Fishing featured in new historical exhibit

The sport of fishing is one of the “things” celebrated in a new exhibit at the state historical building in Des Moines. An array of fishing gear, including outboard motors, rods, reels and lures, will be included in the “100 Creations of the 20th Century” exhibit to open at the State Historical Building in mid-December. Jack Lufkin, the exhibit’s curator, says steel rods were introduced in 1909 as an alternative to the first commercially sold rods, which were made of bamboo. Fiberglass rods were introduced in the 1940s.Spinning reels were introduced in the 40s, too. In 1957, Iowan Berkeley Bedell used nylon, a new invention, and made vinyl-fishing line, which is still being produced in Spirit Lake, Iowa. He says the same year the monofilament fishing line was introduced, sonar “fish finders” were also introduced.