The life and legend of Sheridan R. Jones

By Joseph Hilko

Subjects: Fishing lures, Biography, Iowa Falls, Fishers, College teachers, Ellsworth Community College (Iowa Falls, Iowa), Iowa, Outdoor writers, History

Description: Appendices consist of original works by Sheridan R. Jones. "Sheridan R. Jones, the son of an American pioneer who helped found the state of North Dakota, through hard work and education, became a college professor as a young man. But his first love was the outdoors, a passion that began when he won a new fishing reel in a popular outdoor magazine's writing contest. This set him on a course to become one of America's most prolific outdoor fishing writers and eventually the editor of the magazine 'Outer's Book.' His fishing articles about techniques, strategies, lures, species, and preservation drew acclaim across America and even from soldiers overseas during WWI who received the magazine for free. However, Sheridan's daytime job was as a professor at Ellsworth College in Iowa Falls and his students only knew and admired him as Prof. Jones. His book 'Black Bass & Bass Craft' was the best selling fishing book for 1924 and a landmark event in the history of bass fishing. Because his expertise in fishing know-how was second-to-none, almost all of the early fishing lure companies sent Sheridan their newest lures for analysis and possible endorsement in his fishing articles. Illustrated in this book for the first time are these same lures which have been preserved in their original mint condition. They are important examples of the unique fishing culture in a turbulent period in American history that included WWI, the Roaring '20s, and the Great Depression. These events shaped Sheridan's life significantly, and brought major changes to America's pioneering outdoor writer and his search for the perfect fishing lure."