July 9-11 2015 in Springfield, Missouri.
Springfield, Missouri –-(Ammoland.com)- It didn’t take much for Don Getz and Jack Looney to get hooked on collecting antique fishing lures.
For Getz, it started about 30 years ago when he found a metal box with a bass on the lid while vacationing in Minnesota. He brought the box home and when a friend who collected fishing lures saw it and explained it was an Al Foss lure, Getz was intrigued.
He now owns at least one of every lure Foss ever made, including some mistakes that were never offered for sale, dating from 1914 to 1930.
“I just thought it would be cool to set up on my fireplace,” Getz said, laughing about the metal box that became a lifelong passion.
For Looney, collecting lures began after he read a magazine article about antique lures and some of his friends began giving him their old equipment about 40 years ago. At first, it was just a tackle box full of lures. Today, it’s a collection of 7,000 artifacts that are wall to wall and floor to ceiling in the lower level of his home.
Getz and Looney are just two examples of the people who will be in Springfield July 9-11 for the National Fishing Lure Collectors Club Annual National Meeting.
About 700 members of the organization will swap, sell, talk and show off fishing lures, rods, reels and associated paraphernalia at a variety of events scheduled at the Expo Center.
The public also can participate in some seminars as well as have vintage fishing tackle appraised or placed in the auction without a membership. For those who want to get more involved, a family membership is $35 annually.
For more information, visit www.nflcc.com or call Getz at 816-415-0007.
To learn more about conventions and other group events brought to Springfield by the Convention & Visitors Bureau, call 417-881-5300 or 800-678-8767 or visit. www.springfieldmo.org/meetings