember these being available a long time ago, although I never used them. With all the talk about old school Okie's, Sammy Special etc recently, I was curious if anyone knows which company was the first to commercially produce steelhead jigs? Was it Leo's, Beau Mac?
Also, when did jig fishing really become popular? I kind of got out of steelhead fishing in the mid 80's and can't remember seeing folks fishing jigs much back then.
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#419693 - 03/04/08 12:58 PM
Re: Old Jigs & Jig Fishing Question?
[Re: stonefish]
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Repeat Spawner
Registered: 10/09/04
Posts: 1027
Loc: Napavine,Washington
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Leo lived out by Salkum in the early 70's just up the hill from my wifes parents. I met him and fished with him several times and bought some of his jigs. He used to carry a bunch of extras with him when he came to the river and usually sold out when the word got out. Although jig fishing was very popular back in the mid-west for spiny rays, he was the first one I ever knew of who used them for steelhead/salmon on the Cowlitz. I can remember a couple years later when Paul Beaupre(prbably mispelled) came out with a jig of his own. The original Leo's were made with a very fine wire hook and you had to really finesse a fish to keep it from straightening out and you losing the fish. When the Beau-Mac jige came out they grew inpopularity in part to the fact they had a stronger hook that did not straighten out as easily. To answer your question, in this area I would say that Leo's were first on a very limited prodution basis(when he sold out on the river,Leo would go home,tie some more and return with a fresh supply)but Beau-Mac on a larger scale.As a side note, the early fishermen who bought Leo's jigs all had a special color that they swore by and only bought that "one". Leo would oblige them even if it meant giving them his last one that morning and then procede to put on something far different and immediatly hook a fish.
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#419709 - 03/04/08 02:19 PM
Re: Old Jigs & Jig Fishing Question?
[Re: laterun]
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I love me
Registered: 08/22/06
Posts: 1881
Loc: Around the way
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I know somebody who has some of the old Bradbury jigs. Be a pretty neat thing to have. I wonder if Mr Vedder has any old heirlooms jigs?
Edited by avid angler (03/04/08 02:19 PM)
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#419728 - 03/04/08 03:06 PM
Re: Old Jigs & Jig Fishing Question?
[Re: Satan]
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River Nutrients
Registered: 10/04/01
Posts: 3640
Loc: Gold Bar
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What is a sammy special anyway
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#419740 - 03/04/08 03:46 PM
Re: Old Jigs & Jig Fishing Question?
[Re: Dave D]
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River Nutrients
Registered: 11/07/99
Posts: 2691
Loc: Yelmish
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i can remember walking into blue creek when i started fishing it, always getting a chuckle walking past all the oddballs "perch fishing" for steelhead.
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#419808 - 03/04/08 07:31 PM
Re: Old Jigs & Jig Fishing Question?
[Re: Brewer]
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Reverend Tarpones
Registered: 10/09/02
Posts: 8587
Loc: West Duvall
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I did a good bit of research on the history of jig fishing for steelhead when I wrote my first book on the subject. Everyone seems to agree that Leo was the first in the Northwest, but at roughly the same time Gill Rice began using jigs in the Great Lakes region for steelhead. Paul, who was a friend of mine, was not the first to fish/manufacture jigs, but he was an innovator who came up with several great lure including the Pearl Head Shrimp, the Cheater, the beaded jig, and the Mylar winged Flash and Spin. Paul lived for BIG steelhead. His lifetime goal was to break 30 pounds, which he never did, but he did land more than his share of big steelhead.
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No huevos no pollo.
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#419835 - 03/04/08 09:37 PM
Re: Old Jigs & Jig Fishing Question?
[Re: stonefish]
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Reverend Tarpones
Registered: 10/09/02
Posts: 8587
Loc: West Duvall
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Thanks for the info.
Dave Vedder, I'm not familiar with the BeauMac's Pearl Head Shrimp. Do you have any pictures of them? I think these old lures are pretty cool to see.
Sorry. All i have is a slide and I do not have a slide scanner. There is a big photo of one on page 11 of my last book. If anyone has the book and a scanner they can get us a photo. It was a very cool looking lure, and clearly the predecessor to his Beau Mac jigs.
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No huevos no pollo.
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#420202 - 03/06/08 12:42 PM
Re: Old Jigs & Jig Fishing Question?
[Re: stonefish]
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River Nutrients
Registered: 04/25/00
Posts: 5078
Loc: East of Aberdeen, West of Mont...
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Sammy Specials and Steelie Bob's......Check the prices.......these are old and all I ever used in the 60's, and most of the 70's...... Wow..........finally got it to post.............yea......
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"Worse day sport fishing, still better than the best day working"
"I thought growing older, would take longer"
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#422628 - 03/17/08 10:50 AM
Re: Old Jigs & Jig Fishing Question?
[Re: DrifterWA]
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Parr
Registered: 12/02/07
Posts: 62
Loc: Redmond, WA
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Well as long as we are on this subject we might as well go all the way back. All the way back to the "Birth of the Cherry Bobber" Don Pacific Northwest Fishing Golden Years
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#422896 - 03/18/08 12:20 AM
Re: Old Jigs & Jig Fishing Question?
[Re: ramrodncf]
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Juvenile at Sea
Registered: 03/10/08
Posts: 241
Loc: WA
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