Mepps

The legendary Mepps spinner was invented in 1938 by French engineer André Meulnart, but it didn’t become a household name in American tackle boxes until 1951.

That’s when Wisconsin tackle shop owner Todd Sheldon tied one on while fishing the Wolf River after a slow day on the water. Within two hours, he landed four trout weighing over 12 pounds total.

That one trip changed fishing history.

Todd began importing Mepps to the U.S., and by 1956 he founded Sheldons’, Inc. in Antigo, Wisconsin. By 1960, Mepps spinner sales had topped half a million, eventually becoming one of the most iconic inline spinners ever made.

Still family-owned today, Mepps remains one of the few legendary lure companies that has stayed true to its roots.