The Frank Sams Trolling Spoon was patented by him in 1908, but didn’t receive much notoriety until Edward vom Hofe got the rights in the 1930’s. Frank was born in Florida in 1846 according to the 1900 Florida census and worked for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. He designed and received a patent for a spoon on May 26, 1908. The patent states it was designed for tarpon and other large game fish. Sams apparently got the attention of the Edward vom Hofe Company. They acquired the rights to the patent and listed it in their catalogs up until 1940. The spoon was made of German silver and came in three sizes. The spoon was fitted with a “Van Vleck” forged hook. The spoon is heavy in construction compared to other spoons and meant to catch large fish. The Frank Sams Trolling Spoon is considered to be one of the great Central Florida Lures.
The FRANK SAMS TROLLING SPOON
The SAMS SPOON Ad in the Edward vom Hofe 1940 Catalog
The FRANK SAMS 1908 Patent