I’ve at all times been a sucker relating to shopping for vintage fishing deal with. Whether or not it’s at a yard sale, a flea market, or an vintage retailer, I’m virtually at all times prepared to overpay for an outdated relic that catches my fancy.
Taking a look at vintage fishing lures is like wanting on the Henry Ford’s first cars—they had been extremely crude, particularly by at the moment’s requirements, but they nonetheless one way or the other managed to get the job completed. Maybe nowhere else does American ingenuity shine greater than within the fishing-tackle trade. Many early designs went the best way of the dodo chook, however numerous others stood the check of time and spawned much more improvements.
Previous fishing lures additionally give us a glimpse again in time on the true roots of fishing. Many vintage designs look extra like medieval torture units than the precise forage fish present in native ponds, lakes, and rivers. Some vintage bass lures sport as much as 5 units of treble hooks, indicating that on the time of their creation, bringing dwelling the meat was of the utmost significance. The observe of catch and launch was unprecedented 100 years in the past, and vintage lures enable us to mirror on how the game of bass fishing has developed.
Whereas you’ll certainly be dissatisfied within the true worth of many of the antiques you would possibly discover, there are a handful of classics that, when you occur to search out them of their unique packing containers, could be value greater than a shiny new bass boat.
Vintage Bass Lures Value Gathering
Large Copper Haskell Minnow
Again in 1859, Riley Haskell, a proficient gunsmith, started tinkering with fishing lures. His weapons had been well-known for his or her fantastically detailed engravings, which he carried over to his lures. He created his hollow-bodied Haskell Minnows out of each brass and copper, they usually had finely sculpted fins, eyes, and scales. All Haskell minnows are extraordinarily uncommon, however this one, which measures 10 inches in size, is taken into account to be one among a form. In 2003, it offered (with its unique field) at Lang’s Auctions in New York for a whopping $101,200, incomes its declare as the costliest lure ever offered.
Musky Charmer Minnow

The Charmer Minnow Firm from Springfield, Missouri, first patented this triple-treble design in 1910. Their lures featured glass eyes and spinners constituted of German silver. The bigger 5-inch fashions are fairly uncommon, and people painted with the “barber pole” spiral sample are essentially the most fascinating. This lure has most likely charmed extra lure collectors than it did fish; in 2018, one was auctioned for simply over $25,000.

Heddon Black Sucker

James Heddon is credited with creating the primary wood topwater lures again within the Eighteen Nineties. Legend has it that he was whittling a stick on the banks of Mill Pond in Michigan whereas ready for a good friend to reach. When his good friend acquired there, he tossed the quick size of wooden into the pond, the place it was instantly engulfed by a big bass. He went on to design dozens of iconic lures, together with the spook, which stays a preferred topwater providing to today. The Heddon Black Sucker was one among his earliest creations and is the lure most prized by collectors. A mint specimen in its unique field offered for about $19,000 in 2006.
Shakespeare Wood Minnow

William Henry Shakespeare, Jr., of Kalamazoo, Michigan, is credited with designing the primary level-wind reel in 1897. His invention spawned The Shakespeare Firm, which nonetheless exists at the moment. His new reel was a smashing hit and shortly earned a stable fame. Shakespeare then entered the fishing lure market in an effort to money in on the corporate’s title. A few of his earliest ideas had been The Evolution, The Revolution, The Positive-Lure, The Shakespeare-Worden Bucktail Spinner, The Match Frog, and a line of Wood Minnows. The wood lures turned very talked-about round 1905. They had been offered in a slide-top wood field and fetched a fairly penny for that point. In 2012, a mint early model, full with the unique field, fetched $18,700 at public sale.
Wiggletail Smith Minnow

Patented in 1905 by Charles Smith of LaGrange, Indiana, the Wiggletail is about as uncommon as they get; It’s believed there are solely a few dozen in existence. Its charming tail mechanism and yellow glass eyes make it a real oddity amongst fishing-lure evolution. The instance proven right here is in excellent situation and was offered in 2015 at Lang’s Public sale in New York for round $17,500.
Hosmer Mechanical Frog

Whereas all vintage lures are collectible, outdated frogs appear to essentially be fascinating, and the Hosmer Mechanical Frog is taken into account the Holy Grail amongst collectors. It was patented by John D. Hosmer of Detroit, Michigan, in 1940. It measures 5 inches lengthy, was hand-painted, and is claimed to have 51 components. Lower than 20 are identified to exist they usually hardly ever come up on the market. In 2007, one offered for $13,000 at public sale.
Comstock Flying Hellgrammite
A very distinctive design that didn’t stand up to the check of time, the Flying Hellgrammite is believed to have been the primary lure to ever use wooden in its building. It additionally lays declare to being the primary lure to mimic an insect and the primary to make use of glass eyes. It was patented in 1883 by Harry Comstock of Fulton, New York. He made these lures for under eight months, then determined to promote the patent to Pflueger, who ended its manufacturing in 1885. Latest auctions have seen these lures herald round $10,000.
Miller’s Reversible Minnow

Our final lure could be my favourite. It seems to be like one thing that Dr. Seuss would have created and has completely no resemblance to something I’ve ever seen within the pure world. It was created in 1914 by William H. Miller from New York. Miller had a small boat and sometimes fished Cayuga Lake for bass, and it’s there that he most likely examined his first prototype. The lure options spinners that rotate in reverse instructions and certainly made fairly the commotion within the water. Latest auctions of this basic lure netted over $6,200.
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