“Fish-Catchin’ Tips from Grandpa” was a short comic and catalog released by the Creek Chub Bait Company in 1965. Unfortunately, I don’t know much beyond the date of release of this publication, which was in June of 1965. I tried to find the artist of the comic pamphlet but was unsuccessful. It does have a strong 1960s aesthetic to it.
I’m curious as to why more fishing companies didn’t release comic-book-style publications to reach a younger demographic. You would think that that format would make sense in order to get kids interested in fishing and using a company’s baits. Anyone who read comic books as a kid (or collected them as an adult) probably remembers several ads for fishing companies such as Garcia advertising their fishing team memberships and rod-and-reel combos in Spiderman comics. And of course there were plenty of comic books, particularly the Disney comics, where fishing was the main theme of the comic story. This CCBC comic reminds me a little bit of the old Lil’ Abner comics, with the large rough-hewn title font used in “Fish-Catchin’ Tips.” A stereotypical grandfather, complete with well-worn hat and pipe, is instilling his grandson with some fishing wisdom as they fish for – and catch – some nice-sized largemouth bass.
A few newspapers from 1965 announced the availability of this newsprint comic either from Creek Chub dealers or by writing directly to the company. Interestingly enough, the news reports I found each mentioned that the comic contained “many tips that any angler will find useful” and “plenty of sound fishing information.” That’s a bit of a stretch, as there’s not much fishing information in this 8-page comic at all. The Creek Chub Darter, Pikie and Cray-Z-Fish get brief mention, and page 7 shows five Creek Chub lures in a loose catalog format. I first saw this comic on the NFLCC Message Board Facebook group. Here it is (below) for your viewing pleasure.
