:: Silver Spoon ::

Everyone loves a little fishing history on a cold winter’s day. Maybe not everyone, but you’ll have to admit it’s better than the most of the history you learned in grade school. As we bring in the new year, I thought we should go back and pay tribute to some of the original lures that our grandfathers (and grandmothers) used that were successful. Some so simple you wonder why they ever caught fish at all.

J. T. Buel (White Hall, NY) was his name and he loved to fish. He typically fished out of a wooden boat in a nearby Lake. On one particular fishing trip, while was eating lunch with a silver spoon, he was startled by a bite on his fishing rod nearby.  Not paying particular attention (and we have all been there before) he jumped up to set the hook, dropping his lunch and silver spoon in the water. He reached in to grab the spoon, and to his surprise, a largemouth bass swam up and hit the spoon several times, ignoring the food that was floating down to the bottom as well. Intrigued and excited, he then later on trimmed down the spoon to just the concave portion, drilled a hole and added hooks.

He came to invent the Buel “Silver Spoon” lure, in White Hall, NY USA (Julio T. Buel Bait Company). He was credited for being the first angler to invent, patent, and produce the “Silver Spoon” lure in the late 1840′s (originally for bass, but he regularly caught trout and Northern Pike as well off of his spoon).

Buel led a very interesting life that included being a retailer and judge, and invented many more spoons that are worth lots of money today. He later sold his company to Charles B. Pike and died about a year later in 1886.

January’s (2013) Flashback goes to J.T. Buel from White Hall, NY for his huge contribution to the science of fishing for Northern Pike (trout and bass to), with the addition of the “Silver Spoon” lure.

**Fun Fact – Most major patents involving the fishing “Spoon” originated from inventors out of New York...**