The Structure Cafe

The Modern Angling Revolution

"It is hard to put an exact date on when all these disparate pieces, like structure and depth finders and predictors of fish movement, would coalesce in an effective way, but it definitely started in Chicago with the meeting of these legendary game changers. From this time on, the pieces were in place and in play for the revolution to take shape and evolve, and by the early 1960s, things really started to happen in earnest. By the close of that decade, 'the modern angling revolution' was in full flower." - Ron Lindner

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"Man has been fishing for centuries, but the evolution of the modern angler unfolded over a period of just 14 years. The process began in 1959 and was virtually complete by the end of 1972. Everything that's happened since was a spin-off of the extraordinary chain of events that occurred during fishing's renaissance period." - Babe Winkelman

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Spence "[It] was the Golden Age, everything was breaking - structure fishing, the depthfinder just started to come out. I had the privelege of knowing Carl Lowrance and fishing with Tom Bedell, the guy that started Berkley, and, of course, Buck Perry, the father of structure fishing...The excitement, reading the articles and going out in the spring and doing it, and the structure and the edges, weather and water. It was a great time. Anything you hear now is just pretty much everything recycled." - Spence Petros

Posted at 11:58 PM in Bill Binkelman, Fishing News, In' Fisherman/Al & Ron Lindner, Lowrance, Spoonplugging/Buck Perry | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/22/2017

Binkelman on the Wisconsin River

A photo of Bill Binkelman with a stringer of walleye from the Wisconsin R. while fishing with Dan Gapen, circa 1987, and appearing in a 2017 tribute piece in Midwest Outdoors written by Dan. This would have likely been just a year or two before he passed.

wisconsin walleye

Posted at 11:56 AM in Bill Binkelman | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/13/2017

Crazy Head Lures - 1970s

An early contributor to Fishing Facts magazine, Charlie's first article appeared in print September 1972 as an agreement with George Pazik, a story on his finesse technique (Slider Fishing/Crazy Head Lures) in exchange for some free advertising space. That following year he became a contributing editor, and finesse fishing made it's way into print regularly in the Midwest thereafter for years to come.

Slider_Fishing

Posted at 03:51 PM in Everything Else, Fishing Facts | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/11/2017

Angling Hustlers

Pazik, George One of the most popular fishing magazines is "Fishing Facts," published in Milwaukee by George Pazik. In the current issue, Pazik said, in part: "I believe we have gone too far in commercializing our wonderful sport of fishing. Some promoters are promoting too much and have become hustlers and fast-buck artists. I think they threaten to take over our sport just to line their pockets with green. "I think fishing tournaments, some of them, are going too far. I think there are too many. I am opposed to the fast-buck operators trying to line their pockets by sponsoring the killing of fish for money: "As an angler, I love my sport, and I hate to see it getting messed up by people whose only interest is to make a fast buck."

Chicago Tribune
Sunday, August 7, 1977

Posted at 12:00 PM in Everything Else, Fishing Facts | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/08/2017

Fishing Facts Artist, Wiley Miller - Then (1974) and Now (~2014)

Taxidermy

Wiley Miller

Posted at 12:07 PM in Everything Else, Fishing Facts | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/06/2017

The Northwoods Trading Post

Located in Menomonee Falls, WI, The Northwoods Trading Post was arguably the first of the "outdoor themed" destination stores, now popularized by Bass Pro Shops and similar outdoor retailers. The creation was the brainchild of George Pazik, Fishing Facts lead man at the time and Northwoods Publishing owner. Several have mentioned this push into the outdoor retail market was one of the big sticking points between George and Bill (Binkelman), leading to their eventual parting ways years earlier. The first store featured a trout stream running through it's space, along with fish and game mounts on the walls, a lodge-style look with lots of timber, and tons of tackle and outdoor supplies, the same stuff you'd see advertised in every issue of Fishing Facts. This photo of George kneeling beside the stream in the Menominee store was taken in August, 1975. Note all the tackle supplies on rolling log display shelves in the background.

Northwoods Trading

Posted at 11:43 AM in Everything Else, Fishing Facts | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/04/2017

Old Fishing Facts Jacket/Patches

Recently saw this old jacket adorned with a variety of Fishing Facts award patches from their early contest years available on eBay.

bass fishing

Fishing Patches

Mister Twister

Fishing Facts

Posted at 01:27 PM in Everything Else, Fishing Facts | Permalink | Comments (0)

08/31/2017

Thomas Ferencek - Original Spoonpluggers

Just learned of the passing of Tom Ferencek last week at the age of 74. Tom and his fishing partner, Don Dickson, were Perry trained Spoonpluggers who wrote and were featured in numerous articles for Fishing Facts magazine, mostly back in the 1970s. They were also involved in seminars and training classes, among other things. If I'm not mistaken, both originally hailed from the Pennsylvania area, but ended up down in Florida in later years, Tom in Ormand Beach.

Spoonplugging

Thamos Ferencek

Tom_Ferencek

Ferencek

In Memorium

Posted at 11:14 AM in Everything Else, Spoonplugging/Buck Perry | Permalink | Comments (2)