John O’Keefe was an interesting guy. Avid fisherman, inventor, WWII veteran, and businessman. I met John in early 1994 when he showed me his patented design for the Crappie Gauge. He’d been manufacturing them in his die shop since 1988, but demand had grown to more than he could handle. I took over production in 1995, bought John out in 2001, and have been providing them to happy fishermen ever since. Over the years, our product line has expanded with the Crappie Light and Crappie Fishing Kit. All top quality, manufactured by Deerback in Mesquite, Texas.