Lefty Carr, McFadden, Hull, etc --- Dark your remarks about Joe yesterday rang true to my ears. Here is some stuff that Joe Pallotto had to say about these guys, thought others might like to read it as well.
With apologies to the poet Lord Tennyson, it’s nearly fall and every fisherman’s thoughts turn to stripers. And with that, the means to catch them. For surf anglers around here, that means plugs.
Every tackle shop you enter has a wall or two covered with brightly colored wooden or plastic lures of various shapes, sizes and weights. There are swimmers, poppers, needlefish and more, all designed to catch bass and the attention of anglers looking for the next sure thing.
And like the actual fish these lures are made to mimic, plugs have spawning grounds as well.
One such place is the Asbury Park Fishing Club.
It is here that local legends Lefty Carr, Bill McFadden, Gene Amato and many more shared ideas, tested their creations and influenced a whole new generation of plug makers.
“There is not a lot of jealousy here,” Joe Pallotto, president of the Asbury Park Fishing Club said. According to Pallotto, the club’s great camaraderie fosters an atmosphere where members help and encourage one another.
Bill McFadden, one of the club’s well-known craftsmen was known as Lips McFadden because he supplied other plug turners, including Lefty Carr, with the metal lips used on their lures.
“I would take orders for everybody,” McFadden said.
McFadden was one of the first in the club to get into lure building and he did so out of necessity. There weren’t a lot of needlefish around so he decided to make his own. In fact, the first lathe he used still sits in his Ocean Grove basement.
Pallotto remembers when the club used to get a booth at the Asbury Park boat show and Carr would sell his plugs for $5 a piece.
And it is among these fisherman that a new group of plug makers emerged. Anglers with skills, talent and passion for fishing and the art of plug making.
http://blogs.courierpostonline.com/f...p-on-plugging/
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Originally Posted by hookset
