Vintage Bass - Fishing With 50+ Year Old Gear!

On this trip I put vintage fishing tackle to the test against some angry smallmouth!

[johnguth]

l am 80 plus yrs young and still use what you younger angler's call vintage equipment! Have never been embarrassed in doing so! Thank you for the very nice video!

[tphvictims]

I’m 65 years old and that was the absolute best tackle we could hope for. 👍🏻🎣

[humblehombre]

Like a person in a museum, taking in fine paintings, and appreciating fine art, I find I can look at, repair then reuse old time fishing lures and gear for hours. I get the feelins which I can remember as a boy, (like so very many of us fortunate boys) sitting with my Dad in an old aluminum boat. He’d have a green, rounded corner metal box filled with these colourful, mysterious fishing lures, a few old leaders, a few single hooks, a bobber or two (red and white), and a fish chain that could hold several large pike. Dad would have a stubby bottle of Labbatt’s 50 ale that he would work away at, over time. You were allowed a few beers then. My Dad smoked Kool cigarettes, and had the typical black, horned rim glasses. The loons yodelled, Dad would just grin, as he was at his happiest out there. I can only hope that our presence was as key to his happiness as his was to ours. This old gear represents an era, long gone. It is the picture frame where I hang my Dad’s memory. Wow, did I go off on a tangent. As long as those old lures and different gear exist, so will the remnants of those days.

[gregoryschmidt]

Great to see that gear in action. My grandfather was a muskie guide on the Turtle-Flambeau flowage in northern Wisconsin, and I have his tackle box. I still catch muskies on his plugs that are beat to heck from hundreds of strikes, and walleyes on his ancient Rapps and Mepps. I've now been taking my young nephews out, so that'll be 4 generations using Grandpa's lures. They knew how to catch fish in the 40's and 50's. Most of the "new" designs just have brighter neon colors, holo graphics, fancier packaging, etc, but are based on the old standbys.

[mjk]

Well...thanks for making me feel old Matt 😅 Mitchell 309 and Diawa swinger rod was my 1st ultralight, changed my fishing, I also had the 300 Michells, the coffee grinders ...anti reverse 😅

[mbf]

Crazy Crawler was my dad’s favorite lure to use at our place in Maine for Smallmouth. Many times have caught big 6lb+ on one. When I go up there every summer there’s one left in all black in his tackle box. I don’t have the heart to ever use it for fear of losing it to a big bass. The blades are all bent up too.
He taught me how to fish for bass with one and another favorite the jitterbug!

[philliptaylor]

Awesome!! Good old "Hoola-poppers"! They are rock solid!

[mccray]

Brought back memories of me fishing with my dad. Love the action on that lure!

[azzir]

Your grampa's old lures were the same ones I used when I was bassing in the 60's and 70's. Good stuff. My favorite reel was a Mitchell 300.

[EdwinsTrains]

I have a 1965ish sears gamefisher 2000 model combo. It's very simple and easy to fix.

[williamelliott]

I still use a Heddon Tiny Torpedo that I bought early in the 1980’s.

It works.

[steves]

Back in the late 70's on Mille Lacs the may flies were so thick fishing they covered our boat. Sheesh. My parents have passed but you gave me some great memories.

[flyslinger]

Just hearing the ratchet/anti-reverse reminds me of my days fishing with my grandfather with the same gear.

[thomasbrannon]

I put a bug in Marlingbaits ear already but I'd love to see you fish with some of his lures

[markshogan]

I used Mitchell 300 and 301 reels for years. They were built like tanks, at least the older ones were. I caught a 28 lb. carp with one, and a 13 lb. salmon too. The salmon stripped about 80 yards of line off on the first run. They had excellent drags on them. I really miss having mr grandfathers circa 1955 Mitchell 301. It became damaged in 1988.

[jeffffro]

I love the connection you have, love the vibes you give off as well. When a fish gets hooked, its got to be an incredible traumatic experience for them, they get yanked out of the water, face to face with a monster, and then when you put them back in the water and they swim off like nothing just happened! That says loads about your respect for the fish. They feel that, some might even understand that you mean no harm! There aren't many anglers who have this talent, you sir, have it! I absolutely LOVE watching you fish, and I can tell you ha e a genuine love for these creatures. For that I thank you from the bottom of my heart! I've shared a lot of your post with a lot of people, hopefully you will have hundreds of thousands of subscribers very soon! You definitely deserve all of this! Thank you for sharing some of the most wonderful videos on the tube! I will watch ANYTHING you post with great enthusiasm! Jeff from KC and an avid angler for 35 years! I would love to one day spin some reels with you and catch my first smallie! All we have here is Largemouth, the biggest for me so far, 10lbs 3/4 ounce! A true beast!

[randallburgess]

Another great video! I wish I had my dad’s tackle box full of old lures. It was made of aluminum, about 1 foot wide bye 18” inch long and opened up with 2 shelves on each side. One of the biggest boxes I have ever seen! It had lures like the Hula Popper and all kinds of mostly wooden lures. It was historic.

[pacodelapena]

I love this videos where you show the old lures. Thanks for using them. I have that one also. It's great to use the old ones is a lot of fun.

[SuqMadiq]

Damn, you read my mind years in the future in a pre-recorded video.

"Man, I wonder what the ratio on that thing is?"

"The gear ratio is 3.75 to

You said that right as my thought finished. Lol.

[harrygrimley]

Love the first catch. Surprise. That reel noise would drive me nuts. Thanks.