History Commons^™

“Pop” Morse was a minor league baseball and a fishing-hunting guide. He was also one of Maine’s earliest fishing lure makers, living his adult life in Auburn-Lewiston. In addition to documenting Morse's fishing lures and life, this article discusses the evolution of early trolling spoons in Maine by comparing Morse's spoons to those made by Bill Burgess (Minot, Maine), and the Murray brothers (Auburn, Maine). [An editor’s correction for an omission in the first paragraph of this piece was published on page 3 of the 2014 Winter Issue of the NFLCC Magazine.]

This is an expanded version, with color illustrations, of Krohn’s Stanley article published by the Dixfield Historical Society in 2012. This updated article is followed by an article by L. Hirsch that documents the discovery of Henry O. Stanley’s personal fishing tackle. Stanley’s tackle, more than 100 years after his death, was still relatively intact. Originals of Krohn’s expanded article, along with Hirsch’s article, are on file in Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University of Maine.