GIBBS DEVON MINNOW

Doesn't really fit in with my salmon spoons, But good looking old lures. I'm sure somebody is going to need these.
 
Wow, those bring back memories...my folks lived in the UK during the 70’s. I’d go over to visit them, then sometimes took a few days and drove north to fish the Tweed and the Spey up in Scotland. I kept getting skunked with a fly, trip after trip, then one day I taped a spinning reel to the butt of my fly rod with electrical tape, tied on a Devon Minnow and bottom-bounced it like I fished for steelhead. Boom! Boom! Boom! It happened so fast I couldn’t believe it.

I brought them to a smokehouse, traded my 12 pound Atlantic salmon for 4 or 5 pounds of smoked fish, got a few bottles of Guiness stout, then retired to My B&B for the evening to wake up and do it again with a Devon Minnow the following day
 
Hi Sharphooks
Wow! Thanks Guys! So great that you shared your stories, and that the Devon Minnows brought back good feelings for you.
Gibbs certainly wasn’t the first to produce Devon Minnows. Other manufacturers had their own version. They were such a fish producing lure, funny how they fell out of favour.
Hi Tuber, sometimes it’s hard to change techniques that constantly bring results. I wonder if Haig-Brown found tying his own flys and catching fish made the difference. To me that is the greatest experience. And today when you lose one of your own flys, (it can be a real bummer when it’s one of your favourites) but it’s much cheaper than loosing hardware.
 
No, its more a casting lure. Early day equivalent to a buzz bomb ! I have a few in my collection called Feathero Minnows that actually have Feathers laquered onto them to simulate scale patterns

Greg
 
Wow, thanks----that's really cool! I will definitely give them a shot in Moutcha Bay Kayak derby, they will stand out from all the Buzz Bombs and Shimano Flatfall jigs----I hope!! Maybe slather a little anchovy paste on them? Anise and garlic? Nothing?
 
Wow, thanks----that's really cool! I will definitely give them a shot in Moutcha Bay Kayak derby, they will stand out from all the Buzz Bombs and Shimano Flatfall jigs----I hope!! Maybe slather a little anchovy paste on them? Anise and garlic? Nothing?
Hi Kallitype. Check your fishing regulations. Treble hooks...... Both Devon Minnows you bought look super. I definitely would troll them behind your kayak. Just get down deep enough. Good luck. Cheers, Seymour R
 
Thanks SR and CRG for the suggestions!! Fishing down here (Vashon Island ) is in the doldrums, so daydreaming and dicking around with gear is the order of the day!! Plus, we've had oodles of wind and rain, and rip-butt tides.
 
Your friend is sure talented. His newly styled Devon Minnow in todays bright colours looks like a winner. Catching your favourite sport fish on your own made lure is such a thrill! Have fun! P.S. can always mail to you.
 
Hi Kallitype It looks like you and I are relics, but I hope we won’t be in a museum anytime soon. I sent you an email last week, you might not have got it. Not sure if you are also a fly fisherman, but I have a fly wallet used by Bill McMillan, a Steelheader in your home State of Washington. I would like to see it go back to your State. If you know any Steelheader that might be interested.............
 
. Yes they are still available. I really like antique and old fishing stuff, but I have been breaking up my collection, had to do it. Time to pass them on. Can mail the Devons.
 
MY neighbor is a steelheader and avid fly fisherman, he will know of a likely home for the wallet, he is connected to WA Steelheaders.
 
Hi Kallitype Here is a bit more information. Bill Mc Millan Washougal River Washington State Steelheader. Can send photos.
 
Bill McMillan and Mark Noble made those fly wallets and sold them at Mark's Greased Line Fly Shop in the late 1970s until I'm not sure when. I'm not sure if Bill would want to buy one of his own fly wallets back, especially at $225 CDN. Bill lives off the S. Skagit Hwy at Savage Creek.
 
Back
Top