Shakespeare Fishing Tackle

About Vintage Shakespeare Fishing Tackle

For fishing buffs, William Shakespeare was the bard of tackle and the poet of the lure. Shakespeare’s gear changed the way the world fished—from his 1896 reel that wound fishing line evenly onto a spool to his 1939 Backlash Brake for the Wondereel, one of the most popular fishing reels ever made.

Shakespeare founded his company in 1897—his patented level-wind reel would be the company’s first flagship product. Shakespeare’s second act came in 1900, when his dozen-employee company introduced the Wood Revolution, a three-treble-hook wooden plug whose bug-like body was divided by an aluminum collar and a pair of spinning propellers...

During the first decade of the 20th century, aluminum versions of the Revolution followed, as did rubber Sure-Lures, Evolution lures, and Frogs (one "mechanical" frog had legs that kicked when the line was pulled). Floating and submerged wooden Minnow lures were also a staple of this early Shakespearian era.

After taking a break during World War I to manufacture mortar fuses and carburetors for the war effort, the company regrouped in the 1920s to expand its line of reels, rods, and lures. The Hercules was the company’s "heavy-duty" reel; the nickel-plated Beetzel was designed to automatically release the line on a spool when the rod was cast. The Marhoff featured elegant black Bakelite detailing (it is a real catch for collectors of antique and vintage fishing reels) while the open architecture of the Shakespeare Hoosier appears downright primitive to contemporary eyes.

The 1920s also saw the introduction of the Bass-A-Lure, whose large, metal, lower lip caused the lure to dive enticingly when the line was retrieved by the angler. The Mermaid lures had white or red heads and shapely bodies, while the Swimming Mouse had glass eyes, a pair of treble hooks for legs, and a delicate, whipping tail.

For Shakespeare, the biggest event of the 1930s, other than the marvelous Jim Dandy, Sea Witch, and Barnacle Bill lures, was the invention of the Wondereel in 1939. This reel would go on to become one of the bestselling fishing products ever—not even World War II, when the company turned its attention to the manufacture of planes, tanks, and jeeps, could derail its popularity.

After the war, Shakespeare focused its attention on fishing tackle rather than lures. In 1947, William’s son Henry, who was now running his father’s company, introduced the first fiberglass fishing rod, blowing the competition out of the water. A push-button Wondercast spinning reel followed in the early 1950s, and by 1966 Shakespeare had purchased one of its biggest competitors, Pflueger.

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Shakespeare Fancy Green Minnow With Wood Box$488.30 Ends in 6 hours 21 bids 67 watchers
Shakespeare Floating Spinner, Wood Box$371.11 Ends in 6 hours 13 bids 44 watchers
Shakespeare Alpha 1982 Reel/like Pflueger Model 2800$320.00 Ends Monday 9 bids 27 watchers
Shakespeare Fly Rod Swimming Mouse 6579 Wood 1-3/8"$159.26 Ends in 11 hours 9 bids 21 watchers
Shakespeare Barnacle Bill, Mud Puppy$107.50 Ends in 6 hours 5 bids 20 watchers
Shakespeare Floating Spinner, Rw With Box$103.50 Ends in 6 hours 7 bids 41 watchers
Shakespeare Mouse, Rare Shazam$90.89 Ends in 6 hours 4 bids 40 watchers
Shakespeare Evolution, Earliest Model, Ex+$89.11 Ends in 6 hours 7 bids 26 watchers
Shakespeare Metalized 33 Minnow, B Props$81.00 Ends in 6 hours 9 bids 39 watchers
Tough Shakespeare #33 Underwater Minnow Lure 1918 Frog$67.00 Ends in 9 hours 8 bids 24 watchers
Shakespeare Big Slim Jim No 52, Ge$65.00 Ends in 6 hours 7 bids 25 watchers
Shakespeare Glass Eyed Early Sea Witch$63.00 Ends in 6 hours 12 bids 19 watchers
Shakespeare Musky Paddler Lure Tough And Nice$63.00 Ends in 10 hours 7 bids 33 watchers
Shakespeare Evolution, Perch$60.00 Ends in 6 hours 5 bids 21 watchers
Shakespeare Bass Kazoo, Frog With Box$59.65 Ends in 6 hours 5 bids 22 watchers
Shakespeare 1740 Tournament Free Spool Casting Reel$52.00 Ends in 10 hours 6 bids 21 watchers
Vintage Shakespeare 2411 Spinning Reel - Never Used $47.00 Ends in 9 hours 7 bids 18 watchers
Vintage Shakespeare Sigma Spinning Reel 050 2200ck Mint$39.99 Ends in 6 hours 1 bid 7 watchers
Shakespeare Jim Dandy Spoon Bill Wobbler, Wr$39.88 Ends in 6 hours 6 bids 9 watchers
Shakespeare Bass-a-lure With Box$39.75 Ends in 6 hours 9 bids 22 watchers
Shakespeare President Ii 1980 Hb Model Df 1975 Ex/cond$37.98 Ends Wednesday 3 bids 12 watchers
Group Of 3 E+ Shakespeare Bay Reels/ German Silver$36.00 Ends in 12 hours 4 bids 6 watchers
Vintage Reels Abu 2500c & Shakespeare President Eg$29.99 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 10 watchers
Shakespeare Jim Dandy Darter, Yellow Perch$29.70 Ends in 6 hours 4 bids 11 watchers
Shakespeare Jim Dandy Darter, White & Red$27.00 Ends in 6 hours 4 bids 4 watchers
Vintage Shakespeare 1992 Executive, Fishing Reel$25.01 Ends in 11 hours 6 bids 11 watchers
Vintage Shakespeare Reel Sport Cast$25.00 Ends in 14 hours 1 bid 6 watchers
Shakespeare Jim Dandy Darter, Rainbow$24.00 Ends in 6 hours 4 bids 5 watchers
Shakespeare Early Mouse With Box$23.16 Ends in 6 hours 6 bids 17 watchers
Shakespeare Little Joe$21.25 Ends in 6 hours 4 bids 9 watchers
Shakespeare President 1969 B Fishing Reel Vintage Reels$20.49 Ends in 10 hours 2 bids 9 watchers
Shakespeare Swimming Mouse Jr., Rare Spotted$20.10 Ends in 6 hours 5 bids 16 watchers
Vintage Shakespeare Service Direct Drive Reel-vgc W/box$19.99 Ends Thursday 1 bid 5 watchers
Vintage Model 1975 Shakespeare Super Reel Metal Can $19.99 Ends Monday 1 bid 9 watchers
Vintage Shakespeare 2062 Eb Spinning Reel - 6 "d" Drag$18.52 Ends in 7 hours 4 bids 10 watchers
Reel Oiler Lot Of 3, 1 Shakespeare 2 Unknown$16.57 Ends in 10 hours 4 bids 13 watchers
Vintage "shakespeare Tru-art # 1845 Auto Fly Reel+ Box"$16.51 Ends Monday 6 bids 10 watchers
Shakespeare Slim Sweeney Twinminnow$16.50 Ends in 6 hours 4 bids 18 watchers
Shakespeare Baby Pikie Kazoo$16.25 Ends in 6 hours 4 bids 6 watchers
Shakespeare 1836 Tru-art Automatic Fly Reel Mib$16.00 Ends in 10 hours 5 bids 9 watchers
5 Vintage Shakespeare Wondereel Casting Fishing Reels$15.50 Ends Monday 5 bids 6 watchers
Vintage Shakespeare Reel Oil Can Very Clean Can$15.50 Ends in 8 mins 3 bids 9 watchers
Shakespeare Egyptian Wobbler, Yp$15.38 Ends in 6 hours 3 bids 15 watchers
Shakespeare Service Reel 1944 Fe & Catfish Rod$15.00 Ends Monday 1 bid 2 watchers
Shakespeare Swimming Mouse With Box & Display Card$15.00 Ends in 6 hours 4 bids 22 watchers
Vintage Shakespeare Marhoff No. 1964 Reel With Box$14.99 Ends Friday 1 bid 5 watchers
Heddon, Shakespeare, Meisselbach Reel Lot Of 3 $14.49 Ends in 10 hours 7 bids 9 watchers
Shakespeare Jim Dandy Darter, Red & Black$14.37 Ends in 6 hours 5 bids 8 watchers
Lot 6 Vintage Fishing Reels Pflueger Zebco Shakespeare$13.50 Ends Monday 3 bids 3 watchers
Vintage Fishing Reel Shakespeare President "very Nice"$13.38 Ends in 8 hours 3 bids 14 watchers
Vintage Fishing Reel Shakespeare Criterion 1961 Scenic$12.99 Ends in 9 hours 1 bid 3 watchers
Vintage South Bend Shakespeare Creek Chub Wood Lure Lot$11.55 Ends in 7 hours 5 bids 5 watchers
Vintage Shakespeare Direct Drive Model 1924 W/box$11.50 Ends in 7 hours 2 bids 1 watcher
Vintage Shakespeare Sigma Pro 035 Fishing Reel 2300$11.50 Ends Friday 3 bids 9 watchers
Vintage South Bend? Frog Lure Or Shakespeare? Weedless$11.50 Ends Thursday 4 bids 3 watchers
Vintage Shakespeare Glo-lite Swimming Mouse Lure$11.50 Ends in 4 hours 4 bids 8 watchers
Vintage Shakespeare 1777 Wonder Cast Reel In Box Old$11.50 Ends in 9 hours 3 bids 12 watchers

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