Antique Bass Lures Worth Collecting

I’ve always been a sucker when it comes to buying antique fishing tackle. Whether it’s at a yard sale, a flea market, or an antique store, I’m almost always willing to overpay for an old relic that catches my fancy.
Looking at antique fishing lures is like looking at the Henry Ford’s first automobiles—they were incredibly crude, especially by today’s standards, yet they still somehow managed to get the job done. Perhaps nowhere else does American ingenuity shine more than in the fishing-tackle industry. Many early designs went the way of the dodo bird, but countless others stood the test of time and spawned even more innovations.
Old fishing lures also give us a glimpse back in time at the true roots of fishing. Many antique designs look more like medieval torture devices than the actual forage fish found in local ponds, lakes, and rivers. Some antique bass lures sport up to five sets of treble hooks, indicating that at the time of their creation, bringing home the meat was of the utmost importance. The practice of catch and release was unheard of 100 years ago, and antique lures allow us to reflect on how the sport of bass fishing has evolved.
While you will surely be disappointed in the true value of most of the antiques you might find, there are a handful of classics that, if you happen to find them in their original boxes, might be worth more than a shiny new bass boat.
Antique Bass Lures Worth Collecting
Giant Copper Haskell Minnow
Back in 1859, Riley Haskell, a talented gunsmith, began tinkering with fishing lures. His guns were well known for their superbly detailed engravings, which he carried over to his lures. He created his hollow-bodied Haskell Minnows out of both brass and copper, and they had finely sculpted fins, eyes, and scales. All Haskell minnows are extremely rare, but this one, which measures 10 inches in length, is considered to be one of a kind. In 2003, it sold (with its original box) at Lang’s Auctions in New York for a whopping $101,200, earning its claim as the most expensive lure ever sold.
Musky Charmer Minnow

The Charmer Minnow Company from Springfield, Missouri, first patented this triple-treble design in 1910. Their lures featured glass eyes and spinners made from German silver. The larger 5-inch models are quite rare, and those painted with the “barber pole” spiral pattern are the most desirable. This lure has probably charmed more lure collectors than it did fish; in 2018, one was auctioned for just over $25,000.
Heddon Black Sucker

James Heddon is credited with creating the first wooden topwater lures back in the 1890s. Legend has it that he was whittling a stick on the banks of Mill Pond in Michigan while waiting for a friend to arrive. When his friend got there, he tossed the short length of wood into the pond, where it was immediately engulfed by a large bass. He went on to design dozens of iconic lures, including the spook, which remains a popular topwater offering to this day. The Heddon Black Sucker was one of his earliest creations and is the lure most prized by collectors. A mint specimen in its original box sold for approximately $19,000 in 2006.
Shakespeare Wooden Minnow

William Henry Shakespeare, Jr., of Kalamazoo, Michigan, is credited with designing the first level-wind reel in 1897. His invention spawned The Shakespeare Company, which still exists today. His new reel was a smashing hit and soon earned a solid reputation. Shakespeare then entered the fishing lure market in an effort to cash in on the company’s name. Some of his earliest concepts were The Evolution, The Revolution, The Sure-Lure, The Shakespeare-Worden Bucktail Spinner, The Tournament Frog, and a line of Wooden Minnows. The wooden lures became very popular around 1905. They were sold in a slide-top wooden box and fetched a pretty penny for that time. In 2012, a mint early version, complete with the original box, fetched $18,700 at auction.
Wiggletail Smith Minnow

Patented in 1905 by Charles Smith of LaGrange, Indiana, the Wiggletail is about as rare as they get; It’s believed there are only about a dozen in existence. Its captivating tail mechanism and yellow glass eyes make it a true oddity among fishing-lure evolution. The example shown here is in very good condition and was sold in 2015 at Lang’s Auction in New York for around $17,500.
Hosmer Mechanical Frog

While all antique lures are collectible, old frogs seem to really be desirable, and the Hosmer Mechanical Frog is considered the Holy Grail among collectors. It was patented by John D. Hosmer of Detroit, Michigan, in 1940. It measures 5 inches long, was hand-painted, and is said to have 51 parts. Less than 20 are known to exist and they rarely come up for sale. In 2007, one sold for $13,000 at auction.
Comstock Flying Hellgrammite
A truly unique design that did not withstand the test of time, the Flying Hellgrammite is believed to have been the first lure to ever use wood in its construction. It also lays claim to being the first lure to imitate an insect and the first to use glass eyes. It was patented in 1883 by Harry Comstock of Fulton, New York. He made these lures for only eight months, then decided to sell the patent to Pflueger, who ended its production in 1885. Recent auctions have seen these lures bring in around $10,000.
Miller’s Reversible Minnow

Our last lure might be my favorite. It looks like something that Dr. Seuss would have created and has absolutely no resemblance to anything I’ve ever seen in the natural world. It was created in 1914 by William H. Miller from New York. Miller had a small boat and often fished Cayuga Lake for bass, and it is there that he probably tested his first prototype. The lure features spinners that rotate in opposite directions and surely made quite the commotion in the water. Recent auctions of this classic lure netted over $6,200.
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Source: https://onthewater.com/antique-bass-lures-worth-collecting
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