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This week in our vintage tackle contest we’ve got a nice garage sale find. When Alex Overholser bought an old tackle box, this spinner was one of the lures living inside. Little did Alex know that it is actually a lure that ultimately spawned every War Eagle, YUM, Strike King, and Terminator spinnerbait we use today. Dr. Todd Larson of the The Whitefish Press and “Fishing For History” blog has the full scoop.

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Dr. Todd says:

“You have a great classic bait that does not get the respect it deserves in fishing history. It’s a Shannon Twin Spinner invented by Jesse Parker Shannon in 1915 and improved upon by his son, Jesse Max Shannon, both of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. It is the predecessor of all modern spinner baits. Originally sold by Shannon, the rights to the bait were taken over around 1917 by the William Jamison Co. and it became a legendary bait in its time. Very few tackle boxes from the 1920-1950 era did not have at least one Shannon spinner in it. As a result, they are very common and are worth around $5-$10 in decent condition. However, they are still killer baits and can be used to catch everything from crappie to pike. To see a write up of the Shannon Twin Spinner from a 1917 Outing Magazine and a 1919 ad from The American Angler, click here.”

Alex, I’d slap a little fresh red paint on the head of that lure and spin up a pike. Excellent find! Thanks for sending, and enjoy the Berkley Digital Tournament Scale that’s headed your way

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If you’ve already sent me photos of your vintage tackle, keep checking every Thursday to see if I chose it for an appraisal by Dr. Todd. If you haven’t and want to enter the contest, email photos of your old tackle to fstackle@gmail.com, along with your name, mailing address, and story of how you acquired the gear. If I use it in a Thursday post, you get a Berkley Digital Tournament Scale (left, $40).