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By VERN SANFORD /Dave Hawk's claim to fame is as a fisherman ... not as an author. But his broad experience and intensive study of the whys and wherefors of successful fishing have prompted the man to write a book on bass fishing.He calls it “80 Years on Bass.Although Dave lacks a lot of being 80 years of age, he can and does call on the vast amount of his dad's and his dad's mother’s experience, as well as his own wide background of fishing, to provide a “here's how book that is certain to become a best seller among those who wet a line and set a hook in the bass-filled waters of Texas.Although Dave was bom in New York, he's mostly a Southerner. When Dave was but two years of age his parents moved to Florida. There his father served as a fishing guide for 12 years. During the last six of those years he was associated with the Shakespeare Co. and gave exhibition casting and tackle demonstrations.With this environment it wasbut natural that Dave learned to fish early in life. Fact of the matter is, Dave guided many a fisherman out of the Florida Everglades when he wras only 11 years of age.Later, Dave helped his father. Capt. 0. L. Hawk, open and operate lure factories in California. Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas, providing abit for those specific areas. These factories were sold to national manufacturers, who incorporated Hawk lures into their own lines.One November day in 1956. a representative of a large Texas lure manufacuring company stopped in for a visit at the Hawk Lure factory in Harrison. Ark. In short order he purchased the firm’s entire line .. . lock, stock and barrel. That put Dave out of a job. But it also brought him to Texas as manager of the Corpus Christ! firm, the Padre Island Lure Co. Six months later he was elected president.Dave remained there until September of 1958. In November he started his own firm in Austin. Today, when he isn’t fishing, he’s making Extractor and otherbrands of Dave Hawk lures.That, in brief, is the back-ground of Dave Hawk, champion fisherman and author of “80 Years onEass.”I say champ fisherman becauseDave's the gent who, in 1958, won the State Bass Tournament, won the Behren's Drug Tackle Tourney for tackle representatives, shared the overall championship of the Port Aransas Salt Water Tournament. set a tentative world record makes are startling ones, for a line as for a lure. Hei-ffff ffffff ffffff shrdl cmw cmw“And rod longer than five-feet,How the long rods and heavy itself.for ling on light tackle at the Port Isabel Tournament, and was runner-up in the National Professional Fishermen's Tournament in Arkansas.This, all in one year’s time,mind you.Only a fisherman with Dave Hawk's background and proven ability could get away with some of the comments he makes in his book — without a challenge — for he is very frank and doesn’t hestitate to express an opinion.Some of the suggestions Dave makes are startling ones. 61 or instance, his first recom-mendation is to discard all swiv-i is. But «!lt;x-sn't just tell youto do it — he explains why youshould.He backs bis contention with these statements: They increase lure losst s and fish losses. They reflect light, unbalance a lure, catch in the linlt;* and tempt one to change lures too often.Dave believes in black line because it reflects less light. “Light lines looks like a ribbon of reflected light, says the author.He prefers leaders 15 to 20 feet long. This, because the long leader will put the line qnd leader knot so far ahead of the lure that the fish's attention will not be drawn until the lure comes into his view. “Many a hit — and miss — can be attributed to the fish striking the line-and-leader knot instead of the lure. he warns.“Added advantage of the long leader, says the author “is that
Newspaper Details
San Benito News
San Benito, Texas, US
Thu, Feb 26, 1959
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Cecil C.
USA 13 Apr 2017
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