Customer Reviews

Old Fishing Lures & Tackle: Identification and Value Guide (Old Fishing Lures and Tackle)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the second book I purchased when I started collecting fishing tackle. It is the most comprehensive book I have found yet and is filled with information on the history of the lures. I use it hand-in-hand with Fishing Lure Collectibles by Dudley Murphy and Rick Edmiston. I strongly recommend this book be added to your collection.

This giant volume (670 pages) will delight any lure and tackle fan. It contains over 2,000 photos with 32 pages (hundreds of items) in full color. Compiled by a real authority. This isn't just a picture/price guide, but it has much valuable and interesting information ranging from history, buying, selling and trading, displaying, organizations and manufacturers. Value ranges are shown. It covers reels, rods, lures, and more. Old ads and photos of packaging are shown. This paper back book weighs almost 4 pounds. It is the 5th (1999) edition of the publication.

THIS BOOK WAS EXTREMELY HELPFUL. FOUND GRANDAD'S TACKLE BOXES FROM THE 50'S. THIS BOOK ALLOWED ME TO IDENTIFY 98 OUT OF 139 TOTAL LURES, FLIES, AND OTHER ITEMS. (HIS PEACH PIT AND BANDAID WERE NOT LISTED.) THIS BOOK HAS STARTED A HOBBY WHICH I HOPE TO PASS DOWN TO MY CHILDREN. COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT THIS MASSIVE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE! THANKS C.F. LUCKEY AND AMAZON.COM!

As a lure collector, I have several identification guides.
This book gets used more than the rest, simply because it is more an identification guide than a Value guide. (Sure, it has book value included(which means nothing compared to auction values), but, it also has way more information on the lures and companies themselves than most other ID books).
If you are looking for a complete library (if you want almost any lure identification at your fingertips--or in your head , as you learn about them all--), then you should definately include this one.
But (always a "but"), this book doesn't cover too many of the "small name" companies out there, or folk arts, nor many flies. But, if it's a top name company (Heddon, Creek Chub, South Bend, Shakespeare, etc.), you will find it in this book, up until 1975.
You cannot go wrong with this book...and if mine ever wears away with use, I'll keep purchasing new copies as needed.

my husband received an old tackle box full of lures from a friend who just did not want it any more. we knew there were some from the early 20's to 40's,other than that we knew nothing about them. we found several books we thought might help us. we had a tough time deciding between this one and several others on amazon. at the last min we decided to get this one and are we glad. has wonderful history, easy to use index. it is a wealth of information. we have identified dozens of tackle. this book is HIGHLY recommended if you have alot of old lures.

HAVE HAD LOTS OF LUCK FINDING GRANDPA'S LURES AND WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO THOSE WISHING TO IDENTIFY OLD LURES. MY ONLY COMPLAINT IS THAT PAGES HAVE BEGAN TO FALL OUT OF THE BOOK CREATING A BIT OF A MESS.

This is an outstanding book by a great man! Carl Luckey passed away recently, but his many fine books on collectibles will ensure he will not be forgotten. This is sure to be a collectors item in years to come!

This is one of the better guides. I really could not do business without it. You certainly will not be wasting your money on this one. Highly recommed it for the collector, dealer and those just interested.

A hefty tome, this edition easily can overwhelm the casual collector with it's incredible store of information. I won't go into all the wonderful things about it, because others have done that just fine. BUT, no one who has reviewed this edition has yet to mention a major and obvious flaw visible to anyone who takes the time to enjoy it page by page.

Simply put, the tome suffers from two major flaws. The least irritating flaw are the numerous editorial errors or typos that abound throughout the book. That can be overlooked in most cases ... but when teamed with the second flaw, the volume can become an exercise in trying not to burst out in frustration yelling "What illustration?" or "What photo?"

This occurs on so many pages it makes one wonder if someone didn't re-edit the volume on the sly to save money on production by not printing the illos and photos that are referred to on many pages of the text. I shall not mention all found, but you can see an example on page 249 under The Quilby Minnow where the text references "The advertisement reproduced here ...". The reader will not find it no matter how hard he looks at the page nor on any page in the book.

I really do not wish to pour cold water on this incredible book, but for the person learning about lures or using the book as a reference for their collection, or for buying & selling ... this is a major issue that hopefully will be addressed in future editions. Considering the large number of instances like this found in the tome it really begs the question, "How did this happen?"

In the meantime, I shall continue reading ... hoping the problem doesn't detract too much from the overall enjoyment the book can bring ... as they say, nothing is perfect in this world ... but hey, at least make an effort!!

Charles McKee
retired bookseller

My husband collects old, antique fishing lurers and is a member of the NFLCC collector club. He enjoys any book that helps him identify lures.