Well, it was a simple question. What came first, the A.C. Minnow or the MS Slammer. Sounds like Allan had an idea for a billed bait in 91. Did he sell it then? I don't know. I didn't frequent the shops that would sell baits like that in 91-93.

The bait shown in the patent picture looks a lot more like a jointed rapala than an A.C. Minnow or an MS Slammer. The bill is angled out and the head is much narrower than either bait. If that's Allan's patent, why isn't he going after Rapala? Gimme a break.

A more relavent question here might be, did Mike Shaw see the A.C. Minnow and decide it would be a good idea to rip it off? The answer to that question is quite simply no. Mike had an idea to put a bill in a trout lure, and he did it in '93.

There was no interent in '93. Communciation among guys who were making baits was very limited. Did Rod and Todd Thigpin's original wood Stocker trout which also came out in '93 come out before the Slammer or the Minnow? What about the Castaic Hardbait ? It came out in the Spring of '93 also. In 2004, is it really relevant any more? The A.C. Minnow, MS Slammer, Stocker Trout and Castaic hardbait are all different baits with different design qualities.

Lot's of fishing lures are similar. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, plastic worms, swimbaits, trout plugs, you can go on and on. Some guys go the full knock off route. Other guys have respect for the original baits and make their baits with new and different variations. The way I see it, the MS Slammer is a variation bait, not a direct copy. Just hold an MS Slammer in one hand and an A.C. Minnow in your other hand. It'd be like holding a fat free shad and DD22. No big deal! If a guy makes a direct copy, that's lame IMO. If a guy does some new variation of a class of other baits, that's the standard thing that has happened 10,000 times over.

Allan, you've been back on the war path lately, I don't know why and I really don't care because I don't make any money in the fishing business. Why not just let it rest.