What's it all about - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

Mike P · 11-26-2012, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bart

I think this whole post pretty much nails it on the head. Well said...

I met Stan Gibbs' son (I forget his name, I think he had long white hair) down at the canal one day when I was probably 15 so this was 14 years ago. I was working a Gibbs pencil when he approached me and told me I fished the pencil exactly how his father intended it to be fished. To me, that was like the biggest compliment anyone could have ever paid me, especially coming from him.

Both Bruce and "Eagle" had long white hair. Bruce is on the thin side. "Eagle" on the other hand, was, uh, a bit "rotund".

Eagle wore a lot of Indian jewelry.

I never saw Bruce around the Canal very much (he lives and works in Chatham), so it was probably Eagle.

FishermanTim · 11-26-2012, 03:09 PM

Back in the mid 90's, before I had fully switched from bait dunking to lure casting, I was fishing a bridge in Duxbury.
After having an epithany over night, I was approched by a local regular (Santa) who offered me one of his Storm Shads to try.
In my haste I proceeded to cast and snap off that lure and that was it.

Needless to say, I went out and purchased my own, gave him one of my new ones as a "return of the loaner" and thanked him for the tip.

Now I find myself donating some of my plastics every season to newbies that haven't fully learned rigging and fishing techniques.
Most times the receiving parties include kids that may not have ever caught anything, but are willing to try.

All in all it's a win-win scenario, as it gives me a reason to restock my own supplies for future trips.

bart · 11-26-2012, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike P

Both Bruce and "Eagle" had long white hair. Bruce is on the thin side. "Eagle" on the other hand, was, uh, a bit "rotund".

Eagle wore a lot of Indian jewelry.

I never saw Bruce around the Canal very much (he lives and works in Chatham), so it was probably Eagle.

Thanks for the info. For some reason I remember someone saying that his name was Eagle, but I don't remember him being "rotund" as you so eloquently put it

I was down at the east end if that makes any difference. I grew up admiring surfcasters and the pioneers within the industry, so I felt like I had met fishing royalty

Mike P · 11-27-2012, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bart

Thanks for the info. For some reason I remember someone saying that his name was Eagle, but I don't remember him being "rotund" as you so eloquently put it

I was down at the east end if that makes any difference. I grew up admiring surfcasters and the pioneers within the industry, so I felt like I had met fishing royalty

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe that Eagle's given name was Stan Jr. Many, many years ago, he was walking across the Sagamore Bridge, when he claimed that an eagle's feather fell out of the sky and landed on his head. He took this as a sign from the heavens to explore his Indian roots, and took on an unpronounceable Wampanoag name. So people started calling him Eagle instead of the new name he chose, and he adopted it. He kind of always "marched to a different beat". I heard that he had a stroke and passed away a year or so ago. He put on a lot of weight later in life, and walked with a cane--suitably inscribed with Indian artwork. He may have shared his dad's interest (and skill) in woodcarving.

The third son, John, was the one that Stan designated as his lure making successor. But John was always more interested in fishing than in spinning wood. He sold the company twice. Once in the early 80s to a mail order place in Falmouth called The Tackle Box, and then finally in the late 1980s to Jim Griecci. Who, like John, was always more interested in his other interests, like skiing, than turning plugs. Then the current owners bought the company. John moved to Florida, and now makes custom bowling balls, or so I've heard. He also caught the distance casting bug. I think he still competes, though he never got quite as good as Ron Arra and Big Dave.