LURELOVERS™ Australian Fishing Lure Community Homepage
Forum Home Forum Home > General Lure Discussion > Luremakers Biographies
  New Posts New Posts
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

A day with Vic McCristal

 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
Message
 Rating: Topic Rating: 1 Votes, Average 5.00  Topic Search Topic Search  Topic Options Topic Options
Tony View Drop Down
Admin
Admin
Avatar
Admin

Joined: 09 Nov 2009
Location: Hervey Bay, QLD
Status: Offline
Points: 6012
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tony Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: A day with Vic McCristal
    Posted: 15 Feb 2010 at 7:36pm
I had the pleasure of spending a day with Vic McCristal and Barry (Captain.Cranky) at Vic's home in Cardwell during my recent visit to Cairns.


As many of you may be aware Vic McCristal (McSea) has been hands on at the forefront of sportfishing and hunting in this country for more than a few decades, and through his career as a writer in many prominent magazine publications, and as the author of 8 fantastic books on these subjects.


Vic is still actively writing today, although is not interested in high tech gadgets like computers. Vic mentioned he still has (and still uses) the trusty typewriter that has stood him in good stead throughout his career.


The photo at the right is one that a relative recently sent to Vic, showing Vic in the early days of his Bow Hunting.






Here's another photo of Vic as a young fella - I imagine he's thinking about hunting or fishing right there!

 


Vic is probably the foremost authority on Eric moller lures, due to Vic and Eric having been close friends and both living at Cardwell. It was a heddon Tiger Lure that Vic gave to Eric that inspired the Moller Tiger.

Vic kindly had a look at some Moller lures for Barry and myself and was able to answer a few mysteries, and also looked at some interesting research we had recently conducted (more to come on that soon) Wink

After chatting for a while Vic nipped inside and asked us to hang on for a moment... A few moments later Vic emerges with a couple of tackle boxes full of lures. As you might imagine talking about the lures in the boxes kept us busy for a while and it was fascinating to listen to the wealth of knowledge Vic has accumulated over the years.

There were quite a few lures that I'd never heard of let alone seen and surprisingly even a few barry hadn't seen before! ShockedLOL





We headed off for a short stroll to get lunch at a fantastic Café nearby to Vic's. Barry was quicker than me on this day and ordered and shouted lunch as I was taking a phone call from Alistair (who I sensed was turning a shade of green when I mentioned that Vic, Barry and myself were about to sit down to a lunch of local seafood delights while overlooking the Jetty at Cardwell) LOL





After a very enjoyable lunch Vic and myself head off to enjoy a cuppa and chat, while Barry heads off to visit a neighbour.

Vic also kindly signed the Modern Fishing 1st Editions that Barry had bought along and a few lures, it took a while though as Vic thoroughly enjoyed having a look through the magazine and checking out the photo's and articles of his colleagues working on the magazine at that time! Smile











Here's a couple of interesting lures that were in the tackleboxes Vic showed us. (hopefully Barry might be able to help add info about a few more when he gets back from the tackle show in Japan)

This one is a very nice Mark Upton Lure that Vic mentions in the article written by Vic titled "Cut Throats, Boomerangs, and Scorpions" in modern fishing September 1988.



Here's a link to the article:
http://www.lurelovers.com/forum/cut-throats-boomerangs-and-scorpions_topic2869.html?KW=1988


Check out this early Leads lure! Vic was doing research for an article to find out where various species hit a lure (e.g. at the head, tail, or midsection)

Note the additional hook hangers Vic has attached to the lure. By changing the placement of the hooks Vic was better able to understand the feeding habits of the target species (in the case of this particular lure it was Fingermark)




Another wonderfull piece of fishing history that Vic shared with us was this landing net. The handle of the net was made out of Red cedar by Eric Moller, the head of the net was bound on to the handle by Vic (Very nice workmanship I should add!)

 



Hey Vic - where's Barry? I though he'd be back by now? Ahh here he is!

As it turns out Barry has managed to visit the neighbour just as the neighbour was getting a call from a bloke who mentioned he has a bunch of lures he used to buy from a bloke in Cardwell, you guessed it - Eric Moller lures - I don't know how Barry does it but that bloke is a fair dinkum Eric Moller Lure magnet! LOL

I feel honoured to have spent this time with Vic and it was a day I will never forget. Thank you for sharing your time and knowledge Vic, I hope I have the opportunity to visit you in beautifull Cardwell again soon!




Cheers, Tony

For the love of Fishing Lures.
Back to Top
Chinaman View Drop Down
Member
Member


Joined: 04 Feb 2010
Location: QLD
Status: Offline
Points: 16
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Chinaman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Feb 2010 at 8:04pm

Tony you must be absolutely stoked to have spent a day with Vic McCristal I think it would be every lure fisher or collectors dream to spend time with such a legend of the Australian fishing history.Big smileBig smileBig smile

 

 

 

Cliff   

 

Back to Top
Tony View Drop Down
Admin
Admin
Avatar
Admin

Joined: 09 Nov 2009
Location: Hervey Bay, QLD
Status: Offline
Points: 6012
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tony Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Feb 2010 at 8:50pm
Hi Cliff, and welcome to LureLovers! Smile

In a word yes I was absolutely stoked to have this opportunity to meet Vic OhYeah

It wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for my wonderfull friend Captain.Cranky (Barry), and spending a week with Barry and his lovely family in Cairns was also a fantastic experience that I will never forget.  Smile
Cheers, Tony

For the love of Fishing Lures.
Back to Top
puglee62 View Drop Down
Stall Holder
Stall Holder
Avatar
Fugly Lures

Joined: 03 Feb 2010
Location: ipswich
Status: Offline
Points: 7933
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote puglee62 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Mar 2010 at 7:55pm
Originally posted by Chinaman Chinaman wrote:

Tony you must be absolutely stocked to have spent a day with Vic McCristal I think it would be every lure fisher or collectors dream to spend time with such a legend of the Australian fishing history.Big smileBig smileBig smile

 

 

 

Cliff   

 

g'day guys,i'd like to second what Cliff just said  Vic is a true Icon what an honour!.Clap
Back to Top
Abuadmiral View Drop Down
LureLovers.com Fanatic
LureLovers.com Fanatic
Avatar
ABU Fanatic

Joined: 09 Feb 2010
Location: Yeppoon Qld
Status: Offline
Points: 998
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Abuadmiral Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Apr 2010 at 1:52pm
Hi Guys
What a shame Vic can't communicate with us here on LL!
I'm sure we could organize a computer but connection to net would be the difficult part.
I must see if I can get Barry to educate Vic in using computer at the local town library.
I twould open his world more as well as be good for us too.
His only contact is actually meeting at his home or on the phone.
I have ben fortunate enough to have Vic visit my home and see my ABU collection  in Yeppoon whilst he was attending ANSA meeting.
Next time I want to grab him for a bit longer for a meal and chat/learn more from him.
cheers
wayne

You're not a Queenslander/Aussie if you're a lure fanatic and you  don't have this book by Vic, that I bought 40 years ago



Cutting from local rag



More info on Mc Sea ,Vic McCristal ,  the father of modern sportfishing here

Tight Lines
Wayne Real
Back to Top
tooch View Drop Down
LureLovers.com Fanatic
LureLovers.com Fanatic
Avatar
Twitchy Lures

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Location: windsor nsw
Status: Offline
Points: 3450
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tooch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Apr 2010 at 10:38pm
hi guys, it's a great pleasure to rub shoulders with the legends of fishing I quite often speak with John Bethune maybe some of you know him or heard of him as Mr. Bass. I have a personally signed book of John's called Bethune on Bass something that I will treasure for the rest of my life. It's really good to have these older legends around to pass on their knowlege as well as their skills and expertise as one day we may lose the men and with them going all will be lost. Thumbs UpThumbs UpThumbs Up  Regards Pete.
I'd rather be fishing with





Back to Top
goldtrev68 View Drop Down
Ex Member.
Ex Member.


Joined: 15 Feb 2011
Location: Cooloola Cove
Status: Offline
Points: 3126
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote goldtrev68 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 May 2012 at 1:42pm
Another great read its great to learn about all the history on Australian luremakers & their lures,,GAry
Back to Top
Nativeman View Drop Down
LureLovers.com Fanatic
LureLovers.com Fanatic
Avatar

Joined: 02 Jun 2010
Location: The Switch
Status: Offline
Points: 1447
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Nativeman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jul 2012 at 6:35pm
Thanks Tony..

A great read about this fine man...

Cheers

Back to Top
Haynesy View Drop Down
Member
Member
Avatar

Joined: 20 Jun 2011
Location: Mittagong
Status: Offline
Points: 17
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Haynesy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 9:35pm
Wow, what great section on this forum.  I've been filming video history's with John Bethune and Dick Lewers, both contemporaries and friends of Vic's.  The end results are going up on my site.  I have also planned to work with John Bethune on some historical footage he has.  Thanks for this report Tony.  If you are still in touch with Vic you may want to show him some footage of old friends on an iPhone or laptop.  link is below:


Throughout the interviews John and Dick speak fondly of Vic and of course Jack Erskine (filmed 2 weeks before he passed).
www.inlandangler.com.au
Back to Top
MadDogLures View Drop Down
Stall Holder
Stall Holder
Avatar
Mad Dog Lures

Joined: 09 Oct 2015
Location: Sunshine Coast
Status: Offline
Points: 2719
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote MadDogLures Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Jun 2017 at 8:06pm
A very good read Tony,Vic is a champion and that Mark Upton Lure is fantasticThumbs Up

Cheers,
Dave
Life is fishing!
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 12.03
Copyright ©2001-2019 Web Wiz Ltd.