Christopher Slusar

Chris Slusar was born and raised on Milwaukee’s south side but enjoyed frequent trips to his grandpa and grandma Wilks’ home on Lauderdale Lakes, about an hour away. Childhood fishing trips with his grandpa and uncles exposed him to the outdoors and the simple pleasures of fishing. His uncle Joe introduced him to Hayward’s Lake Chippewa Flowage as a teenager, and soon he was entranced by musky fishing and the rich history that went with it. His love for fishing gradually combined with another passion—collecting.

By the time college entered the picture in the mid-1980s, Chris’ walls were decorated in lures, and tackle boxes were stacked in the corners. In 1986 he joined the National Fishing Lure Collectors Club (NFLCC) and, a few years later, became a life member.

After completing an undergraduate degree and becoming a certified public accountant, Chris went on to work in public accounting and then as a financial executive for an international cleaning products business in Racine, Wisconsin. Fishing, collecting, and researching fishing tackle filled what little spare time he had! His wife, Lisa, and kids, Nick, Mitch, and Natalie, were patient supporters and often participants in his hobbies.

In 2013, Chris took on a new professional challenge with a leading national distributor of building products in Beloit, Wisconsin. Following the change in employer, he and Lisa relocated to Evansville, just south of Madison.

During the past twenty-five years, Chris has penned several articles on fishing tackle and has been published in the NFLCC Gazette, Hunting and Fishing Collectibles Magazine, Old Reel Collectors Association magazine, and the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame newsletter. In 2020–21, he was interviewed for and contributed to a public television special covering the history of fly-fishing in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Chris has been an active participant in fishing tackle collectibles shows for decades and has hosted or co-hosted one of the largest antique and collectible fishing tackle shows in the country for nearly twenty years.

After many intense months of research, writing, and photography, Chris is sorting out the next challenge. Now retired, he enjoys time at the family cabin in Wisconsin’s Northwoods and pursuing outdoor adventures.