Photos courtesy of Greenville Convention and Visitors Bureau - travelgreenvilletx.com

Person of the Region

Blake Taylor

Hooked!

Greenville Collector Uses Antique Fishing Tackle to Connect Generations

By Sharon Harper

Most people would never expect an antique fishing tackle show to draw crowds of teenagers, high school bass teams, young families, and collectors from across several states.

But that is exactly what has happened in Greenville, Texas.

For Blake Taylor, the annual North Texas Antique Fishing Lure & Tackle Show is about much more than old lures and collectibles. It is about preserving history, sharing stories, and helping younger generations discover a connection to fishing and the outdoors.

“I don’t think people realize this world exists,” Taylor says. “Once they walk in and see it, they get it.”

Taylor, a Greenville resident, has spent most of his life around antique fishing tackle. He attended his first lure show when he was about five years old, tagging along with his parents to collector events across Texas.

His father, an avid bass fisherman during the tournament boom of the 1980s, first became interested in collectible tackle after meeting a lure dealer at Canton First Monday Trade Days. What started as curiosity quickly turned into a family hobby.

For Taylor, it became something much bigger.

As a child, collectors took notice of the young boy wandering tables filled with old wooden lures, tackle boxes, and fishing memorabilia. Before long, he was building relationships with longtime collectors and learning the history behind the pieces.

By the time he was 13 years old, Taylor was already helping with appraisals at antique tackle shows.

Today, at 33, he is one of the younger faces helping carry the hobby forward.

“It’s really about preservation for me,” Taylor says. “The history side of it is what I love.”

Some of the rarest antique fishing lures in the country have sold for astonishing prices. Taylor says one historic hand-carved frog lure dating back to the late 1800s recently sold for more than $30,000. Another rare lure brought $100,000 at auction several years ago.

But for collectors like Taylor, the value often goes beyond the price tag.

“These companies weren’t thinking about history when they made them,” Taylor says. “They were just making fishing lures.”

That passion eventually led Taylor to organize the Greenville show, which first launched in 2024 with support from the City of Greenville Convention and Visitors Bureau.

What began as a collector event quickly turned into something more community-driven.

The show now welcomes high school bass fishing teams, families, outdoor enthusiasts, and curious visitors who simply want to see what antique fishing tackle collecting is all about. Young anglers receive fishing lures, tackle, and giveaways through sponsorships and community support.

Last year, more than 800 fishing lures and several rod-and-reel combos were given away to children attending the event.

Texas Parks and Wildlife also participated with an interactive booth, adding another layer of outdoor education to the day.

Taylor says one of his favorite parts of the Greenville event is watching younger visitors discover the hobby for the first time.

Even if they never become collectors themselves, he hopes they leave with an appreciation for fishing history and the traditions connected to it.

“There’s a lot of camaraderie in this hobby,” Taylor says. “That’s something I think people miss sometimes now.”

Some visitors arrive not knowing what to Then they stay for hours.

One memorable moment from last year’s show involved a local fisherman who brought in his grandfather’s old tackle box. Inside were carefully preserved fishing lures dating back to the 1930s.

As collectors gathered around, Taylor identified one rare lure valued at nearly $1,000. An impromptu auction soon formed in the lobby as attendees watched the piece sell in real time.

For Taylor, moments like that are about more than monetary value.

“It’s neat seeing the stories connected to these things,” he says.

Those stories often stretch across generations.

Taylor now fishes with his own young son and says he hopes the outdoors continues to bring families together the same way it did for him growing up.

That family connection is woven throughout the hobby itself. Many collectors first became interested because of parents, grandparents, or old tackle boxes discovered in garages, barns, and storage sheds.

The lures may be collectible, but the memories attached to them are often what matter most.

Taylor’s interest in preserving fishing history has also expanded beyond Greenville.

He is currently helping develop a museum dedicated to the historic Bomber Bait Company in Gainesville, Texas. Founded during the 1940s, Bomber became one of the best-known lure manufacturers in the country.

The future museum includes vintage lures, factory displays, photographs, advertising materials, and company artifacts collected and preserved over decades.

Taylor is also involved with projects connected to Pradco, one of the nation’s major fishing tackle manufacturers, helping preserve archival pieces and company history tied to several well-known lure brands.

This year, Taylor will also step into a larger leadership role with the National Fishing Lure Collectors Club, serving as vice president for Region 8, which includes Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and New Mexico.

Still, Greenville remains especially important to him.

“This one feels local,” Taylor says of the Greenville event. “It feels like a community event.”

The 3rd Annual North Texas Antique Fishing Lure & Tackle Show is scheduled for Saturday, August 1, 2026, at the Fletcher Warren Civic Center in Greenville. The one-day event held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. is expected to bring collectors and visitors from across Texas and neighboring states.

Children 16 and under, as well as, high school fishing team members are admitted free.

More information about the event can be found through the City of Greenville Tourism and Events page.

And if Taylor has his way, somewhere in the crowd this year will be another kid discovering antique fishing tackle for the very first time, just like he did years ago.