Lures/Baits/Artificials
Special Request 
Lures.
With many thanks to my friend Hans van der Pauw ,
ABU fan (The Netherlands)
One small piece of information I can give you though.
In the 1960’s a certain Mr. Cor van Beurden, who owned a tackle shop in The Hague, was the importer of ABU in Holland.
On his special request ABU made a certain amount of un-weighted Reflex spinners for retailing in Holland.
The only difference is that the metal body was replaced by a piece of red plastic tubing.
That was requested because Holland has mostly shallow still waters in which a weighted Reflex sinks too fast.
I have seen one of those (either in copper or zebra, I’m not sure anymore) from my friend, the Dutch international angling journalist and writer Jan Eggers, whom I often go fishing with.
He assured me the spinners were produced un-weighted
in Sweden and not doctored with in Holland. He’s totally reliable.
Jan has been very much involved with ABU ever since about 1960. He even learned
Swedish at that time, because he wanted to emigrate to Sweden and work for ABU!
But history took a different turn and he ended up being an internationally
famous angling writer and an expert on pike (together with Fred Buller in
Britain). I pointed out your website to him some years ago, but he knew it
already.
I’ll add a picture of Cor van Beurden with a mirror carp, taken around
1960. I knew his picture was in some old ABU catalog as well and it
took me some time to find it, but here it is as well. The text says: “ ‘There’s
no bait like the ABU Spinner’, says mr. C.J. van Beurden, The Hague, and he
shows one of the giant pikes he has taken on this lure.”
Kind greetings,
Update Nov 2010
Hi Wayne,
It has taken a while, but I’ve finally received the photo’s from Jan Eggers of
his unweighted Reflex spinners, one taken together with some weighted ones. All
spinners pictured are from the early sixties. I have higher resolutions if you
should want them. The unweighted Reflexes have the typical W-shaped end where
the trebles are attached. They had orange feathers on the trebles originally,
but not much of that is left after almost 50 years. As you already know the
unweighted Reflexes were made for the Dutch market and Dutch circumstances by
special request of the then ABU-importer Cor van Beurden. The first
advertisement I’ve found that mentions them dates from May 1956 (I’ve already
sent you that one). Jan has added a picture of himself with a catch of five pike
taken on this unweighted Reflex and using an early ABU 505 reel. It was taken
around 1965 in the Dutch village of De Rijp. He is still very much devoted to
these reels and he uses them a lot, both for spinning and ledgering, especially
506’s.
Tight Lines,
-Hans-
Carl van Beurden :ABU importer into Holland (cira 1950's)
I am attempting here to create (with the help of others), the greatest collection of images and information about Record ABU lures ever collected together and freely available for all to learn from. Obviously image copyright for alternative publishing purposes always remains with the owners.
Please feel your input, help , criticism is very welcome and I look forward to expanding with network of Record ABU lure collectors and appreciators.
Contact me here to assist.
If you have any other lures, that are un-needed or doubles in your collection and are available for swapping or a reasonable fee, I would be very pleased to hear from you.
If you have any other lures, that are un-needed or doubles in your collection and are also available for swapping or a reasonable fee, I would be very pleased to hear from you.