Buying History

I’d like to think that my fishing-related hoarding is mostly functional -- I have a certain crankbait or tackle binder or 5’6” pistol grip rod held in reserve because someday it’ll be useful. But the ugly truth is that I’m kind of a sentimental softy and history buff. Scattered throughout my various storage cubbies and hidey holes are nostalgia and ephemera including a lipless crankbait pillaged from KVD, a topwater I got in a trade with Aaron Martens, Kevin Short’s 2013 boat windshield.

I generally look down on autograph seeking as a weird pastime, but looking around my office I also have some proof that I don’t wholly hate it – there are autographed baits from Rick Clunn, Gary Klein and various Japanese lure designers.

I’m not a collector per se, just more of an accumulator, but I do value these things very much because they remind me of places I’ve been and people I’ve met. Accordingly, I don’t fully understand why or how someone paid over $24 million last month for the jersey that Babe Ruth wore when he “called his shot.”  Nor can I fathom how someone paid $8 million clams earlier this year for a pair of Michael Jordan’s game-worn Jordan’s. Even stranger, someone spent ten grand for a piece of gum that was chewed, and then spat to the ground, by the Diamondbacks’ Luis Gonzalez during the 2002 World Series.

It did make me question what I would spend some serious bucks to acquire. As a guy who spends a high percentage of his disposable income on fishing travel and fishing gear, I’m not afraid to plunk down the almighty dollar, but the ROI has to be pretty high. Each year at the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame auction, for example, we have meaningful pieces of history such as a KVD jersey from his final season. I recognize their historical value, but that doesn’t move the needle for me, at least not at their likely cost. I would say, however, that I’d pay more than a little to fish with KVD (something I’ve done before multiple times) or one of many other famous anglers, especially in an otherwise-hard-to-access fishery. For me, it’s more about the brain food of the experiences than the things that you pin to a wall or put on a shelf. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t hesitate to grab a few worms off the floor of the boat.

What memorabilia or historical artifacts from bass fishing history would get you excited enough to overbid?