Top 10 Manufactured Products (Gone Fishin' Edition)

[Brad Kenney]

If you're like me, you like to fish. If you're like me, you also think you're pretty good at it.

However, fact is I really don't know if the credit lies with me, or with manufacturers of fishing gear, who have tirelessly honed generations of their products so that I could get my thrills, and many a meal, out of the Great Lakes and Lake of the Woods over the years.

Therefore, when I saw a Top 10 list from the American Sportfishing Association lauding their favorite manufacturers and top fishing products, I couldn't help but pass it along.

From the release:

ASA, the sportfishing industry's trade association, today released the country's first top ten list of the items that have changed the way people fish, as determined by a survey of the nation's most avid anglers. . . who voted for the products they feel have been most instrumental in shaping the sport over the past seven and a half decades.

The final top ten list spans six categories, including accessories,
electronics, lines, lures, reels and rods:

-- Original Floater Minnow (1936) remains one of the most successful and widely copied hard lures in sportfishing's history.

Original and current manufacturer: Rapala

-- Spring loaded Bobber (1947) made suspending a baited hook at a desired depth simpler and easier. Even today this item is virtually in every angler's tackle box.

Original manufacturer: Nibble Nabber
Current: Various companies

-- Mitchell 300 (1949) was the first commercially successful spinning reel, and is still one of the most common reels used today.

Original manufacturer: Mitchell
Current manufacturer: Pure Fishing

-- Creme Plastic Worm (1949) changed the sport forever as the first -- and still famous -- long-lasting artificial worm that both looked and felt real.

Original and current manufacturer: Creme Lure Company

-- Closed Face Spincast Reel (1949) made fishing easy and affordable to everyone regardless of age, size, gender and expertise.

Original manufacturer: Zero Hour Bomb Company
Current Manufacturer: ZEBCO Brands

-- Lowrance Fish Lo-K-Tor (1957), the "Little Green Box" introduced anglers to the use of sonar in locating individual fish.

Original Manufacturer: Lowrance Electronics
Current: Lowrance/Navico

-- Monofilament Line (1958) improved the durability, affordability and casting ability of fishing line while reducing its visibility to fish.

Original manufacturer: DuPont Stren
Current manufacturer: Pure Fishing

-- Minn Kota Trolling Motor (1958) was the first electric gear-driven trolling motor gave anglers the ability to quietly maneuver and position their boats.

Original manufacturer: Minn Kota
Current manufacturer: Johnson Outdoors

-- Fenwick High Modulus Graphite Rod (1972), with its super-sensitive carbon (graphite) fibers, revolutionized the method of making fishing rods and how anglers fished.

Original Manufacturer: Fenwick
Current Manufacturer: Pure Fishing

-- Shakespeare Ugly Stick (1976), with its special construction, created an affordable, unbreakable and dynamic fishing rod still in use today.

Original and current manufacturer: Shakespeare

The only things I'd add would be the Eppinger Daredevil spoon lure....


And an updated version of the Lowrance product, what my Uncle Dave calls "Fish TV" (a cutting-edge fishfinder/depthfinder).

A handheld or boat-mounted GPS unit also helps you get pinpoint accuracy on finding your favorite walleye holes.



And finally, my family swears by live bait, specifically fat, black leeches -- but I guess you'd say that those are of "divine manufacture."

Have you used any (or all) of these? Is your favorite piece of fishing gear on here? Share your favorite tackle (or fish stories or pictures) in the comments.