Fuller Brothers.. Atom 40

[Tagger]

http://www.shorelinebt.com/id18.html
This link shows Fuller Brothers ,Buzzards Bay Mass. Atom 40 type swimmers from early 1940's that were never rigged and they went out of buisness. Trying to trace origin of this plug is impossible . So far I see Bob Pond playing with lures in 1944 and actually making them available to the public 1945. so far I have .
Fuller Brothers ,,early 40's
Atom Lures 1945
Blue Streak 1945
Snook Bait Company "Surfking" 1945
Masterlure "Rocket" 1947
Charles Heddon "Swimmer Flaptail" same body style date ???
I only have this link for refference and a couple of old geeezers.. Always compairing to modern builders, I thought it was interresting Bob Pond started messing with lures one year and selling the next . Not rattling Steves cage . Just seems to me of all the surf lures the Atom 40 has to be the most copied .. Then and now .. My money is on the Fuller Brothers.

[vineyardblues]

wow, Tom sure does have a bunch, I am sure he will add info if he can!
VB

[Tagger]

Wish there was a Fuller Brothers date .. not sure when early 40's is ..
Seems in just a couple of years everyone is working with the same body style .. No internet ?? can't be just a coincidence . What if Fuller Brothers went out of buisness and the unrigged baits landed everywhere. They were out of Buzzards Bay .. Didn't Bob Pond use to work out of a van around there..

[capesams]

Just remember back in them days the surf crowd traveled alot..NY'ers were here almost all summer off an on..teacher's,,fireman with lots of time off...plug's built here made their way home with them and visa versy..thing's got swapped, traded,,ho'ed alround....ideas got copied[borrowed] shapes got fattened,shortened,longer...soon things began looking like everyone had the same mother....someday maybe someone will find all the paper work from the past and make liers out of us that are living today.........

yes..Bob started out in a trailer at the canal camp grounds.

[Tagger]

be nice if someone could post some Fuller Bros along side some atom 40's and others like it..

[capesams]

Here you go, tagger.. One of the Fuller bros on the left, and one of the atom family on the right, with the plug building crew in the picture.

[Tagger]

thanks for clearing that up Steve ..

[Surfsters]

Well guys I probably do not know anymore than you; I would say that Bob Pond probably did copy a Creek Chub body like he sez.....Was he the first one??? Some of the builders in NY were building lures as early as 1935 that I am aware of; long before Bob.......The wealthy NY crowd would follow the fish and as Steve said; stuff and ideas got swapped. I will say that Bob Pond took Bill Sherer's [ Cap'n Bill's ] "idea" about plastic and ran with it; beating Bill to the punch. I recently met a gentleman that sez he was involved with making the [ wooden ] prototypes for Bobs plastic lures; [ Bob hired him ] he also made proto's for Cap'n Bill's and others......

Tagger here is a good comparison of yesterday and today.........

He also made wooden bodies for Atom, Cap'n Bill's; and Gibbs in large runs....[ sorry guys ]... I am currently writing an article on this gentlemen.

Three modern NJ builders that I know of are currently buying turned bodies in bulk from a mill and splitting them. If you are from NJ you may have noticed this on a certain " hmmmm " body style....... Is custom turning generic???

I doubt we will ever really know who made the first Atom style body; for now lets leave it at Bob Pond; its more glamorus that way don't you think? If you do not want to leave it alone; look at a early 1930's era Creek Chub "Snook Pike" from the bottom for instance. What do you see???

Tagger, I always wanted to thank you and the other guys here for using links to my website instead of just my pics as often happens on the other sites, it is greatly appreciated............................

[capesams]

YEP! I'd have to say there's a very good percentage of what you see today[saltwater] came from shapes made from freshwater very early on...just blown up abit in size,,tweeked here an there. just as we're doing this very day...tweeking shape's that were made in the 50's on..what we know of as "vintage" to us.

I know of a few that turn shape's for other's..and those other's call them "their's" but were a copy of other's before them...confused yet?

[Tagger]

Originally Posted by Surfsters

Tagger, I always wanted to thank you and the other guys here for using links to my website instead of just my pics as often happens on the other sites, it is greatly appreciated............................

Thank you .. Your website has been very useful ,information ,color schemes, Alot of free knowledge there .. Glad the boss lets us post links . You can't do it over there ,so those guys miss out on a lot ..

[Tagger]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ME:B:FSEL:US:1

Fuller bros.. anyone have any of thier swimmer blanks ..

[Surfsters]

Tagger...... I'll put one next to an Atom for you; as soon as I can dig them out. Don't really go by that price on the popper; I overpaid by approx. $113.00; sick, sick hobby really; especially on there..........

[Tagger]

thanks Surfsters .. I would really like to see that Pic .. didn't know bidder was you .. Ebay educates us all ... The market changes when we all know what we are looking at .. I started collecting plastic .. Can't hang with the big boys . Woods to much doe for me .. But if I did collect wood I like CCB Striper Pikies.. I been accused of over paying too .

[Surfsters]

Tagger......with ebay on most of the high priced auctions [ lure wise ]; usually the third highest bidder's bid actually reflects the lures true value.......unless there are new collectors or shill bidders involved. Something myself and some other collectors have discussed for years now, try looking at some auctions and tell me what you think of that approach............

[Tagger]

I'm a sniper.. unless I have to go away and have to put a bid up .. Premature bidding only draws intterest ,,, I see high number of bids on an item,, its an attention getter.. 3rd highest bid ..I'll check it out .. I snipe plastic in leu of Striper Pikies..

[vineyardblues]

Ok all you Fuller people on the internet.
What model is this one ? Can't seem to find one like it.
VB


ps.it does have a cut in the front, but the body ?

[Surfsters]

Peter, you are being cruel showing me a body style I do not have..........you really should sell or trade me that old ugly piece of painted red wood; its to pitiful for your collection.......

[vineyardblues]

Tom is this a better pic

[Tagger]

Originally Posted by Surfsters

Tagger...... I'll put one next to an Atom for you; as soon as I can dig them out.

Don't forget please... I look every day ..

[Skitterpop]

Originally Posted by vineyardblues

Tom is this a better pic

Uh VB....thats a stool leg


Good post....love this stuff!

[Surfsters]

Tagger... here you go; first I should tell you that Fuller Bros. did not use a duplicator in my opinion..... some of the bodies are shorter; some longer; some fatter; some; well you get the idea......Also all the heads are slightly differant for the most part.......It doesn't look like it in the picture; but when you put the Fuller Bros body over the Atom it is so close it is scarey!!!This blue body is just about a 1/4" longer and as you can see the holes are drilled differantly.......

[Tagger]

Wich Atom 40 is that ? is that the straight tail , arse weighted troller ,,, or the surf casting no arse weight ?

[Surfsters]

Here's a better pic.

[Surfsters]

Early surf casting..... came in the intro box.....patent pending stamp..........

[capesams]

F>B / bluestreak with it's longer thinner tail. could be family.