Old Time Fishing Lures

[Bad Water Bill]

Before you do anything with any lures check what they are selling for at Evil bay. I was amazed when I watched several of my old favorites go for from $30.00 to well over $300.00 each. IIRC my son and I watched one lure go for several K each.

When I started to teach my son about fishing I took him to a lure show. I came back for the next show and sold my dads and an uncles tackle boxes so we could buy some new equipment for my son. Little did I know I did not get even 10% of what they were worth. Oh well live and learn.

[bowfin]

DHurtig,

Can you fill in some detail about the eyes on the prop topwater lure?

Did you paint that lure, or add the hardware?

I never thought of using cedar as a lure body, but I know Poe's used to use cedar for their baits.

[quilbilly]

I am still using the Creek Chub Baits lures I used 50 years ago and they are still my favorites whenever I go to a new lake. The will tell me whatever is there. Just before the company went away, I picked up a bunch cheap and still have them in the original package in case I lose one. The little Ulta-Light Pikies are the ones I will have to swim for if I ever loose one.

[405]

An original Heddon wooden frog would do me just fine!

One special lure I remember while growing up was a Flatfish-like metal lure called the Russelure. Russelure began as a very small CA company in the 50s or early 60s. They're shaped like a Flatfish but of one-piece metal. They have an attractive anodized finish in various colors and best of all they caught/catch fish. I prized and protected the two or three I had when I was just learning to fish with a lure. Interesting that the company is still around but I don't know the particulars about the current business.

[DHurtig]

Bowfin; I turned the body on my lathe. Wood is probable eastern red cedar as that's what I use most. Sealed the body and painted with rattle cans and then sealed it with two part epoxy. The eyes were bought from a parts supplier, but I don't remember who off hand. These are plastic, but I have some glass eyes that were bought from a supplier on Ebay. Dale

[Bad Water Bill]

An original Heddon wooden frog would do me just fine!

One special lure I remember while growing up was a Flatfish-like metal lure called the Russelure. Russelure began as a very small CA company in the 50s or early 60s. They're shaped like a Flatfish but of one-piece metal. They have an attractive anodized finish in various colors and best of all they caught/catch fish. I prized and protected the two or three I had when I was just learning to fish with a lure. Interesting that the company is still around but I don't know the particulars about the current business.

Try this and see if it is what you remember.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=...&_osacat=36145

[405]

Yes, that be it. IIRC, it started in a small garage with an idea and a simple metal stamping machine.

[bowfin]

Bowfin; I turned the body on my lathe.

Well then, you did an EXCELLENT job on the paint!

I am really enjoying reading everybody's posts on the memories and how some lures are timeless. Then again, bass and trout and panfish haven't changed much in the last 50-60 years, so why would a Little Cleo or Jitterbug become obsolete?

Speaking of Little Cleos, did anybody else here that they had to stop putting the girl on the back of the lure because someone at Wal-Mart complained and the manufacturer couldn't risk losing the business?

[bowfin]

I remember two of my brothers going to Yellowstone Lake in Wisconsin on a camping/fishing trip. We had one cassette, and that was "Wings at the Speed of Sound" to which we listened all week...over and over, but that didn't bother us at all.

We were catching a lot of good panfish on nightcrawlers and Falls Bait Co. Jig-n-Minnows. I lifted the stringer and a very large pike or tiger muskie rolled right underneath of it. My older brother immediately tied a half pound Daredevle (psychadelic pink, blue and white, no less, which made the devil look gay) on to his whip thin Eagle Claw spinning combo and launched it the length of the lake. After that cast, he was afraid of snapping his rod, so we two younger brothers supplied the paddle power so he could troll until sunset. Never did meet up with the leviathan, but I still think of him when I hear any of the those "Wings" songs.

Here is the closest I can find to show that color scheme:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vtg-DARDEVLE...-/230800161420

[Bad Water Bill]

Here is what got me started looking for old lures.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/vintage-luck...item51a03582e5

When I was transferred to NAS Jax I had a couple days before I had to check in so I went to the St John's river and caught bass while every one else caught SKUNK.

This was the wonder lure. I had not seen any of these sold since then. My son said try Evil bat and you might get lucky.

Well now you know.

And this is another reason castboolits is GREAT.

You never know what you might learn.

[Hamish]

Boy, I'm glad I'm not the only one. Between old woodworking tools, (mostly hand planes) and fishing lures, I bet I could have bought a couple of nice rifles.

There was mention of looking for someone to tie new bucktail. A little sewing thread, nail polish, and the south end of a road kill squirrel and Bob's yer uncle!

The Russel Lewis books have lots of good pics and are pretty spot on concerning history.

(All these are self painted, three of them are self carved. The airbrush is a beautiful thing.)

[paul h]

The little cleo was a suprise to me the first time I used one. Probably the best memories I've had up here are when our kids were little we'd paddle out to this lake supposedly to hunt moose, but they were so noisy they'd scare away just about every animal within 5 miles. Anyhow, we did manage to get in a week long camping and fishing trip each year for a few years.





Anyhow I'd picked up a 1/4oz silver/red little cleo and had it in the tackle box. I'd never used one and one year after trying every spinner in 0, 1 and 2 size in various patterns I could not get a bite. I finally put on the spoon, cast out and bam, nice 12" rainbow. Since then the little cleos and kastmasters have been my go to rainbow lures, and the spinners rarely get used.

I need to get another canoe and start doing those trips again, or maybe I'll take the boys out and use our inflatable.

[KCSO]

Man we use to get the Northern and walleyes on the old Lazy Ike, I still have my Grandfathers box with all the old lures from the 30's to the 60's. Some of them were real producers but now i am afraid to toss one on the water because I can't replace them. Basswood lures with nickle plated spinners!

[Bad Water Bill]

Have at some lazy Ikes

http://www.lurenet.com/brands/lazy-i...07&att=1002207

little cleo

www.fishusa.com/ACME-Little-Cleo-Spoons_p.html

They are all out there if you really want them.

[WRideout]

As a teener,StepDad & I did considerable fishing in the Sacramento River Delta sloughs.. When focused on Black Bass,the Johnson Silver Minnow & attached Pork Rind,and the Shannon Twin Spinner Bucktail were particularly favored. Arbogast's Hawaian Wiggler,& Hawaian Spoon also seen fttt..Still lugging all of those around,and making a few casts with them for memories and grins... Onceabull

When I was in college at Chico State in the 70's, the Sacramento River had a magnetic attraction for me. Some genius decided that all the important events in life had to start in September; dove season, archery deer, quail, rabbit, and school. I almost didn't achieve higher education, but finally got a diploma.

I fished the Sacramento R. for a solid year without catching a keeper, but finally I was out at the river during Christmas break (they used to call it that.) I had been told that the way to catch the winter-run salmon was to use the largest size of flatfish lure, in chrome or fluorescent orange. Then tie a fillet from a frozen bait sardine to it with many wraps of thread. The leader went to a three-way swivel that was tied off to the main line, and a dropper holding up to a half-pound of lead. It looked like a hardware store on the end of my line. Once it was in the water, the lure would stay in one place in the current, and wiggle.

I was out in the cold, using the surf casting rig I had inherited from my dad. While I watched, the line started moving upstream. When I started cranking in, the salmon rolled on the surface; it looked like the biggest trout I had ever seen. I finally got it up on the shore, when the leader broke and I had to grab the fish in a bear hug. I nearly had a heart attack. I did get him though. Nice twenty inch King salmon.

Wayne

[Reg]

DHurtig

Nice work !!!

[looseprojectile]

get into any long stories here as I have a lot of em.
But, have any of you had the pleasure of using the spinning lures made by Garcia in Sweden called the Abu Reflex? When I had them I usually caught more trout than I could carry. I had the best results with the yellow with black spots and yellow hair on the hook. White with black spots was a distant second choice.
I would give a lot for a card of those lures and I just might go fishing a lot more often.
A later lure that worked about half as well would be the Panther Martin spinning lures. There again the yellow with black was best.
About two years ago I heard that they were going to make the Abu Reflex again and did a search on the internet and didn't find them.
This all took place fifty or more years ago. Why is youth wasted on the young?

Edit; Just did a search and found them. Rats, no yellow. Gonna get some and go fishing.
Just the other night my wife said some crispy fried trout would be good.

Life is good

[Bad Water Bill]

Here is their site but It does not look like they deal with the U S A.


http://www.abugarcia-fishing.co.uk/c...catalog,1.html

And here is evil bad

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=...&_osacat=31689

The lures are still out there.

[9.3X62AL]

There are A LOT of small-scale lure-makers putting out products these days, just like the old days. These kids don't market in Field & Stream or like places--no, they are on the internet on sites much like Cast Boolits, where they offer their wares to board members and others via that route.

[870TC]

Heddon River Runts and the South Bend Bass-Oreno for me!