The Encyclopedia of Old Fishing Lures: Made in North America

By Bob Slade and Tess Slade

Robert A. Slade, after collecting old fishing tackle since 1958 and contributing articles on old fishing lures for a collector magazine for several years started researching and writing books in the 1990's. He published the HISTORY & COLLECTIBLE FISHING TACKLE OF WISCONSIN in 1999 which sold 4,500 copies. Bob realized that even though there have been many books published on the subject of old fishing lures that few books covered any detailed history on the old lure makers. His latest book writing project was nine years in the making and covers over 100 years of lure making history starting in 1875 and covers over 2,500 lures makers throughout all of North America. THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OLD FISHING LURES MADE IN NORTH AMERICA is the first publication with extensive history and patent information on old lure makers and the first to include extensive coverage on Canadian lure makers. The author traveled to 11 states and 3 Candian Providences visting collectors homes, newspaper archives, museums and other sources and has taken over 10,000 pictures in preparing the historical stories for these books. The set of books arranges for the individual and company lures makers to appear in alphabetical order. People purchasing these books can buy any one single book, a whole set, or even a book a month if they desire as the books will be printed and shipped on demand. Each book has over 400 pages of text, pictures and collector values with each book containing a table of contents and index as well as a master index for the complete set of books.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Mar 8, 2010
• ISBN: 9781425152635

Bob Slade

Robert A. Slade was born March 17, 1938, graduated from Eaton Rapids High School in central Michigan in 1957 and Michigan State University in 1964 with a four year hitch in the US Air Force in between. After working for 36 years as an insurance and investment broker he retired in 1996. Bob had been an avid fisherman all of his life and started fishing with his parents at age 6. He has been a antique fishing lure collector since 1958 and had amassed a hugh collection by 1990. His retirement allowed him the necessary time to research and write articles for a collector magazine and publish several books on the subject of old fishing lures.

Book preview

The Encyclopedia of 

Old Fishing Lures 

Made in North America

Volume 3

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© Copyright 2010, 2011 by Bob & Tess Slade.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by means including but not limited to electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the written consent of the authors.

ISBN: 978-1-4251-5262-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4251-5263-5 (e)

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Contents

Bob’s Musky Baits

Bob’s Wood Lures

Bobbie Bait Co.

Bobige Products Co.

Bobopen, Inc.

Boehm, A. F.

Bogie Baits Co.

Bohnen Muskie Lures

Boman Lures

Bomber Bait Co.

Bon A Don’s Custom Fishing Shop

Bon’s Baits

Bonafide Manufacturing Co.

Bonaire Co.

Bond Fish Lures

Bonnett Bait Co.

Boogie Lure Co. / Marvelure Mfg. Co. / Speed Clip Division of Arnold Tackle

Boone Bait Co.

Dan Boone Lures, C. D. Boone

R. L. Boone Manufacturing Co., Inc.

Booth Export & Import Co., Ltd.

Borton, N. H.

Borum, Daniel W.

Boshears Tackle Co.

Boss Lure Co.

Bossard Baits

Bostwick-Braun Co.

Bottlecap Lure Co./ James R. Lacy

Botts, J. S. Snowdy

Boulton, T. J.

Bowden Enterprises

Bowering, Allan G.

Bowers, Frank / Bowers, Mark

Bowers, Paul

Bowersox, G. F.

Boyajian, Andrew / Anderson & Murphy

Boyd, William E. / 2 Way Bait Co.

Boyer-Schultz Corporation

Braden Lures

Brafford, D. A.

Lyman Bradford Co.

Samuel Bradford Hardware Co. 

Martin L. Bradford & Co. 

 Dame, Stoddard & Kendall Co. 

Stoddard’s, Inc.

Bradley Tackle Co.

W. H. Brady Co.

Braidwood Stamp Co.

Brandel Bait Co.

Brandt-Roberts Co.

Brass Goods Manufacturing Co.

Braun, W. G.

Breck’s Sporting Goods

Brice, William J.

Bridgeport Silverware Manufacturing Co.

Hellion Lure Products

Brileen Co.

Brilliant Search Light Manufacturing Co.

Broadcaster Lures

David P. Brodie

Brok-Aw! Tackle Co.

Brooks Marine Supply

Brooks Shiner Bait Co.

Brooks-Eidson Tackle Co.

Brost Bait Co.

Clint Brown, Inc.

Brown, D. W.

Brown, Frank

Brown, Harvey W.

Brown, Jack

Brown’s Bomber Co.

Brown’s Fisheretto Co.

Brownstein, R. G.

Brush, H. C.

Bryn Fishing Tackle Co.

Buchanan, Enoch A.

Bucher, Joe / Roberts Outdoors, Inc.

Gordon Buck Manufacturing Co.

Buck’s Baits

Buckeye Bait Co. / Buckeye Bait Corp., A Divisional Corporation of Ohio

Bucktail Bait Co.

Bob Budd’s Baits

J. T. Buel

Nate Buell & Co.

H. J. Buettner

H. C. Buicke & Sons / Lewis E. Hamel Co., Inc.

A. J. Bukoske & Son Co.

Bullard & Gormley

Bumble Bee Bait Co.

Bunnell Tackle Co.

Henry Bunta

Buob Brothers

Hendryx

Frank Burdett

Burg, L. R.

Burgess, Benjamin F. /The Burgess Weedless Hook Co.

Burke Bait Co.

Burke Fishing Lures Burke Flexo-Products Co. / Later Owned By Mcclellan Industries, Inc.

Burkman, Arthur

Burlington Baits

Burmek, Tony J.

Burney’s Manufacturing Co.

Burns Baits

F. S. Burroughs & Co.

G. Burton & Co. / New Jersey Aluminum Co.

Busty Baits / William S.Flesher

Joe Butler, Inc.

Butternut Island Tackle Co.

Buzz-Bomb Lure Corporation

Buzz Flies

Buzz Saw Tackle Co.

Bwana Lures

By-U Queen Fishing Tackle Co.

Bycroft & Ruby Co.

Byler Corporation

Bynum Lures And Decoys

Byu Lure Co.

C & E Sport Fishing Design & 

 Manufacturing Co.

C & K Manufacturing Co.

C & K Products Co.

C & M Bait Co.

C. K. Mfg Co.

C-L Baits

C. A. Specialty Casco Co.

C. P. Swing, Inc.

Cabin Creek Bait Co.

Cachalot Lures Co.

Cactus Jack Lures

Cady Distributing Co.

Cal-Pacific Co.

Caldwell, F. H.

Caligan Co.

Calkins, Lowell

J. H. Callahan Co.

Calumet Tackle Co. & 

 Spiral Tackle Co.

Cameron, F. C.

Camp Minnow Traps

Campbell Lures

Cambell, W. M.

Canada Needle & Fishing 

 Tackle Co., Ltd.

Canada Paint Co., Ltd.

Canada’s Largest Lure Maker 

 Allcock Laight & Westwood Co. Ltd.

Canadian Bait Mfg Co.

Canadian Baits, Inc.

Canadian Legend Lure Co.

Canadian Tire Corporation, Ltd.

Candland, Inc.

Cane River Bait Co.

Canuk Rotor Co.

Cap’n Jac Products

Capco Water Glass

Cape Cod Spinner Co.

Cape Lazo Flies

Cappera, Ted

Capt. Action Lures

Capt’n K’s Enterprises

Captivated Lures, Inc.

Thomas Careful Lures

Carlock Hardware & Implement Co.

Orlyn Carlson Metal Baits

Jack Carnes Lures

Carpenter, A. B. / Carpenter Mfg Co.

Carpenter, Wilbur D.

C. B. Carr Hand Made Lures

Carries

Carroll Spinner Co.

Carroll-Walton Engineering, Inc. / Harrison Industries, Inc.

Carter Carburetor / Stoner Machine & Mfg. Co. / Brock Specialties

Carter’s Bestever Bait Co.

Carter’ S Bestever Lure The 50 Year History And Seven Co. Manufacturers

Case Bait Co.

Clarence Casper

Cast Right Bait Co.

Cast Rite Tackle Co.

Castaic Lure Co.

Casting Line Sail Co.

Phil Catania

Jules Catarau

Catch-All, Inc.

Catch-Em Bait Co.

Catching Concepts, Inc.

Dedicated in loving memory to

Tony Nata III.

A percentage of the proceeds of the sale 

 of this encyclopedia will be donated to

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Providing Kids with Leukemia a Room to Grow and a Chance to Survive

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Tony’s Room Foundation is focused on building clean room environments in the homes of children battling Leukemia. Tony’s Room Foundation was formed to build hope for families of children with Leukemia as a way to honor the memory of a courageous little boy from Slidell, Louisiana who really loved to fish—Anthony J. Tony Nata III.

__________________________________________________________________________________

To make a 100% tax-deductible donation and for

more information, please visit www.tonysroom.org.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Writing a series of books on this scale took me over a nine-year path of research and photography. However, even with that, it would not have been possible for me to have completed this project without the assistance of hundreds of contributing people. Consequently, these books are the result of the collective efforts and contributions of the following people and many others too numerous to mention.

First of all, I would like to extend special thanks to Dan Basore of Warrenville, Illinois. I spent nearly a month at Dan’s home as an invited guest on two separate visits to do research and photography. We spent countless hours pouring over the Richard Walton files alone. (Richard Walton is without a doubt this country’s first intensive lure collector. He started shortly after the turn of the twentieth century and collected and kept meticulous records of his finds for another 50 years.)

Other major contributors included the following: Alan Bakke (MN), Adrien Delbasty (LA), Dennis Giese (WI), Billy Gregory (WI), Steve O’Hern (MN), Doug Lenicheck (WI), Gary Ludwig (IN), Dean A. Murphy (MO), Robert Robbie Pavey (GA), Virgil Potvin (WI), Joe Stagnitti (NY), Larry & Pat Sundal (IA), and Matt Wickham (KY).

There were many collectors and non-collectors who contributed serious time and effort into these books: Philip Allen (MN), Laurie Bingham (NY), Eric Borgerding (WI) David Budd (IN), Robert Bulkley (IN), Doug Carpenter (OH), Arlan Carter (WI), John Conlin (MN), Craig Farver (CO), the late Art Hansen (WI), Peter Heid (NY), Tom Jacomet (AZ), Jack Leslie (IN), Randy Nelson (IN), the late Richard Nissley (MI), the late George Richie (MI), Dale Roberts (MI), William Robinson (IN), Ray Rodgers (AK), Richard Rounds (Canada), Tom Schofield (WI), Travis Slater (NY), Chris Slusar (WI), Arne Soland (OR), Colby Sorrells (TX), David Spengler (WI), Mike Thompson (OK), John Workman (Canada), and the late Clarence Zahn (MI).

Other contributors to these books included the following: Bill Bailey (TX), Hollis Bosley (IL), Tom Clayton (NJ), Randall Cobb (CO), John Collen (WI), Curt Conner (IA), Gary Cripps (WI), Wayne Dionne (TX), William Earl (MI), Mike Echols (FL), Lindy Egan (OH), Mike Estep (TN), Jim Frazier (FL), Ron Fritz (FL), Dave Gusted (CA), Walter Geib (WI), Mike Hampton (CA), Ron Hanley (GA), Eddie Hobbs (IL), Dave Hoover (OH), Tom Jacomet (AZ), the late Art Kimball (WI), John Kolbeck (MN), Robert & Sue Kutchera (WI), John Laimon (WI), Bob Lehmkuhl (WI), Joe McCarthy (WI), Dennis McNulty (VA), John Muma (MS), Joe Muzynoski (WI), Mike Potthier (WI), Bill Stuart (FL), and Joe Yates (FL).

Edited by: Jessica & William Lehmann (WI) Layout by: Robert Lehmann (WI)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Meeting Bob Slade for the first time was a shocking experience to me. It was December, 1988 that another collector introduced me to Bob, who at the time was completing research for his book, The History & Collectible Fishing Tackle of Wisconsin. Here was this big guy talking non-stop with unbelievable passion about Wisconsin fishing lures. Most impressive was his knowledge of the history of each lure and its inventor or manufacturer. To me, this is what sets Bob apart from many other lure collectors in this compulsive and rewarding hobby of ours. It helps that Bob is blessed with a wonderful memory that supplements his passion for collecting fishing tackle and the history of fishing lures. Bob trained himself in the art of photography to enhance his stories of lure history and lure identification.

Bob was born in 1938 in Charlotte, Michigan and grew up on the family farm. He was an avid fisherman and hunter and ran a trap line while in high school. Bob spent four years in the United States Air Force and graduated from Michigan State University. Bob worked in the insurance industry for over thirty years in both management and sales. Since his retirement, Bob has concentrated on fishing-lure collecting.

I have fished with Bob in the Northwest Territories at a lake at which he has fished for many years. The fishing hole is 140 miles north of Yellowknife and has yielded many monster pike and lake trout to Bob including a 35-pound pike that he boated. At home in Wisconsin, Bob is a fanatical bass fisherman.

All this fishing fits nicely into his passion for lure collecting. Before I met Bob, his lure collection had numbered over 12,000 lures-one of the largest collections in the United States-which he sold for health reasons. However, Bob could not be stopped for long and soon started collecting again. When he finished his book on Wisconsin lures, Bob sold his second collection of many thousands of lures.

Today, Bob is still very busy buying and selling lures for research of the history. This task could go on and on forever and never be finished. Bob is quickly recognized at lure shows carrying his camera, interviewing collectors, and taking photos of both new finds and different variations of known lures. (Many collectors have never known the history of some lures prior to Bob writing up their story.) He greatly enjoys the hunt part of collecting, and I think he is on a mission to provide all of us with a guide to tackle identification and to tell the stories of fishing lure history.

Bob is blessed with a wonderful wife, who graciously puts up with all of this lure stuff and also does the hard work of packaging and shipping his lures.

Thank you, Bob, for this encyclopedia of fishing lures.

DOUG LENICHECK

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INTRODUCTION

When I started doing research and writing on this current book project in the fall of 1999, I had no idea that it would take nine years to complete. I have traveled to eleven states and three Canadian providences doing research and have taken well over 10,000 pictures.

I have been invited into dozens of homes to do photography and have spent many days in museums and libraries researching old archives. During these nine years, my normal fishing time has been cut in half, and our home has become a warehouse of boxes of papers and pictures.

I originally began the project with the intention of covering only a few Great Lakes States, and, in fact, the original title of the books was going to be, Lures of The Great Lakes States. However, the undertaking kept growing and growing until finally it was covering all of the United States and parts of Canada. I’m not professing that these books cover every lure maker that existed in this country and Canada, but it covers only those that I became aware of in my 49 years of collecting or recent research. I have realized that it would take more than one lifetime to cover the entire subject of fishing-tackle makers.

Therefore, the first thing I decided was to not include the big six lure makers-Creek Chub, Heddon, Moonlight/Paw Paw, Pflueger, Shakespeare, and South Bend-to save space in my books and because there are countless books available that cover these important lure makers. I also decided to not cover bobbers, fly rod lures, ice fishing decoys, rods, reels, and other miscellaneous fishing tackle. However, for reasons you will understand, there are exceptions to these statements found throughout the books.

A task of this magnitude meant that I had to accept help from many other people and didn’t always do the photography. Consequently, there are some pictures in these books that are not of the quality I would like, as everyone does not own top-of-the-line camera equipment—so it is what it is. There are examples where only patent drawings could be shown, as the lures were too rare to come by.

The next issue was publication. I interviewed with over 35 different publishers. Some wanted to retain copy rights and pay only a token royalty that would not come close to covering my research cost. Some wanted close to $400,000 before they would print the fist book, and others wanted to sell the set for over $1,000. I settled on Trafford Publishing because they print on demand, I do not have a book storage problem, and the books are reasonably priced. However, to accomplish this, I had to go with a soft cover and black-and-white pictures but with a color CD of pictures in each book.

I am very fortunate to have my wife, Tess, who has put up with all this madness for these ten years.

MY PERSONAL FAVORITE LURE

EAST COAST BOSTON WHALER

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Due to the vast numbers of lures that I have had in my collection over the years I have frequently been asked what my favorite lure was. There is no question in my mind that it was the pictured 4-1/2 IVORY MINNOW. Extensive research has revealed that this late 1800’s solid ivory minnow was hand carved by a east coast Boston Whaler of an unknown name. The lure has a 1 long oval shaped solid silver in-lay just behind the eyes. The indented eyes have a deep set silver in-lay as well. Even the hand forged hook is silver plated. The intricate checker-scale pattern was all painstakingly done by hand. The long line tie is real leather that goes through the lure to the tail hook. I no longer own this lure, but the present owner, John Conlin of Maple Plain, Minnesota has graciously provided me with the attached pictures of this beautiful piece of art. John says the lure is the centerpiece of his collection and in his opinion… it is priceless. Estimated trade value is $5,000

BOB’S MUSKY BAITS

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA

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As a person gets older, he learns to late not to trust his memory. For me, this is a good example. At one time, the full name of this lure maker was on the tip of my tongue just for the asking, but no more. BOB’S MUSKY BAIT was pretty much of a copy of the Eddie Ostling developed Eddie Baits that he made in Hayward, Wisconsin, starting in the 1950’s. Bob’s Minnesota made wooden lures were even created in the same sizes of 6-1/2 long and 8 long with screw-eye hook hardware. He painted his lures in dark upper-body colors of black or dark browns with white bellies and with all white or all yellow painted eyes. His two-piece cardboard lure box was just a plain cardboard box with "BOB’S MUSKY

BAIT printed on the cover in red and a written color code: in this case, BR" for brown.

Bob’s Musky Baits were made in the 1970’s, but, at the same time, there was another Minnesota man doing the same. Ted Cappera out of Blaine, Minnesota, made 6-1/2, 7, and 8 copies of the Eddie Ostling Eddie Baits that he named the Teddy Bait." His lures can be easily identified from the other two lure makers, as he painted in oval-shaped yellow or white iris eyes with a cockeyed-forward-looking black pupil.

Boxed Bob’s Musky baits trade in the $35 range and sometimes higher.

BOB’S WOOD LURES

ROCKWALL, TEXAS

A contemporary Folk Art lure maker by the name of Bob Pritchett makes some quality wood Crackleback five-hook minnows and even some six-hook minnows. These lures were made with glass eyes, counter-rotating props, L-Rig hook screws, and cup hardware. Bob works out of 206 West Heath Street in Rockwall, Texas. One pictured example is his 4"-long BOB’S SPECIAL, a green crackled back finish, glass-eyed, five-hook minnow with hand-painted gill marks. The lure had four external-cup and screw-eye side treble hooks and pointed-tip props fore and aft with concave-convex facing washers as bearings. This early production was sold in a nice, dove-tail, wooden, slide-cover box with his company name stenciled, BOB’S WOOD LURES, with a jumping bass on the sides.

There is a long list of other lures that Pritchett has made: LARGE & SMALLMOUTH BASS, PEACOCK BASS, TIGER MUSKY, GREAT NORTHERN, BLACK GROUPER,

YELLOWFIN GROUPER, SPECKLED SEA TROUT, BROWN TROUT, BROOK TROUT, BLUEGILL SUNFISH, REDEAR SUNFISH, PUMKINSEED, TARPON, STRIPED BASS, WALLEYE, YELLOWTAIL SNAPPER, GOGGLE EYE, and both BLACK & WHITE CRAPPIE. These lures were his mainstay productions, True Lifelike Series, carved in the shapes of the fish, portrayed with hand-carved gills, mouth, and fins and hand painted in true colors. Some of these lures were finished in crackleback or rainbow fire patterns with open mouths in the feeding position. In addition to these top-water lure types he also made a novelty series of frogs, mice, and birds with glass eyes and hair legs.

Boxed Bob’s Wood Lures trade in the $35 to $50 range, but some have reached the $100 level.

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BOB’S WOOD LURES (2)

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BOBBIE BAIT COMPANY

APPLETON, WISCONIN

Robert A. Vander Velden developed the famous BOBBIE BAIT on the waters of the Chippewa Flowage area in 1938. The lure soon became a very popular Wisconsin musky reel-and-jerk type bait, and Vander Veldon was in major production in the 1940’s, all of the 1950’s, and into the 1970’s. The lure is still made today but by a different manufacturer.

The Bobbie Bait had a large head and a gradually-tapering body to the tail. The tail had a flat, metal insert that could be bent up or down slightly to fine-tune the lure to the fisherman’s desired effect. The tail piece was distinctive in that it had four rounded humps bordering the tip. The lure had yellow or red painted eyes, depending on body color, and an open mouth painted red inside. The hand-turned pine wood Bobbie Baits were painted with white bellies, blending in to either brown or black sides, becoming darker by the time the color reached the backs.

Vander Velden made the Bobbie Bait in four different sizes. There was a giant 14 with four large treble hooks, (Vander Velden wanted to test the theory that bigger is better). This size is extremely rare, as only one dozen 14 ones were made. (We need to thank