Tournament Casting Tackle: A History and Collector’s Guide to Tournament Casting Reels, Rods, Weights, Flies, Lines, Oils, Medals and Ephemera

This book is about the casting tackle used in the American and International sport of tournament casting. Since 1860, anglers have organized tournaments to contest their proficiency in casting flies and plugs in various classes of angling. They demonstrated their skill in accuracy, distance, and with each variation of reel and rod. Tournament casters used reels, rods, casting weights, flies, line, reel, oil and other equipment specific to the type of angling or casting they chose. Their efforts were documented with medals, patches, trophies, buttons, and other ephemera. This book is for collectors of tournament casting artifacts and those interested in the history of those artifacts. The book contains over 900 photos and descriptions of tournament casting tackle artifacts. It surveys all manufacturers and makers and tells the story through the archaeology of the sport. We look exhaustively at the tools used by tournament casters. Each of those tools have a history and reflect constant experimentation and improvement. It is one thing to tell of the history, it is further enhanced by the viewing of the artifacts. We show the complete evolution of each tournament casting tool used, starting with the earliest examples and continuing to the present day. Collectors of antique and vintage fishing tackle will greatly benefit from this book, because there are rare examples here never published.