The thought “You never know what you might find for sale on eBay” is never truer than when it comes to fishing lures. I had a blast looking through all the lures, new and old, plain and bizarre, that one could buy — if one had plenty in the piggy bank for such things. I narrowed that list down to those shown here. Most are unique and many are decidedly vintage, and all but two start at well over $1,000 to $2,000. Many deserve to be displayed proudly in rare-lure collections, though for some, the high price seems hard to justify. Even for regular fishermen who aren’t collectors, many of these vintage lures are fascinating to see and read about.
Glass Minnow Tube Lure
- See it: www.ebay.com/usr/apachetrout ($575)
- Circa: 1914-1915
Background: Early in the 20th Century, the concept of placing a live minnow in a small, clear glass tube armed with treble hooks gained wide popularity. The first Welch & Graves tubes were produced following patent approval in 1893, according to writer and tournament angler Bernie Schultz, in a Bassmaster article about these lures. Apparently these were designed to be trolled, with at least some manufacturers (among several producing minnow tubes) claiming the cylinder’s distortion made the minnow appear larger, increasing its appeal to predators. Holes in the front of the lure allowed water flow to keep the minnow alive. The design shown here reflects a later version of the Detroit Glass Minnow Tube, which offered a screw-on cap and back end to make minnow insertion easier.
Choked Bait Company Shad Sinking Swimbait
- See it: www.ebay.com/usr/choked_custom_swimbaits ($2,000)
- Circa: Present Day
Background: The Choked Bait Company in Georgia prides itself on its high-quality, realistic swimbaits. The manufacturer says its swimbaits deliver exceptional performance. Not all its lures are as pricey as this one (which you wouldn’t want to snag in deep water!), but none are anything like cheap. I was unable to find any sort of an inventory of models on the manufacturer’s Instagram page. The slow-sinking model shown is oddly described as yellow perch in color, eight inches in length and weighs three ounces.
Airplane Jig
- See it: https://www.ebay.com/str/ramblin214 ($25)
- Circa: 1970s, 1980s
Background: Airplane (also “batwing”) jigs of this type became popular in the 1970s when at least a couple of lure makers in Minnesota offered them. The primary use was for vertical jigging through the ice for northern pike and walleye. Some anglers used them in open water, likely in summer, dropping them deep for lake trout. The model shown weighs 1.4 ounces. Apparently true airplane jigs like this are no longer manufactured, though Northland Fishing Tackle offers a much-modified version with far smaller “wings.”
Heddon Double Rotary Head Lure
- See it: www.ebay.com/str/megaluremaniacsoldlures ($1,499.99)
- Circa: Estimated 1910-1940
Background: Apparently this lure didn’t go beyond the experimental stage, so not many like that shown, with twin fluted rotary ends (head and tail), were produced. The 3 1/8-inch, belly-weighted crankbait was formed from natural cedar wood by Heddon Lures, in Michigan. Heddon designed other rotary-head lures, as did Shakespeare.
Ustonson Mother-of-Pearl Water-Witch Lure
- See it: www.ebay.com/str/megaluremaniacsoldlures ($1,799.99)
- Circa: 1750s
Background: This 2 3/8-inch lure was among those advertised in trade cards of tackle purveyor Onesimus Ustonson in 1755. The elongate lure is made of mother-of-pearl side plates, riveted to a central body plate, with pewter fins on the tail end.
Muskie Bait
- See it: https://www.ebay.com/usr/invmark ($1,349.99)
- Circa: Early to mid 20th Century
Background: This 5 1/2-inch wooden bait (twice that length including hair/feather tail) was patented in 1919 by Walter S. Ewert. (He also submitted for patent a similar lure but with the twin propellers recessed into a pocket on each side, so the lure remained streamlined.) After Ewert’s patent expired, the Gopher Bait Company produced it in the 1940s.
Chippewa Crankbait
- See it: www.ebay.com/str/backwaterantiques ($1,750)
- Circa: 1911 (year patented)
Background: In 1911, Omer F. Immell of Blair, Wisconsin, received a patent for his unique lure, with a large integrated spinner in the middle of the bait. The Chippewa crankbait was manufactured for only a few years. This eBay listing is for the bass size, measuring 3-½ inches in length; pictured is the musky size, 5 ¼ inches.
Jim Donaly Redfin Weedless Bait
- See it: www.ebay.com/usr/marialeopard2010 ($1,250)
- Circa 1915
Background: From 1915 through the 1920s, Jim Donaly designed and produced wooden lures in his home in Newark, New Jersey. A local or state law allowed only three hook points on a lure, according to the authoritative site, finandflame.com. Like most of Donaly’s lures, it’s hand-painted and employs a flasher (connected to the bow eye). The lure measures 3 ¼ inches. Its rear hook is designed to ride weedlessly, mostly in the tail slot, but with enough point exposed to snap up to hook a fish on the strike.
Heddon Basser Minnow
- See it: https://www.ebay.com/str/backwaterantiques ($1,850)
- Circa 1920s
Background: Introduced in 1922, Heddon discontinued the Basser Minnow in 1948. Apparently the all-black version (this one with original paint) is particularly rare. The 4 ¼-inch floating/diving subsurface crankbait was made of wood and apparently offered a wide, erratic action upon retrieval. A Heddon catalog, back in the day (when the lures were priced at 90 cents each) recommends retrieving it as a jerkbait from a surface pause to create a “plop” sound.
Leadhead Jig
- See it: https://www.ebay.com/str/onlineworldusa ($2,000)
- Age unknown
Background: While many anglers might find this leadhead bucktail jig to appear rather ordinary, it’s set apart by its asking price. No make or model is listed for it, nor weight, and while it’s described as “vintage,” no further information on this jig is available, except that it’s described as “fabulous and new extremely rare.” (Yes, that’s not a typo.) Sometimes fishing lures sold online are outrageous for all the wrong reasons.
