FROM A TO Z, TO YOU FROM ME: Peter was a curious lad who loved solving problems;
Even when Peter Popovich of Panther Paw, Pennsylvania, was a small boy, his problem-solving ability amazed his parents. If something broke, he fixed it and usually made it better than before. These unusual problem-solving abilities improved year by year, and his parents loved him because he was a problem solver, not a problem maker. When friends called him a genius, he would always shrug and say, “No, “I’m just curious.” And so he was, about everything.
One day, he was walking beside a stream in which rainbow trout were plentiful. He watched a lady reel one in but toss it back and wanted to know why. She told him that game wardens do not allow trout as small as the one she tossed back to be kept and complained that she needed a better plug that would attract larger trout.
Peter decided to solve the woman’s problem. He read about rainbow trout and learned that they feed on insects that fall or land on the stream’s surface, but the largest rainbows rarely rose to the surface and preferred to spend their time in the cooler, deeper water. He also learned that loud colors attract rainbows. With these facts in mind, he turned to what he did best: solving problems. First, he carved a fat minnow from persimmon wood, which is best for plugs.
But a problem arose. Like all woods, persimmon floats and Peter wanted the plug to hover near the bottom to attract the biggest trout. So, he designed a long, spoon-shaped lip on the minnow, which would cause the plug to race downward when fishermen cranked their reels. Then, he attached two barbed hooks, one in front and the other in back. Both were connected to the minnow’s belly and hidden in rubber strips that resembled grass. Finally, he chose a loud, fluorescent pink to color the plug.
Another problem arose. Peter had no fishing tackle. As always, a solution popped into his head. With the new plug in hand, he returned to the stream, and as luck would have it, he spotted the same lady fishing for trout in the same spot.
When he showed her the plug, she laughed until her sides hurt, but finally agreed to give it a try. Peter told her that she must crank the reel after casting so that the plug would swoop to the bottom, where the big trout are. Right away, her rod bent double, and after fighting a huge fish for a long time, she brought him near enough for Peter to net him.
Immediately, the woman offered Peter a huge wad of bills for the plug, and asked that he make several more for her friends. And, she advised, “If I were you, I would get that lure patented because all trout fishermen will want one.” Peter did so, and every sporting goods store in the country bought as many as he could produce. Its inventor gave it just the right name: Peter Popovich’s Patented Pretty Pink Persimmon Plug.
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