My Father-in-law tells me stories about running the Hunting and Fishing dept at Kmart. We still have them here in NC and SC and the ones I've been in still have a decent fishing lure assortment but not much hunting stuff any more.

I especially liked the picture that said,"Don't Talk,Shoot",1961.
My uncle had that camera. That reminds me, I have some vintage huntin' magazines packed up somewhere ... I'll have to locate them.
Thanks for allowing me to reminisce!

i really do not see why people are so against keeping and eating fish (#12 pic and description. now dont get me wrong, i can go out and fish for a day and not keep any of them, but i sure love the taste of fried fish. why is it that now if a company posts an ad with a stringer full of fish, it is "company suicide"?

Joe Cermele I have to agree you, bass are not a food fish. Unless you keep them from a farm pond in the winter. Off the ice they are firm and tasty. But here in MI. they are not legal off a lake until Memorial Day. In the summer they are softy and muckey tasting.

i do agree with you, but i view it just like hunting: if we let them go unchecked without keeping some, wont they eat up all the food and kill themselves off lowering the quality of fish? I am positive i don't know very much about all this but that is just inexperience on my part. Like i said in my original post, i dont keep all the fish i catch, often i throw more back than i keep. I appreciate the response and you are right that if a company who sponsors bass tournaments which require catch and release publicize an add with dead fish, it sends a mixed message. i appreciate the feedback and shining a new light on it for me.

I love going back and looking at the art. It really gives us a glimps at the timeless traditions that we share with our forefathers

These ads are great! It's a shame we don't see more of them nowadays.

I like the pics there nice.

These are hilarious! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks F&S for the trip down memory lane.
Alex,
I don't want to speak for others but I have noticed that there is a prevailing belief in the Upper Midwest that bass are not good eating and that they taste "muddy or mucky". I ate a lot of bass as a kid from MD and never noticed any bad taste. I suppose if you eat a lot of walleye which are right at the top of the list as far as eating fish go it might influence your opinion. One time just for giggles I slipped some bass fillets into the mix at a fish fry and nobody said a word. My guess is that it is an opinion based on traditional attitudes for the most part. Myths are hard to overcome.
I was in Cabelas last week and heard a guy telling his lady that bears can't run downhill.

Oh, and to jlfreeborn, no Mr. Dance did not ever wear a fishing suit. Everyone knows he's worn the same three pairs of bluejeans and the same 4 polo shirts since '66.

Photo #3 is a "flaming" example of "red shirt" photography popularized by National Geographis in the 50's and 60's! What a hoot!

nowadays,the guy with the stringer of bass would be over limit by far, at least where I live, in Idaho.At my favorite bass lake the limit is 2 fish!