In no time the store was the hub of the largest sports fishing emporium in the South, and wealthy sportsmen paid top prices for lures tested where trophy fish swam: Jay’s gar ponds
One day, a wealthy gar pond patron asked the gar men which lures gars preferred above all others. Since Junior was an expert whittler and carved lures to catch any kind of fish, he opened a huge tackle box, and said, “I’ve got quite an array of jigs, crank baits, spoons, spinners, and top-water lures that I’ve whittled to perfection over the years to catch whatever kind of fish for which I was angling.”
The fisherman gasped, “Jumping Jehoshaphat, Junior! I have never seen such perfectly crafted lures. I will pay whatever you ask for a few of them, especially the ones that are deadliest on gars.” With his moneymaking mind clicking, Junior said, “Here, try this one,” as the angler pulled a wad of greenbacks from his wallet. “It is called the Extraordinary Orange Omnipotent Obliterator, and I have landed gars weighing up to 100 pounds with it.” The man didn’t even bother to count the bills as he handed them over and galloped away to the ponds.
Jimmy Reed's Jay's Gar Ponds:
Parts 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6,
Predictably, word spread like wildfire in the fishing fraternity, and the gar men were confronted with another big bucks opportunity that only the thinker of the two could mastermind to success. “Jaybird, let’s set up a factory that carves masterpieces from persimmon wood, the best material for lures. We’ll call them Junior’s Finest Fish Foolers, built on assembly lines by master lathe operators who produce lures for the most favored game fish — bream, crappie, bass, trout, salmon, walleye, perch, and of course, gars.”
“Brilliant, Junior,” Jaybird exulted, and immediately they began drawing up blueprints for the lure factory. Junior not only had the skills needed to whittle lures, but also an imaginative mind that could dream up the most attractive names for them. They determined that eight of Junior’s creations would best serve the needs of all anglers, no matter which of the most popular sport fishes they were going after.
In addition to the Extraordinary Orange Omnipotent Obliterator, the Finest Fish Foolers included the Brown-Bellied Bottom Bumper, Chartreuse-Crested Crappie Catcher, Deep Diving Death Dealer, Mealy Mouthed Minnow Mimicker, Garishly Gilled Gar Grabber, Stealthy Silver Salmon Slaughterer, and the Unbelievably Ugly Underwater Undulater.
On a large tract of land beside the Gar Gourmet restaurant, Jaybird and Junior built a sprawling sporting goods store and hired their lifelong pal, Friendly Freddie Feinstein, the fantastic fisherman from Finnegan’s Field, Florida, to manage it. Freddie’s whole life was fishing, and he jumped at the opportunity. They named the store The Friendly Fisherman, and from it Freddie sold Finest Fish Foolers as fast as the assembly lines could churn them out.
And since the gar men were expert fishermen themselves, having spent more time in boats than in the farm’s fields, rod manufacturers, boat builders, and outboard motor companies soon approached them. In no time the store was the hub of the largest sports fishing emporium in the South, and wealthy sportsmen paid top prices for lures tested where trophy fish swam: Jay’s gar ponds.
Jimmy Reed is an Oxford, Mississippi resident, Ole Miss and Delta State University alumnus, Vietnam Era Army Veteran, former Mississippi Delta cotton farmer and ginner, author, and retired college teacher.
This story is a selection from Jimmy Reed’s latest book, entitled The Jaybird Tales.
Copies, including personalized autographs, can be reserved by notifying the author via email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).
