My grandfather had two of these. I've never seen any like it. Have any of you?

I'm guessing that's an old penn reel, hickory rod and braided copper line.

The spoon looks like the old Eppinger Dare Devil.

Hell for stout......the lake trout must have been plentiful and unsophisticated.

I've caught numerous large lake trout but haven't resorted to anything like that but it was
the rig to have back then.

As I understand it, no down riggers, no finders, just trolling like you'd plow a field.

The pole is correct. the reel is not. It should look like this, and be full of steel line. You can pull large spoons trolling,at 100 feet deep, plus. Don't kink the line though.

I don't see how it is not correct. That is copper line.

Thanks for the input however.

How do you suppose copper would hold up with a fish that rolls like a laker?

I've never fished with it. Two of those are family heirlooms. They may have been bought during the Second World War, things were tight, and hard to come by. I happy to have one.

They are a lot of work, you jerk the rod forward all day. You are so deep, that when you hook up, it feels like a snag. I have fished these set-ups at priest lake in Idaho. Downriggers are much less work.

The spoon looks like a knock-off. I've got braided stainless on a Penn 10. Larry has braided copper on a line-counter reel of some sort. The stuff is interesting to fool around with, but a real pain in the posterior as well. As has been mentioned, don't let it kink. Best not to run it through ceramic guides.

f it's a knockoff John, it's an old one. Close to 70 years.

Yup...it's a knock-off!

Today's Spectra braided, thin lines have sure changed the need for outfits like this and for my purpose,
downriggers are a PIA.

Know nothing of it, but it's sure neat.

Still a lot of them around here and still in use.
1 oz lead weight about 3ft ahead of large silver spoon—usually a Williams wabler silver and about 7 inches long—play out about 400ft of wire to get it down a hundred ft—then sweep jerk it forward in a long sweep. When rod bends real in your fish—its generally dead when you get it in.
Gut and gill it immediately and pack in ice—no more than a hundred pounds per box and remember the fish buyer don’t want anything over 12lbs.
8 hours of this and you’ll be ready for a good hot sauna

This fella knows things.

In the old Rossport Hotel tap room there used to be 2 old plaques. 30lber club and 40lber club.
Bing Crosby joined the 30lber club in 1938–but everybody knows Ole Man Gerow caught that fish—he just let Bing-being a celebrity and all-reel it in.
I joined the 30lber club in 1974 and the 40lber club in 1991.
Those of us in the 50lber club are all on a first name basis with each other.
I’m not in the 60lber club (yet) but i know 2 guys who are.

Good fishermen are not born—they are made—generally by ignoring other important aspects of their lives.

Excellent point at the last - could be applied to just about any endeavor in which a person may excel.

I don't know anything about it's specifics but it's a cool looking old school rig.

Thanks Shooter, I think it looks good on the moose antlers.

Not only is it cool-looking, but somehow or other, people actually caught fish with things like that.

Always liked Churchill's comment "To shoot a good game of pool means a well-rounded youth; to shoot too good of a game of pool indicates a misspent youth."