Andy Reekers

Andy Reekers: The Legend of Portland Trolling Spoons

Andy Reekers is an important figure in the history of fishing in the Pacific Northwest of the USA, especially as a pioneer of trolling spoons.

In 1922, Andy Reekers submitted a patent application for his first trolling spoon. By 1930, his occupation was officially listed as "fish trolling spoon manufacturer." In 1936, he patented a second spoon model.

His lures were made in his own shop, located at 33 SE Hawthorne Street in Portland, Oregon. This location, which is no longer in existence, was near the waterfront on the East Bank of the Willamette River, possibly under the Hawthorne Bridge.

The company was a true family enterprise. His wife, Harriet, worked as a packer, and later his children, Margine and Jack, also participated in the production.

Sometime after 1948, Andy stopped manufacturing. He sold his patent and trademark rights to the Maxwell Manufacturing Company in Vancouver, Washington. Maxwell sold these lures under the Grizzly trademark.

 Eventually, the Maxwell Manufacturing Company also went out of business. By the early 1970s, both the Grizzly and Andy Reekers trademarks were considered "dead" by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. By 1981, the remaining unsold supplies of original Andy Reekers lures were nearly extinct. Around this time, the Luhr-Jensen company released a nearly identical imitation called the "Salmon Seeker," available in a wide variety of sizes and colors. 

Original Andy Reekers spoons are no longer manufactured but remain in circulation among collectors and anglers.