|
Dave
Sumner,
Flirty Girty
Founder & Owner
|
Everyone
I know says that I’m a little bit crazy; after all, I
named my first fishing lure “The Flirty Girty.”
Though fishing in the summer is always great, ice fishing is
what really gets me going. I enjoy the camaraderie shared between
ice fishers, and I love exchanging hunting and fishing stories
while on the ice…though I do relish the solitude that
unfolds whenever I am the only person on an ice-encrusted lake.
These are feelings that prompt me to log between 70 and 75 days
on the ice each year. Whether freezing in a shack at 40 below,
or basking in a 40 degree sunny day, every day spent fishing
is worthwhile to me. I enjoy trying new technologies while fishing,
as well as experimenting with different lures, colors, and presentations.
It seems to me that fish caught through the ice taste just a
little more savory. I release the majority of my catch, but
always manage to keep a few; for it’s hard to resist a
freshly prepared fish on a cold winter’s evening. I have
been called nuts for fishing during sub-zero winters, though
I’d rather freeze than be forced to stop fishing! |
| Everyone
asks me about Clarence, the man on the front of every Flirty Girty
package. I met Clarence for the first time at a Muskie Club meeting
in the early 1970’s. We soon became best friends and spent
hundreds of hours fishing together…until the sad day that
he passed away. Although Clarence’s real passion was muskie
fishing, I managed to bring him ice fishing a few times each year.
When ice fishing, Clarence frequently used one of my home-made
fishing lures to great success; it soon became his favorite. When
a local sportshop requested some of these lures, I attached some
of them to a card-and slapped his picture on each one! Clarence
got a huge kick out of this; as it was my way of saying that he
would always be my favorite fishing buddy. Though he has passed
on, Clarence will always be with me anytime I fish. Though good
fishing partners are sometimes hard to come by, Clarence was always
“The One.” |
"The
One and Only"
Clarence |
