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Vintage Fishing Lines & Bait Buckets

Shakespeare Fishing Line

Here we feature some of our vintage fishing lines we have in our collection, brands include, Shakespeare, Silver Streak, and Big Mac, as we find great pieces we will add them here. The Shakespeare Super Silk brands had been introduced in 1924 to replace the retiring "Indian Silk" line brands, that had been manufactured from 1909 to 1923. The Super Silk brand names included WEXFORD, a County in Northern Michigan est. 1840 and renamed in 1869 after the County Wexford in Ireland. MAGNIFICENT, made especially for the Shakespeare reel of the same brand name. STANDARD, the original 1909 Shakespeare "Indian Silk" flagship brand, OLD HICKORY, which honored the nickname of Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States from 1829 to 1837. And SILVER SWAN, which was a grey colored waterproof line, these Super Silk brands continued to be manufactured by Shakespeare using silk imported from Japan and described as "the finest, strongest line possible to make" until the outbreak of WWII in December 1941 which severed trade with Japan. We also have our Bait Buckets and tins here with the lines. Bait Cans and tins are extremely collectable.

This 80+ year full unused WEXFORD brand back side spool label advertised the William Shakespeare Fishing Tackle Company’s inventory of the five Super Silk brands of casting lines that were at that time being offered. This amazing piece of fishing history was preserved by John Etchieson. John has spent decades amassing one of the largest line collections known to exist. The vast array of line spools and cards he has collected is historically significant, as John has spent decades not only collecting, but rather researching these companies adding provenance to these pieces. We are very excited and honored to add this wonderful piece to our collection, and continue John’s effort to preserve and keep this piece in unused new condition. (NFS)

Atlantic Products, Strike-Sure Hard Braided casting line 50YDS 15LB Test never used, vintage line spools in new condition. These old line sets are always a fun add to any fishing tackle collection. A really cool add to our collection, we are always looking for quality like this. (NFS)

This is a really cool vintage Western Fishing Line Co set, the spools are in new condition never used. Magi-Braid, Anti - Backlash in 20LB Test What is neat about this set is it's packaged in a case that doubles as a pocket size tacklebox. We have a complete set and box with the original paper inside. Western Fishing Line Co, from Glendale California. Great add to our collection, we are always looking for more like this. (NFS)

New unused vintage Ashaway brand Original Nylon line spools. These are in new condition preserved in the original box. Ashaway is one of the more well known vintage line brands. This 121/2 LB  line was designed for both fresh and salt water fishing. A really cool add to our collection, we are always looking for line spool sets like this. (NFS)

The Bob-Bet bait box is an early-to-mid 20th-century, often green-painted metal worm dispenser, known for its rotating drum design designed to be worn on a belt. Manufactured by Frabill of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, it is famous for the label "Just half a turn and there's your worm," often attributed to production starting around the 1930s-1940s. Very collectable. (NFS)

H.S. Ross Bait Baffler vintage aluminum belt-worn live bait box produced in Twin Falls, Idaho. Dating to the 1950s, with patent date of October 11, 1949 (Patent No. 2,484,220) These cool bait boxes are typical of 1950's fishing, with the engraved design on the box. Very fun to collect, look for complete boxes for your collection. (NFS)

Beautiful late 1950's early 1960's era Wright & McGill 5L Yank Leader Material Store Display. These very cool store displays appeared in tackle shops all over the U.S and Canada. There were several versions some were cardboard displays and some were metal spinners like this one. These great displays are extremely collectable and not easy to find as many have already been collected and tragically some without foresight tossed out. This one is preserved in our collection in great shape. Always keep an eye open for store displays. (NFS)

This Old Pal Bait Bucket is a mid-century classic! The orange label with the jumping fish illustration was the flagship design for Woodstream Corporation in Lititz, PA, used primarily during the 1960s and 1970s. This logo appeared after the Animal Trap Company of America rebranded or operated under the Woodstream name. If you look closely at the bottom of the orange label, you'll often see "Woodstream Corp." printed in smaller text. While earlier models used simple stenciled block letters, the addition of the detailed jumping fish was part of a marketing push to make the brand more visually appealing for retail. Super cool buckets! (NFS)

This is a really cool old wood line spool in new condition, it's never been opened. Nearly 100 years old and it's still never been opened. Crystal Lake Genuine Cuttyhunk No. 21 42lb test at 50 yards from the Cohantic Line Co. Philadelphia PA. However the spool looks like it says DA. A really cool add to our collection, we are always looking for quality like this. (NFS)

A Rare FARIS On Top Worm Can.  Made by W.W. Faris Manufacturing Company out of Saint Louis, Missouri. These cans were made from 1920 through 1960. This vintage classic is now well preserved in our collection. (NFS)

Shakespeare 10lb, 5584 Ty-Dri Leader Material one dozen rolls, New in box. This well preserved box of leader material dates to the 1950's New old stock that was never used.  (NFS)

We recently purchased an old tackle box as is and inside we found two spools of old vintage  casting line. This spool of Silver Streak was never used. The 1940 A L & W catalog lists this 25lb line as No. 3104 this spool is dated to 1940. It's still in new condition and a great add for us. (NFS)

Super Spin Processed Limp Nylon 8lb test. (NFS)

Hawthorne Tempered Nylon 8lb Test, sold by Mongomery Ward. (NFS)

Part of the old tackle box find was this vintage spool of used Big Mac Nylon casting line. We have dated this line to the 1930's. Casting lines like this were very popular in the 1930's 40's before the invention of Monofilament lines. Not a lot of info exists for Big Mac. (NFS)

With the plain, block-style "LEADER BOX" embossing centered on the lid identifies this as a "trade box." These were standard high-quality boxes often produced by major tackle companies like Pflueger or Weber but sold without their specific brand logo. Inside, the thick felt pad was used to keep natural silkworm gut leaders moist. Before synthetic monofilament, these leaders had to be soaked to remain pliable. 

The aluminum construction was a major innovation for its time, as it remained lightweight and, unlike older tin or steel boxes, would not rust despite the damp felt inside. Likely manufactured between the 1930s and 1950s. (NFS)

More great Lines coming soon.

Antique & Vintage Fishing Tackle.

Buffalo, Wyoming, USA

garyclove23@gmail.com

Gary L, Member of
NFLCC

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