With Apologies

riverman wrote:
"Dawn Moe" wrote in message
news:CUv5h.756$xD.242@trndny08...
Need a laugh? I thought this was a spoof at first. I'm still shaking my
head.

http://www.instantfisherman.net/

Let's...Go...Fish!!

Jeremy
Not a spoof at all. My roommate had one in college, and it fit very nicely
in his backpack. It was actually a pretty well made thing, and it definitely
caught fish. I'd buy one to keep in the glovebox, if I had a car.

The weird waist belt thing, on the other hand...

--riverman


In the '70's they had a similar thing called "The Tadpole" so named
because it was stubby and shaped like a tadpole. In the '60's it was
the Popeil pocket fisherman.

Pete Collin

On Sun, 12 Nov 2006 11:05:06 GMT, "Peter A. Collin"
wrote:

riverman wrote:
"Dawn Moe" wrote in message
news:CUv5h.756$xD.242@trndny08...
Need a laugh? I thought this was a spoof at first. I'm still shaking my
head.

http://www.instantfisherman.net/

Let's...Go...Fish!!

Jeremy
Not a spoof at all. My roommate had one in college, and it fit very nicely
in his backpack. It was actually a pretty well made thing, and it definitely
caught fish. I'd buy one to keep in the glovebox, if I had a car.

The weird waist belt thing, on the other hand...

--riverman


In the '70's they had a similar thing called "The Tadpole" so named
because it was stubby and shaped like a tadpole. In the '60's it was
the Popeil pocket fisherman.

Pete Collin


I wish you hadn't reminded me of that. I distinctly remember the
pocket fisherman being much later than the 60's! Or maybe I'm getting
that much older! :] Actually I think it would work out nice for a
quick backpacking pole in a pinch.

Old Grey wrote:
....
I wish you hadn't reminded me of that. I distinctly remember the
pocket fisherman being much later than the 60's! Or maybe I'm getting
that much older! :] Actually I think it would work out nice for a
quick backpacking pole in a pinch.


It was later.

wrote:
Old Grey wrote:
....
I wish you hadn't reminded me of that. I distinctly remember the
pocket fisherman being much later than the 60's! Or maybe I'm getting
that much older! :] Actually I think it would work out nice for a
quick backpacking pole in a pinch.


It was later.

I dunno....the ad sure looks like the 60s.
http://www.biography.com/broadband/m...cketfisherman2

--riverman

"riverman" wrote in message
oups.com...

wrote:
Old Grey wrote:
....
I wish you hadn't reminded me of that. I distinctly remember the
pocket fisherman being much later than the 60's! Or maybe I'm getting
that much older! :] Actually I think it would work out nice for a
quick backpacking pole in a pinch.


It was later.

I dunno....the ad sure looks like the 60s.
http://www.biography.com/broadband/m...cketfisherman2

--riverman

I'd have guessed 70s, myself. A brief google turned this up:

http://www.ronco.com/rco_aboutus.aspx

The only mention of the Pocket Fisherman on this page...

"By the early 60s, Ron was selling products exclusively over television. Ron
and his father became wealthy from sales of kitchen gadgets that have become
household words: Dial-O-Matic, Veg-O-Matic, Mince-O-Matic, Pocket Fisherman.
In 1964, through TV Ronco pulled in $200,000 in sales. In 1968, the
company's revenues were $8.8 million. But, now he used less of his father's
products and more of his own."

isn't specific enough to inspire certainty, but it sure looks like it was
indeed a 60s product.

Confirming the history of the product and its sales via TV ads would require
more research than it is worth to me, but I'd be much surprised if the ads
didn't run through the 70s.....and it seems likely that it's the later ones
that stick in my mind.

Wolfgang

riverman wrote:
wrote:
Old Grey wrote:
....
I wish you hadn't reminded me of that. I distinctly remember the
pocket fisherman being much later than the 60's! Or maybe I'm getting
that much older! :] Actually I think it would work out nice for a
quick backpacking pole in a pinch.


It was later.

I dunno....the ad sure looks like the 60s.
http://www.biography.com/broadband/m...cketfisherman2

--riverman

It was definitely later. I remember the commercials and
I wasn't around in the 60's. Had to be mid-late 70's for
me to remember.
- Ken

" wrote in message
ups.com...

riverman wrote:
wrote:
Old Grey wrote:
....
I wish you hadn't reminded me of that. I distinctly remember the
pocket fisherman being much later than the 60's! Or maybe I'm
getting
that much older! :] Actually I think it would work out nice for a
quick backpacking pole in a pinch.


It was later.

I dunno....the ad sure looks like the 60s.
http://www.biography.com/broadband/m...cketfisherman2

--riverman

It was definitely later. I remember the commercials and
I wasn't around in the 60's. Had to be mid-late 70's for
me to remember.
- Ken


I recall a former brother in law getting one from his father for Christmas
in the early 80's....

Poor sap....

wrote:
riverman wrote:
wrote:
Old Grey wrote:
....
I wish you hadn't reminded me of that. I distinctly remember the
pocket fisherman being much later than the 60's! Or maybe I'm getting
that much older! :] Actually I think it would work out nice for a
quick backpacking pole in a pinch.

It was later.
I dunno....the ad sure looks like the 60s.
http://www.biography.com/broadband/m...cketfisherman2

--riverman

It was definitely later. I remember the commercials and
I wasn't around in the 60's. Had to be mid-late 70's for
me to remember.

LOL !!

You're a hoot #1, hasn't it occurred to you that those commercials
could have run without you being there in the 60's to see them ?

What was the name of the galactic beast from _The Hitchhiker's Guide_
who was so dense that if you closed your eyes he figured he couldn't
see you because you couldn't see him ?

From the Ronco web page:

"By the early 60s, Ron was selling products exclusively over television.
Ron and his father became wealthy from sales of kitchen gadgets that
have become household words: Dial-O-Matic, Veg-O-Matic, Mince-O-Matic,
Pocket Fisherman. In 1964, through TV Ronco pulled in $200,000 in
sales. In 1968, the company's revenues were $8.8 million."

--
Ken Fortenberry

"Ken Fortenberry" wrote in message
. com...
wrote:
riverman wrote:
wrote:
Old Grey wrote:
....
I wish you hadn't reminded me of that. I distinctly remember the
pocket fisherman being much later than the 60's! Or maybe I'm getting
that much older! :] Actually I think it would work out nice for a
quick backpacking pole in a pinch.

It was later.
I dunno....the ad sure looks like the 60s.
http://www.biography.com/broadband/m...cketfisherman2

--riverman

It was definitely later. I remember the commercials and
I wasn't around in the 60's. Had to be mid-late 70's for
me to remember.

LOL !!

You're a hoot #1, hasn't it occurred to you that those commercials
could have run without you being there in the 60's to see them ?

What was the name of the galactic beast from _The Hitchhiker's Guide_
who was so dense that if you closed your eyes he figured he couldn't
see you because you couldn't see him ?

From the Ronco web page:

"By the early 60s, Ron was selling products exclusively over television.
Ron and his father became wealthy from sales of kitchen gadgets that have
become household words: Dial-O-Matic, Veg-O-Matic, Mince-O-Matic, Pocket
Fisherman. In 1964, through TV Ronco pulled in $200,000 in sales. In
1968, the company's revenues were $8.8 million."

Dang. I must have had my eyes closed.

Wolfgang
who notes that bop the ****-weasel isn't nearly as much fun when you just
sit back and watch the ****-weasels bop themselves. um.....well, o.k.,
that's not true.

Ken Fortenberry wrote:
wrote:
riverman wrote:
wrote:
Old Grey wrote:
....
I wish you hadn't reminded me of that. I distinctly remember the
pocket fisherman being much later than the 60's! Or maybe I'm getting
that much older! :] Actually I think it would work out nice for a
quick backpacking pole in a pinch.

It was later.
I dunno....the ad sure looks like the 60s.
http://www.biography.com/broadband/m...cketfisherman2

--riverman

It was definitely later. I remember the commercials and
I wasn't around in the 60's. Had to be mid-late 70's for
me to remember.

LOL !!

You're a hoot #1, hasn't it occurred to you that those commercials
could have run without you being there in the 60's to see them ?

Definitely occurred to me, thanks for asking. I can't answer
when the pocket fisherman commercials started running, but
they were definitely running in the mid-late 70's. It's possible
that they were running for 10+ years.
- Ken