The 79th Annual Northwest Sportshow
(2011)
Bye! Hope to see you next year at the Northwest Sportshow!!
This was my third year at the show. I brought some new cases as well as some favorites from past shows. My location changed and my display moved out next to the very popular “Trout Pond”.
I knew I would have more kids around, so I brought my novelty lure collection and made a duck lure collection specially for the show. Both of these were huge hits and they were my most popular displays of the year. I also brought a collection of purple lures that many people liked as most of the lures in it were fairly new…and many people stated that this is a type of display they could make for themselves. Many people took pictures of this case.
This year I tried to educate people more on determining how old their fishing lure was by looking at it. To help with this, I arranged my display tables so that it was easier to talk to people. I also expanded my “gadgets” and now called it “strange fishing gadgets” as some items were more current.
I also added a new feature, “MN fishing pictures from the past”. This was a popular feature as people enjoyed looking at how fishing has changed from the bird-nesting old reels, steel rods and oared wooden boats to what it is now.
The highlight of the year for me was meeting James Jarvinen, whose grandfather invented and manufactured the Jarvinen’s Fishing Spoon in Virginia, MN starting in 1918. He shared a lot of stories with me and I was able to obtain some valuable information about his family and their small lure business. I hope to feature this on my website in the near future! I also had a few people return and tell me that each year they look for me and my collection at the show. One person even gave me a few items…what a nice gesture!
I did more appraisals this year than the previous two years. An early Heddon Minnow in great shape came in as well as several boxed lures and a few bamboo fishing poles. Unfortunately, only two lures brought in were appraised at over $100. The highest of these was worth about $400 - $700 in the box.
A special “thank you” goes to my two nephews for helping at the show for the third straight year. I would not be able to do it without them. Also, it is nice to see their knowledge grow when talking about old tackle.
Now, if I can just get that “Trout Pond” “Fishing is the Mission” song out of my head….
