In the 1920s, local anglers used their heads and came up with a method to catch walleyes in the deep, swift waters of the Detroit and St. Clair rivers using wire line and heavy sinkers to get down to where the fish were.
Known by several names, including handline trolling, wirelining or chugging, this unique method works well. Very little has changed about the gear used for handlining, but the boats, motors and electronics certainly have.
Most of the gear, from reels to lures and terminal gear from the early days to present, was produced locally for a small market of anglers on the Detroit and St. Clair rivers. Spring-loaded reels that clamped to the gunwale of a boat replaced wooden, paddle-like affairs that anglers used to hand retrieve their trolling gear or fish.
At first the new reels were simply the spring-loaded mechanisms found in old Victrolas that turned the records of the early 1900s. When electricity was available, these became obsolete and ended up on the trash pile.
Ever-resourceful anglers removed the devices andattached a set of small pie tins that had been joined and could be used for a pulley to store the wire line. This apparatus was generally placed in a wooden box that sat on a forward boat seat. The wire was fed through a small hole in the side of the trolling box.
Some of the boxes became very ornate, complete with small drawers to carry tackle and lures. Over the years, much of this handlining gear hasbecome collectible, especially old reels and handmade lures and everything in between.
Wyandotte resident Ron Welch won so many local walleye tournaments that he was dubbed the “Walleye Wizard.” Time and again, he would produce big limit catches of Detroit River walleyes while many others involved in the tournaments struggled to take a few small fish.
Night or day, Welch proved master of the Detroit River using handline-trolling techniques.
Welch loves the Detroit River and Lake Erie and spent most of his life shooting ducks and catching walleyes in the area. He has a huge collection of old photographs that deal with these bodies of water.
Some of the changes are just amazing. Ron lived in Gibraltar in the 1950s and the photos show a sparsely populated waterfront that looks more like the huge swamp that it evolved from.
Now in his early 70s, Ron not only continues to collect lots of walleyes for the dinner table, but almost anything he can find that has to do with fishing and duck hunting — especially gear made or used by local people.
In the 20 years he has been collecting, Ron has become an astute judge of these artifacts. Many people ask him to identify and estimate the value of old decoys, fishing lures and other items they have collected or inherited over the years.
Ron also trades with or buys and sells to these folks.
“Some people have the idea that any old or antique fishing lure is worth big money,” Ron said. “The fact is, prices on this stuff have droppedover the last few years because many, many items once thought to be rarehave recently come to light as people seek to cash in on them.
“Others, like old glass minnow traps have escalated to thousands of times their original price. I have seen some of these items go for more than $1,000.They cost around 99 cents in the 1920s.
“I don’t know if they are even produced anymore although there are plenty wire-mesh ones available.”
His hobby isn’t just a personal thing.
“What I am trying to do with my Detroit River and St. Clair River collection of handlining items is to keep the items of local manufacture”, Welch said. “Many of the old locally manufactured lures have been replaced by modern — and I feel generally more productive — lures such as Rapalas, but there are a few pencil plugs being turned inbasement shops.”
Pencil plugs generally work better at night and are still in demand due to their relatively cheap prices. Plugs are about $2 each while a new Rapala or similar lure is fetching up to $7.
“The Detroit River is known as a snag infested body of water and if you hang up and lose yourterminal gear the damage is close to $20,” Ron added.
Welch is a tool-and-die man by trade and it doesn’t take long to seethat trait in the meticulous manner in which he keeps his collection. Samples of manufacturers’ plugs are displayed in glass-faced frames made by Welch and labeled with the maker’s name and date of production runs.
Welch is likely to be interested in anything that is related to the outdoors, especially if it is local. The older and rarer, the better.
If you or a friend has a collection or even a single item that you wouldlike appraised, give Ron acall at 1-734-283-2329.
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