Meandering

Legendary Lures - Gapen Fishie

Fri, February 03, 2012

When thinking back over a lifetime of fishing experiences, many lures and lure trends have come and gone, including this one.  But when deciding on the lure that should lead off this series I figured that the best start would be the first lure I remember consistently catching fish on.  Yet, this lure and the others in this series wind up being about a whole lot more than just catching fish. 

Back in the 80’s as long as we had some Gapen Fishie bodies teamed with a light jighead and/or spinner, we were going to get bit.  This is the lure that I cut my fishing teeth on, back before things got too complicated.  No job, no bills, no worries that I can recall and no money to buy any fancy lures.  I began keeping detailed records of my fishing trips in 1985 and referred to this lure as my “crappie jig.”  Prior to those documented records, this lure accounted for virtually any fish I caught.  My dad and my uncle swore by these Fishie bodies, so naturally, I fished them too.

Many years, hundreds of pounds of tackle and thousands of dollars later, I’m sure that those Fishie bodies could still fill a five-gallon bucket with panfish in no time. Speaking of five-gallon buckets, I once witnessed a channel cat caught on a Fishie that also did a good job of filling the five-gallon bucket that we wound up using for a dipnet (but that’s a story from last month).

Color selection was pretty black and white, literally, as those were the only two colors I can recall.  Believe it or not, the fish didn’t need pumpkinseed, smoke, bubblegum, firetiger, chartreuse or any of the other multitudes of colors currently available on the lure market. 

The Gapen Company, headed by Dan Gapen Sr., a renowned fisherman who has pursued many species across the U.S. and Canada, manufactured the Fishie.  The lure was a simple cylindrical body that tapered towards what resembled a fish tail.  Threaded onto a 1/32 or 1/16 oz jighead, the body was magic.  Unfortunately, this lure’s popularity faded over time as “new and improved” designs found their way into my lone tacklebox.  Twister tails, Beetle Spins, puddle jumpers, tubes, craws and shad bodies were but a few of these offerings.  All have been productive for me, but I’d sure love to have a handful of those Fishie bodies just for old times’ sake.  And while the Fishie would eventually disappear from the market, it continues to live on in the tales of those who had the opportunity to witness its prowess. 

This tribute wouldn’t truly be complete without including one of those memorable tales that took place at Lake Storey (located just north of Galesburg) during the late 70’s or early 80’s.  The story goes something like this.  Reportedly, a man was experiencing amazing success one May afternoon while prowling the bank crappie fishing with a Gapen Fishie.  A couple teenagers fishing nearby weren’t having much success and couldn’t resist asking the talented angler for some pointers.  Without completely revealing his secret lure, the angler proceeded to act as if he was spitting a gob of tobacco juice onto his bait before casting it into the lake.  The youngsters watched in amazement as the angler continued to catch several more crappies in rapid succession with this technique.  Shortly the kids took off, but it wasn’t long before they were back, cheeks bulging with tobacco.  I can’t remember if the tale ended with the kids reeling in crappies or getting sick but I’ve always preferred the mystery over asking Dad about the rest of the story.  Talk to you later.  Troy

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