South Bend Catalogs

 Retail Catalogs

1912 - 1915 The Early Catalogs -  It is not exactly known when the first South Bend catalog was issued but it is thought to have been 1912 or possibly as early as 1911.  These early South Bend catalogs are extremely rare and unfortunately they will also come with a handsome collector value.  The 1912 issue was titled "Catalogue of High Grade Rods, Reels and Fishing Tackle" catalogue no. 18. and had twenty-eight pages.  The 1913 through 1915 catalogs were titled "Quality Fishing Tackle" and measured about 8-3/4" x 11-3/4" in size.  The 1913 No. 20 catalogue was the 1st issue and had 42 pages.  The 1914 catalogue was also No. 20 but it was a Second Edition which had 45 pages.

1913 - No.20

1st Edition

1916 - 1921 "The Days of Real Sport Series" - The next series of catalogs were titled "The Days of Real Sport".  It was in 1916 when South Bend began putting a copyright on their catalogs.  The Days of Real Sport catalogs measured 5 1/2" x 12" in size.  This series of catalogs are rare and very difficult to find.

1919 Copyright

Fifth Edition - Catalog  No.24

1922 - 1926 "Fishing What Baits and When" - This series of catalogs were titled "Fishing What Baits and When".   The 1922 "Fishing What Baits and When" measure 4" x 7" in size.  South Bend also issued a 4" x 7" Fly Rod Lures catalog.  This was the only year South Bend issued a separate catalog for their Fly Rod Lures.  The Fly Rod Lures catalog had a round sticker on the front cover that advertised the South Bend Fishing Photo Contest with $2000.00 in prizes.  The 1922 (4" x 7") catalogs are also classified rare and difficult to find.  In 1923 the "Fishing What Baits and When" catalog size changed to 5-1/4" x 6-1/4".  The phrase "Fish and Feel Fit" was shown for the first time in the inside cover of the 1926 catalog.  The words "Fish and Feel Fit" was printed below a round "Fishing Tackle MFRS of America" emblem in the 1936 catalog.  

1922 Copyright	1922 Copyright

1924 Copyright	1925 Copyright	1926 Copyright

1927 - 1942 "Fishing What Tackle and When" - The next series of catalogs were titled "Fishing What Tackle and When".  The word Bait was changed to Tackle and the slogan "Fish and Feel Fit" with a man with raised arms was used for this entire series.  These catalogs measured 5-1/4" x 6-1/4" in size.  South Bend released two 1939 retail catalogs.  They released a 1939 2nd retail catalog after they introduced the NEW Shad-O-Wave colors later in 1939.  These catalogs can be differentiated by the different color scheme of the front covers.  The second color variation is that red & yellow colors were reversed and it resembles the 1940 trade catalog cover.  South Bend did not release a 1940 copyright retail catalog.

1927 Copyright		1930 Copyright
	Wanted
1931 Copyright	1932 Copyright	1933 Copyright
1934 Copyright	1935 Copyright	1936 Copyright
1937 Copyright	1938 Copyright	1st 1939 Copyright
2nd 1939 Copyright	1941 Copyright	1942 Copyright

World War II Era - No retail catalogs issued for 1943 - 1944 & 1946.

1945 "Fishing Photo Catalog" - Sometime in 1942 South Bend switched their plants over to war production.  This Fishing Photos catalog was South Bend's first catalog to be issued after WW II.   South Bend didn't start production of tackle again until 1947 but to stay in the minds of the public they issued this 1945 Fishing Photos catalog.  This catalog featured pictures that contestants mailed in to enter in their Fishing Photo Contest.  South Bend took eight of these finest photo's and reproduced them on beautiful paper, lithographed in duotone, 11" x 15" in size and made a grand portfolio for the public.  The complete portfolio of eight were on sale for $1.00 postpaid.

1947 - 1952 "Fishing What Tackle and When" - The following series of catalogs were still titled "Fishing What Tackle and When" but the Fish and Feel Fit slogan with a man with raised arms was no longer shown.  The catalogs remained the same size of 5-1/4" x 6-1/4".  Because of limited raw materials South Bend did not start manufacturing fishing tackle again until 1947 and they didn't reach full production until 1952.

1947 Copyright	1948 Copyright	1949 Copyright
1950 Copyright	1951 Copyright	1952 Copyright

1953 "Fishing What Tackle and When" - The 1953 catalog was  larger than the previous catalogs.  It measured 6" x 9" in size.  In the beginning of 1953 South Bend changed their sales and began selling their products through wholesale distributorships only.  The 1953 retail catalog was the last retail catalog the company issued.  Starting in 1954 South Bend only issued Trade Catalogs.

Trade Catalogs

  Trade Catalogs are much more difficult to find than retail catalogs.  These catalogs were designed for sporting goods and fishing tackle stores.  The trade catalog offered merchants more advertising and display pieces than retail catalogs.  South Bend urged dealers to keep the trade catalog at their fishing tackle counter for a convenient reference in serving customers.  Trade catalogs are much larger than retail catalogs they are usually about 8-1/2" x 10-1/2" in size.  Most trade catalogs from the 1930's through the 1970's have a copyright date one year prior to the fishing season.

1922 - 1929 Trade Catalogs - The earliest South Bend trade catalog is thought to have been issued in 1922.  Trade catalogs from the 1920's are extremely rare and will come with a high collector value.

1928 Copyright - No C72

1930 - 1942 Trade Catalogs - South Bend trade catalogs from this series shared the same basic front cover design as the retail catalogs.  Trade catalogs from 1932 through 1942 used the slogan Fish and Feel Fit with a man with raised arms.  This series of trade catalogs have a one year earlier copyright date than the fishing season of the catalog.  An example of this would be a 1940 season trade catalog will have a 1939 copyright date.

1934 Copyright - 1935 Fishing Season	1939 Copyright - 1940 Fishing Season

World War II Era - No trade catalogs issued for 1943 thru 1946.

1947 - 1957 Trade Catalogs - Trade catalogs from 1947 through 1953 still shared the same front cover design as the retail catalogs.  The Fish and Feel Fit slogan was no longer used after 1946.  The 1951 - 1954 trade catalogs had the same copyright date as the fishing season.  In 1955 the South Bend Bait Company changed it's name to "The South Bend Tackle Company".  Catalogs dating after 1955 had The South Bend Tackle Company name advertised on their catalogs.

The South Bend Bait Company 1951 Copyright - 1951 Season	The South Bend Bait Company 1954 Copyright - 1954 Season
The South Bend Tackle Company 1955 Copyright - 1956 Season	The South Bend Tackle Company 1956 Copyright - 1957 Season

Annual Catalogs

1958 - 1964 Catalogs - The 1958 fishing season cover design changed and the front covers became very plain and boring.  Perhaps one reason for this drastic cover change was because in 1958 the South Bend Tackle Company was sold to Seymour and Benjamin F. Fohrman and this could have been a decision of the new company management.  Around 1959/60 the company left South Bend and moved their operations to Chicago, Illinois.  A few years later in 1962 the company returned all operations back to South Bend, Indiana. 

1957 Copyright - 1958 Fishing Season South Bend, Indiana	1958 Copyright - 1959 Fishing Season South Bend, Indiana	1960 Copyright - 1961 Fishing Season Chicago, Illinois
1961 Copyright - 1962 Fishing Season Chicago, Illinois	1962 Copyright - 1963 Fishing Season South Bend, Indiana	1963 Copyright - 1964 Fishing Season South Bend, Indiana

1965 - 1980 Gladding-South Bend Catalogs - The B.F. Gladding & Co. purchased the South Bend Tackle Company in 1964.  The B.F. Gladding & Co. were a well known maker of casting and fly lines.  The Gladding catalogs offered South Bend products along with the many Gladding fishing lines.  

Copyright 1965 - Fishing Season 1966	Copyright 1966 - Fishing Season 1967	Copyright 1967 - Fishing Season 1968
Copyright 1968 - Fishing Season 1969	Copyright 1969 - Fishing Season 1970	Copyright 1973 - Fishing Season 1974
1976 South Bend Tackle - Gladding	1977 South Bend Tackle - Gladding
		Wanted

1981 South Bend - Present -  Two families from Chicago purchased the South Bend name from the Gladding Company in 1981.  They recruited Kel D. Krotzer the former South Bend head of sales as president and under his leadership the company began to grow again.  The traditional lures that made South Bend famous are no longer listed in South Bend catalogs.  Luhr Jensen & Sons Inc. purchased the rights to manufacture and sell the entire Oreno line of lures from the Gladding Company back in 1982.

  Today the South Bend Sporting Goods Company is an importing company and distributor of fishing tackle.  They have a full line of fishing tackle from long cast graphite reels to their own name brand line of terminal tackle.  The South Bend Sporting Goods Company is located in Northbrook, Illinois under the guidance of President, Jim Pickering. 

1988 South Bend	1990 South Bend -  Rod & Reels	1992 South Bend -  Rod & Reels
1994 South Bend - Terminal Tackle	1994 South Bend - Rod & Reels	1995 South Bend -  Rod & Reels
1996 South Bend -  Rod & Reels	1996 South Bend -  Terminal Tackle	1998 South Bend -  Rod & Reels
2000 South Bend -  Rod & Reels	2001 South Bend -  Rod & Reels	2002 South Bend

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