My “FIRST” fishing lure

Thought this might jog the memory bank for those of us suffering from “Cabin Fever”

My “First” fishing lure bought with my own money.

I was living in Marquette, Michigan as a boy when my grandpa came up from Ohio to fish with dad and I. It was an early Saturday morning. Walking into the local baitshop I was allowed to use my own money from my piggy bank (Yes it WAS a piggy bank back then) to purchase my own selection of tackle.

Now keep in mind we were WALLEYE fishing, but I select a yellow “Jitterbug”. Neither my dad or grandpa question this boyish philosophy here and let me shell out the cash for this flashy plug.

As we hit the lake we take the might 12 foot aluminum to a likely Walleye hole. I immediately see my jitterbug………FLOATS!?! As a 6 year old I detect an issue here. These Walleyes are not surface feeding!!

My grandpa squeezes on a couple split shots ahead of my jitter bug to likely calm my panic. Shockingly enough nothing is cracking the “bug”. About 30 minutes into the day I snagged up….. My piggybank investment is in serious jeopardy as the mono stretches to dangerous levels. Neither dad or grandpa want to snap the line, and leave the crushing job to the “Lil Guy” who is facing losing some weight in his bank and tackle box.

After probably 30 minutes of toying with the snag I end up breaking the line. I do believe…Embarrasing as it is….I cried a little. I elected not to fish anymore and drowned my sorrows in hot chocolate and a couple bites off grandpas oversized chocolate bar.

I peered into my small silver tackle box on occassion and couldn’t help but notice that there was a slot open where my “Jitterbug” used to live. The package it came in seemed silly to keep, and was just going to be a bad reminder of this tragic event. It was sad…Really sad for a 6 year old angler.

Upon moving to a new “HOT SPOT” my grandpa started to lug up the ole bell bottom anchor and stopped pulling after a couple tugs. He looked back at me with his sly grin and asked if I could help him. At 6 years old I sensed something was up, and hustled to the bow. As I peered over the old Aluminum V I see my lost jitterbug lodged in the old anchor rope.

We carefully removed that “Jitterbug” and I immediately put it back in my silver tackle box for safekeeping.

That “Jitterbug” was my favorite fishing lure………And my FIRST!!

It never caught a single fish, but means more to me than any piece of tackle I’ll ever own. Needless to say I NEVER fished with that Jitterbug again!!

I suspect others might have a story or piece of tackle that graces their cabin walls. While we all likely suffer from “Cabin Fever” let’s collectively remember WHY and HOW we developed such a passion for “Goin Fishin”

My first purchase was a red and white Daredevil.
Man I loved to sling that thing and more than a few northerns were caught before my reel malfunctioned, stopped short and that old Daredevil snapped the line and just kept on flying! Sad, but I have a tacklebox full of those red devils now!
Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

I picked dandelions for my mom and she gave me enough for a hula popper, caught my first bass from shore at lake harriet in the cities on that lure.

The old Red Eye spoon is my most memorable. Thing must have weighed close to 2 oz. Snapped two rods hucking that thing into the St. Croix. Something big finally grabbed it, fought it for about 30 seconds, snapped the rod and stole the lure. Most expensive lure I’ve owned to this day.

Snoopy bobber. When you got a bite he would stand up!!

My first lure was a black and chartreuse crappie tube. Caught tons of crappie and bass on that thing. Or I visited the leaf/compost pile and dug me up some worms.

Well this isn’t about my first lure but I remember fishing with my first fishing pole. It was a slide together 2 piece cane pole. Caught lots of crappies with that thing. Used dacron line, split shot,and a plain hook. I couldn’t wait to get a rod and reel. Not sure what it was but I know it was a Zebco of some vintage. Thought I had died and gone to heaven.