Vintage Tackle Contest: The Kitchen Sink Lure

Ah, I love a good novelty lure, and this week in the vintage tackle contest we a gem from Wayne Scott, who wrote: When I was a kid I went fishing with my grandpa on Diamond Lake in Oregon. We fished all day and I remember we were having a really tough time catching any fish. I said to my grandpa that we had thrown everything but the kitchen sink. He says, “you’re right, let’s try it.” I remember him rummaging around his old tackle box until he found the kitchen sink lure. He put it at the end of a pop gear rig and in 5 min. he had a fish. When he passed away my dad let me have one lure from his tackle box. I of course chose the old kitchen sink and proudly display it now in my office. Not only does Dr. Todd Larson of The Whitefish Press and “Fishing For History” blog have the scoop on the lure, but a bit of history on the “kitchen sink” phrase as well.

Dr. Todd says:

“I collected everything but the kitchen sink.” So goes a popular mid-twentieth century idiom first developed during World War II to describe scrap metal drives (the only item in the kitchen not able to be recycled was the porcelain kitchen sink). Within just a year or two after the end of World War II, the tackle industry exploded — and so did the explosion in “novelty” lures. We’ve featured some here before, like the infamous (and topless) “Virgin Mermaid.” The Kitchen Sink lure was perhaps the most popular; one collector has assembled over fifty different Kitchen Sink lures, and several have even been granted patents (most recently D274350 in 1984 and D380250 in 1997). Yours is an early and classic one, as many did not come with the spout. Talk about realistic lure designs. They have a lot of collecting interesting, and generally sell between $20-$30 in good condition.”

Not only to do I like the lure, but I love the story that goes with it, Wayne. Thanks so much for sharing, and keep an eye on your mailbox, because there’s a set of Berkley Aluminum Pliers headed your way.

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 pair of Berkley Aluminum Pliers (above) worth $50.