TIME CAPSULE

Studio lights flash and illuminate a weathered tackle box.

An old tackle box serves as a time capsule in this photograph by Jody Dole. Captured in studio light, the contents rekindle memories of a fishing life that has passed.

— Daniel Harding Jr.

For a behind-the-scenes video of this assignment, visit anglersjournal.com. “Jody, let me try moving something.”

“Just hold on, let me get a few more shots.”

The banter between Anglers Journal editor-in-chief Bill Sisson and photographer Jody Dole is the result of their long relationship. Though they’ve collaborated on myriad projects, they’ve never attempted something like this.

They lean over the tackle box, fussing about the placement of an item. A Heddon lure box falls outside the trays just so. Jars of Uncle Josh pork rinds sit in the corners. An assortment of plugs, spoons, bobbers, weights and other dusty paraphernalia sits undisturbed as the men shift lights and scrutinize digital images on a monitor.

It’s not easy to tell the story of an angler who has gone to his reward through the tackle he left behind. But that’s what they are attempting.

In this and the next two issues, Anglers Journal will tell the stories of three fishermen through tackle that time almost forgot.