24 Hunting & Fishing Collectibles Magazine
remember the night like it wasyesterday; it was the first nightof the down-side of the moon inearly November of 1976. The
tide was just beginning to ebb, andthe wind was from the North at 10-15 mph. The wind would be againstthe tide just the way we liked it.
My friend, Al Daniels, and I weresetting up to troll a small secret ripjust east of Gardiner's Island, NewYork. We were particularly excitedthat night as we had just gotten ourhands on a bunch of STAN GIBBSGTS-3's and would be trying themfor the first time..... Four hours laterwe had caught six bass weighingbetween 33-51 pounds and lost halfa dozen other fish that we could justnot control.
Since that night more than 25years ago, I have never ever beenwithout some type of Gibbs CAST-A-LURE in my trolling or surf bag.They are that good! And so it is withgreat regret that we report that CapeCod's legendary fisherman andluremaker, Stan Gibbs, passed away
in early February at the age of 89.His death comes at a time when thepopularity of the lures he producedfrom 1946-1972 has never been high-er with collectors and fishermen.
Gibbs was born in North Easton,Massachusetts in August of 1914and lived there through World WarII, working in the Hingham ShipYard. After the War, he and his wifemoved to Buzzard’s Bay; and Stanpursued fishing for striped basswith a passion, supplementing hisfishing efforts by trapping andhunting mink, otter, and muskratsin the off-season.
It was there at Buzzard’s Bay in1946 that Stan first began to whittlepopper plugs for his own use. (Histools at the time consisted of a jack-knife and red fingernail polish!) Thefirst ones were crude, but they caughtlots of stripers; and pretty soon peo-ple were taking notice and askinghim to make them some. Stan figuredthat he made 400 lures that first win-ter and 1200 the winter after. By thenhe knew he was onto something.
REQUIEM FOR A SURFMANby Frank Pintauro – Photography by Ed Poore
Saltwater Classics
Stan Gibbs – “Requiem for a Surfman.”
Extremely rare Gibbs poppers, circa 1945, hand-carved and hand-painted by Stan himself. These pieces are pre- CAST-A-LURE.
(# 6 in a Series)
One-of-a-kind Gibbs Darter prototype and Squid Special.
I
saltwater lures 4/17/04 12:30 PM Page 1
May-June, 2004 25
Those first few post-World War IIyears were an exciting time for fish-ermen as they were discovering thethrill of surf fishing which, up tothat point, had been a recreationalactivity that only the rich couldenjoy. A host of lure makers, fromup and down the coast, like CharlieRusso, Charlie Murat, Bob Pond,Jerry Ferron and Stan, began to caterto this new fishing crowd. But fewhad the staying power of Stan Gibbsand CAST-A-LURE!
After his initial success, Gibbsworked on developing more modelsfor fishermen to choose from so thatthey could match their tackle withthe fishing conditions they wouldface. The Darter was designed forCape fishing, but it was the rips andcurrents of Montauk Point (LongIsland), N.Y. that brought out thebest of the lure's erratic side-to-sideaction. Under the lighthouse atMontauk, lure selection was so sim-ple that by the 1960s all that guyscarried in their surf bag was a col-lection of big yellow Darters and 3-oz. Casting Swimmers.
The "bottleplug," or GSSwimmers, had been made famousin October of 1958 when RalphGray, fishing with famed outdoorwriter Frank Woolner from a tinboat in Provincetown, Massa-chusetts waters, caught a 68 1/2pound striper on a Gibbs GS-2model. At the time it was the largeststriper that had been caught in over45 years!
It did not take long for Gibbs'reputation as a lure innovator tospread up and down the stripercoast. Living next door to the “great-est research tank in the world,” – theCape Cod Canal with its powerfulcurrents on one side and the leg-
Templates for Gibbs Casting Swimmer (CS) and 2 oz. model that Ralph Gray used to catch a 68 1/2 pound bass
Gibbs was a prolificdesigner. A samplehere of a few one-of-a-kind modelsnever put intoproduction.
Gibbs pioneered light-tackle fishing for schoolie bass. Here, a sample of his “Mighty Midgets."
Template evolution of the Pencil Popper, a Gibbs favorite.
saltwater lures 4/17/04 12:31 PM Page 2
endary sandy beaches of the outerCape on the other – Gibbs was ableto experiment on the most impor-tant striper grounds known to man.
And what an experimental time itwas! Stan's designs were opening upnew methods and new concepts inlure making and fishing. FrankWoolner, in an early 1950s Salt WaterSportsman Magazine article titled,"The Mighty Midgets," praisedStan's efforts in pioneering light“artificials” for schoolie bass fishing.
In a 1958 catalogue, Gibbs wrote:"First we test them - Next we provethem - Only then do we makethem." These words would prove tobe prophetic as Gibbs was about toembark on the most creative periodof his lure-making career. Whilethere were a number of designs thatwould not make it into productionin the near-term, Gibbs wouldunveil one great innovation afteranother. This time-period yielded:
* The Pencil Popper (PP) –Probably one of the most widelycopied lures ever made. The sleek,tapered design minimized windresistance and added extra distanceto the cast. The PP had an incredibleability to raise fish when nothingelse would work. Stan also designeda 5 1/4 oz PP that was used exclu-sively in the Cape Cod Canal.
* The Polaris (POL) – It cast likea rocket but had the dual ability toswim underwater as well as on thesurface.
26 Hunting & Fishing Collectibles Magazine
Several different
sized PencilPoppers,
including thevery rare
Bicentennialand
Canal SpecialModels.
Gibbs said The Polaris “cast like a Rocket.”
Copycats are rare to find, and it is speculated that Gibbs made less than a thousand of them.
Cast or trolled, the Gibbs Trolling Swimmer (GTS) were killers on bass.
saltwater lures 4/17/04 12:33 PM Page 3
* The Copy Cat (CC) – It wasmade to compete with Rebel andRapala. It caught lots of fish butproved to be impractical to produceand thus was discontinued veryquickly (which is why they are sohard to find).
* The Gibbs Trolling Swimmer(GTS) – It was produced in a varietyof sizes. Stan had observed that moreand more surf men were taking to tinboats and that trolling was becomingmore popular all the time. His line oflures had become so successful thathe decided to market them inland tothe Great Lakes Region.
By 1972 Gibbs’ production hadreached a peak; but his wife, Celia,was sick, and Stan sold the business.His son John signed an agreement tostay on as manager. Five years later,the business was sold again, withJohn staying on board one moretime. Then, finally, in 1982 JohnGibbs bought the business back andreally "brought it home."
In the early 1990s Stan hadanother creative renaissance andbegan carving miniature fish – spe-cializing in striped bass, bluefish,weakfish, and some popular fresh-water species. He unveiled them in1992 at a fishing show in Buzzard’sBay, Massachusetts’ and they soldlike hot cakes. He had done it again.He always knew what the fishermenwanted! Gibbs would alwaysremind his customers to EXPERI-MENT... "Fill your tackle bag withgood tricks as well as good lures!"he said repeatedly.
As we write this, the striped basshas once again begun its greatnorthern migration…. Somewherealong a striper beach this spring, thefirst without Stan in more than eightdecades, a lone surfcaster in thedeep of night, silhouetted againstthe May Moon, will pause to clip ona fresh Gibbs lure; and another newstriper season will begin…. Whatgreater testimonial to a trailblazercould there be! �
(The author wishes to thank RoyCurley for several photographs andmuch information used in this arti-cle. Readers wishing to contact thewriter may do so by calling 516-741-7044 or by emailing –[email protected] )
May-June, 2004 27
The TrollingSwimmers(GTS) were sosuccessful thatGibbs marketedthem tothe Great LakesArea by puttingfreshwater paintjobs on saltwater bodies.
1980s Salesman Sample Case...part Stan's/part John's. The Skipper, Skipper II and Needlefish were John's.
A sample of Stan's hand-carved fish including Striped Bass, Bluefish, Weakfish, Bonito, and Fresh Water Bluegill.
saltwater lures 4/17/04 12:34 PM Page 4
