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Company Information
It is famous as "The Lure that made Lake
Erie the Walleye Capital of the World," but
what is little known is the fact that it
took a charter boat captain to come up with
it.
The lure is the legendary "Erie Dearie," and
has stood the test of time for over 40
years. The inventor and charter boat
captain, Dan Galbincea, is indeed a legend
in America.
Captain Dan's love of fishing began at the
age of 14, in 1936, when he would arise at 4
a.m. to make dough-balls for carp fishing on
the Mahoning River in his hometown of
Liberty Steel, Ohio.
After serving his country in the Army's 17th
Airborne Division during World War II, he
returned to his hometown and became an arc
welder for Mullin's manufacturing. After
work he would seine minnows and sell it to
local sport shops.
On June 21, 1947 he married Helen Kachenko,
and they had five children. One day as they
were out for a Sunday drive, they happened
upon the Causeway at the then very early
completed Mosquito Lake. Dan noticed all the
cars parked there and came up with an idea.
He thought it was a great place for a
business and gave the owner $1,200 for
little more than an acre of swamp. Dan
decided to pursue his dream and told
Mullin's he was quitting to start a sport
shop business. They all laughed and asked
how he could quit a good job and raise five
children by selling worms and minnows.
In 1954, he and Helen built the Causeway
Sport Shop, which sits on the Northeast
shore of Mosquito Creek Lake on route 88 in
Mecca, Ohio. The family still owns the sport
shop, managed by daughter Linda Galbincea
Finlaw.
Captain Dan caught the walleye bug (also in
1954) while fishing for the first time on
Lake Erie. He went with a friend, who was to
teach him the ways of the walleye. This
first time experience is what ultimately
spawned his charter boat and lure-
manufacturing career.
Back then, most walleye fishermen had been
using a standard type of spinning lure.
Therefore, Captain Dan thought he could
improve the spinner by adding a weight-
forward feature. This feature would yield a
more realistic "swimming" action in the
water. He did so in 1956 and called his new
lure, "Old Reliable."
Captain Dan gave those early lures away
while he continuously improved their design.
In perfecting his lure, Dan would pull the
lure through the minnow tank as he continued
to whittle and shape his lures. By 1960,
after two dozen trials and error changes, he
was finally satisfied that his painstaking
creation was as irresistible to suspended
fish and bottom dwellers as it was ever
going to be. Little did Dan know his lure
design would forever change his life or the
impact it would have on the Lake Erie
fishing industry.
The naming of Captain Dan's new lure became
something of a family jest. Captain Dan was
always going to the Lake to go fishing and
Helen asked why he did not stay home for
once. He loved to go fishing; Helen said
fine go to your Lake Erie, "Dearie" and that
is how they came up with the name.
Captain Dan contacted Herbert and Marilee
Harper, who at the time made plastic lures
which they sold out of their home. It would
be over six months before the Harpers took
with the idea of manufacturing his Erie
Dearie line, leaving Dan free to promote and
test his lures.
Today, the Original Erie Dearie, Super,
Mini, All Gold, All Silver, and the Top Dog
are well known. New additions have been
included, the Harness, Weapon, and the New
Ambassadear (Bass lure) in the Erie Dearie
line. Erie Dearie has become the largest
selling walleye lure in America. Maybe
because it is known to catch not just
walleye, but a surprising share of Bass,
Northern Pike, Crappie, Sauger, Stripers and
a few prize Muskies as well.
Charter Boating? That came to Captain Dan
some time after he had floated his lure
business. While he was working on his early,
"Old Reliable" lure. Dan decided to take a
break from his tackle shop business, leaving
Helen in charge, to do some research work on
Lake Erie.
In 1962, he bought his first "laboratory," a
23-foot, wood hull Lyman. With this he began
in earnest to perfect his lures... along
with his growing reputation for finding the
secret haunts of the ever-more-popular
walleye that abounded in the Lake Erie
waters, which was considered a dead sea.
However, Captain Dan would catch 300 to 400
walleyes a day out of that so called Dead
Sea.
In 1964, Captain Dan bought another Lyman.
The 26-footer was named after his newest
lure; "Erie Dearie." By then, the word had
spread across the lakes that, not only did
Captain Dan have a truly special knack for
tracking the lunker walleye, but also his
incredible Erie Dearies were the very best
at catching them.
In 1972, Dan acquired his third Lyman; a 30-
footer also named "Erie Dearie." It was the
last wood boat Lyman built. Captain Dan
loved his Lymans and considered them the
best boat for Lake Erie waters.
In 1977, Captain Dan became a founder of
the Lake Erie Charter Boat Association. In
1984, his professional teams won their first
walleye trophy for a seventh place finish in
that year's LECBA Professional-Amateur
derby. They then took a third in the
following year and finally, his all-women
team captured a coveted first in the 1986
LECBA Pro-Am using all Gold Erie Dearies. On
that team were two chips off the old block,
Dan and Helen's Daughters, Janice Thomas and
Dianne Trevena.
Captain Dan credited also with assisting in
the founding of the Lake Erie Sportfishermen
Association.
In 1980, Captain Dan put together a team of
charter boat captains, that he considered
some of the best fisherman on the water.
With his Fishing Team in place, he proceeded
to dominate the fishing lure industry on the
Western Basin of Lake Erie.
In 1984, Captain Dan Galbincea is inducted
into the Ohio Sportsmen's Hall of Fame. This
honor bestowed for his "inventing,
pioneering and marketing skills."
In June of 1996, Captain Dan had been
recuperating from a stroke and was making a
rare outing on Lake Erie with daughters,
Janice, Dianne, their husbands and Dan's
best friend Captain Jack Bolduan. It was a
beautiful day with perfect fishing
conditions. Many of his friends and members
of his "Erie Dearie Fishing Team" were on
the lake that day. As they cruised by the
boat, he greeted them with a wave of his
hand. After a productive day of walleye
fishing, we started our journey back to the
dock. While in route to the dock, Captain
Dan suffered a heart attack. He always said
he wanted to die with a fishing pole in his
hands and on Lake Erie, which he would refer
to as his second home. It was a fairy tale
ending to a life he loved.
In the spring of 1997, a member of the
Inventure Place in Akron, Ohio approached
the Family. The Inventure Place was putting
together an exhibit that would recognize
local inventors throughout Northeast Ohio.
In November, 97 Inventure Place opened its
exhibit remembering and honoring Captain Dan
as an "Inventors in our own backyard" for
his pioneering skills.
On July 3, 1998, in Port Clinton, Ohio on
the shores of Lake Erie a memorial park
opened. The honor was bestowed to Captain
Dan Galbincea for his vocation and legendary
career of over 30 years as a Charter boat
Captain. A memorial sign made from the
transom of the Original Erie Dearie Lyman
stands as a tribute to a man and his dream.
A local artisan carved a likeness of Captain
Dan and his Erie Dearie Lure, which are
credited with making Port Clinton and Lake
Erie the Walleye Capital of the World. After
the ceremony in honor of Captain Dan,
family, friends and the Mayor of Port
Clinton toss 1/4 ounce gold Erie Dearies
into the restored fountain that graces the
Erie Dearie Park.
Shortly after the death of Captain Dan the
family pulled together to decide what was to
be done with the business. Herbert and
Marilee Harper, the owners of Harper
Manufacturing Company of Boonville, Indiana
who had been manufacturing the Erie Dearie
line for about twenty years wanted to
retire. After several discussions, the
family decided to keep Captain Dan's legacy
alive. They decided to move the
manufacturing part of the business home to
Mecca a suburb of Cortland, and called the
company Captain Dan's Manufacturing after
its founder.
Today, Erie Dearie Lure, Inc. and Captain
Dan's owned by the Galbincea family, (Dan's
wife Helen, daughters, Janice Thomas, Dianne
Trevena, Linda Finlaw, Cathy Brunstetter,
and son Dan Galbincea III) still produce the
world famous Erie Dearie Lure.
http://www.eriedearie.com/
View all Erie Dearie products here at LandBigFish
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