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If you are now or ever have been a bass fisherman, chances are you have
had a Big O in your tackle box. You probably did not have the original,
hand-carved balsa wood version, but one of the molded plastic versions
made by Cotton Cordelle.
There wasnt anything wrong with the plastic Big O, but most of us who
have cast both the original balsa model and the plastic lure know the
balsa lure was and still is a spectacularly successful lure. Now Cordelle
is selling a balsa wood Big O, in the original size that is much larger
than most crank baits designed for bass fishing today.
The late Fred Young, a federal employee at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
in Tenn., carved the first Big O lures while recovering from back surgery
in the early 1970s. He named it after his large brother, Otis, the original
Big O.
Some of these lures escaped east Tenn. and ended up in some of the early
BASS fishing tournaments. Several anglers reported winning tournaments
with the Big O, and tackle shops were renting the lures at some lakes.
At the time, I heard reports of tournament fishermen paying a thousand
dollars for one original Big O. Fred sold them originally for $10 apiece.
About the same time, I met Fred Young and fished with him several times
at Norris Lake in east Tenn. We became friends, and Fred presented me
with three of his hand-carved, signed and numbered masterpieces. Of
course I still have them. They have never been in the water and never
will be.
I wont even be tempted to cast on of these three bits of angling history,
because I can now buy replicas of the orignal balsa lure. The lure is
being sold through Cabelas.
MORE LUGAR AND DEER FARMING NEWS
After reporting that U.S. Senator Richard Lugar is said to see deer
and elk farming as a good opportunity for small farmers, one of Lugar's
aides contacted me to express concern that the Senator did not say this.
The aide was right and the original column did not attribute the quote
to Lugar. The assessment that Lugar sees deer and elk farming came from
Citizens for Common Sense Government. The group has been campaigning
against canned hunting in Indiana and the game farms connected to that
now-banned practice. CCSG President Karin Mckenna reported that she
spoke with Lugars' aides, and it is her assessment that Lugar supports
game faming.
"They do not get the idea of the deer being raised for antlers
and then being shipped in or out of state. And, of course, the Amish
(engaged in deer farming) present such a friendly front. It had not
occurred to the folks I spoke with that the deer were being raised for
antlers and that the money was in the size of the antlers - not the
raising of deer for venison. There is also a reluctance to put small
farmers out of business. The deer farmers play it both ways - farmers
to the government officials - farmers with rights," said McKenna.
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