For some, it’s hard to believe a guy can actually make a living by fishing tournaments. But as we all know, it happens, and the number of people trying to make it the business is increasing all the time.
And if that isn’t difficult enough to grasp, imagine a guy making a living by selling old fishing lures.
A friend of mine does just that.
His name is Joe Stagnitti, and he makes a very comfortable living by brokering vintage tackle to collectors around the world — including some from Canada, Japan and parts of Europe. And what some of these collectors pay for a single lure would astound you … tens of thousands of dollars, in some cases.
Referred to as “Stag” by his many friends and associates in the collecting field, he knows vintage fishing lures like Tom Brady knows supermodels and Super Bowl comebacks. He’s the absolute go-to authority on early, American-made wooden and metal lures, and he achieved that status through years of study and hard work.
Learning the Hard Way
Now in his 50s, Joe has been dealing lures since 1997. It wasn’t his first job, however. He started out as a sales representative for a large food distributor. Gradually, he realized he could profit from his passion for old tackle.
“I didn’t start out looking to make this a profession,” he confesses. “It just kind of evolved into a business over time. And it was never about the money so much as it was a way to gain more free time to do the things I really love — like fishing, golf, and collecting old lures.”
The transition wasn’t all that smooth, he admits. There were some bumps along the way.
According to Joe, a couple of unscrupulous collectors snookered him early in his involvement with the hobby. And being from New York — born of Sicilian blood — that didn’t go over too well. Determined to prevent it from ever happening again, he vowed to learn all he could about vintage lures.
Joe spent long hours studying collector books and early literature found in tackle catalogs, advertisements and other forms of ephemera. He was a quick study, too. Joe possesses incredible recall and a photographic memory. If he sees it, he’s able to file it away for future reference. And it was these abilities that helped him create a solid career in lure brokering.
Mentors
Although Joe hails from New York, he claims much of the learning curve took place in Texas — where he worked in food sales.
“I met some really knowledgeable people in the hobby back then — guys, you could say, served as mentors. They showed me the ropes,” he admits.
“Jerry Lemons taught me the wheeling and dealing aspects of the trade. And guys like Bill Sonnett, Dick Wilson and Clyde Harbin taught me the details of how to identify the various makes. Things like how the paint and hardware varied from one lure maker to another … or how they evolved over time through a single manufacturer.”
Clyde Harbin had a direct line to the Heddon factory archives, through which Joe gleaned incredible amounts of information and history on America’s most dominant and influential lure manufacturer. Harbin published books and tapes on the subject, and Stag absorbed them all.
Empire State Metal
Joe eventually left Texas and returned to New York, to his small hometown on the outskirts of Syracuse. There he could focus on the state’s early metal lure makers, who were at the core of his collecting interest.
Among them were W.D. Chapman, Job Johnson and J. Ratcliff — all mid 1800s lure makers working in various metals.
With New York as his base, Joe travels cross-country to various tackle shows sanctioned by the National Fishing Lure Collectors Club, Old Reel Collectors Association, Florida Antique Tackle Collectors and others. At these shows, he sets up shop, buying, selling and trading vintage lures … teaching and learning with each transaction.
Over time, Joe has developed a strong network of collectors — all of whom he’s helped in some form or fashion … me included. And because of his expertise, he has served as head tackle appraiser for Lang’s and Morphy’s — two of the largest sporting collectibles auction houses in the business.
Still driven, Joe is always searching for the obscure. Among his many exceptional acquisitions are the examples shown in the photographs here. All are extremely rare and valuable, and according to Joe, “they are once in a lifetime finds.”
Although he’s made it his profession for the past 20 years, Joe cautions anyone thinking of doing the same. “My job has gotten much tougher over time,” he warns. “With the advent of the internet, eBay and other auction sites, it’s increasingly more difficult to make it in this game.
“Anyone thinking of trying better have thick skin and a very good eye!”
