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February 28, 1999 - Vol. 4, No. 3

Rolling Plug Bait

Rolling Plug Bait

Here's one you won't find in any of the current reference books, the Rolling Plug Bait, made by (who else?), the Rolling Plug Bait Company of Chicago, Illinois. This bait was made in the 1940's and from what I've been able to determine, is the only lure made by the company.

This wood lure measures 3 1/4" in length and has screw-eye hardware to hold the two trebles as well as the same for the line tie on the nose. The eyes are raised and painted. Two large depressions on either side of the lure and the flat nose contribute to the 'rolling swinging' action referred to on the box.

Besides the two colors shown, I've also seen one in a grey spatter color like the green spatter pictured. These lures are seldom seen and I'd classify them as 'scarce' at the very least. Based on a recent sale, I'd value them at between $50-$75 without the box and $100-$150 in-the-box.

Unknown

Unknown Lures

This edition's 'unknown' comes to us from Joe Stagnitti (he goes by Joe Stag..!). Joe writes, "...decided to send two pics of an unknown bait I've had since the beginning of my collecting days...(1989 or so). They were purchased in Upstate NY and I have never seen another."

"The principal (part) is a heavy wire shaft, with a spring on the front, and bent to accomodate a belly and tail treble hook. The front end is placed into the slot first and pulled back (with tension from the spring) so that the rear slides in to the slot at the tail.....really well made and well thought out. As you can see, the principal is like so many other lures, tie the main wire to your line, and change bodies to suit your color preference." "The bodies are made of wood and painted in very nice colors. Each of the baits has a metal plate at the front, which are all stamped with a code. Here are the codes:

8J...Yellow body, black spots
8L...Black body, slanted white stripes
8P...Yellowish body, red slanted stripes, dark red spots(scales?)
8C...White body, slanted brown stripes
8A...White body, red head, red back stripe

Many thanks to Joe for submitting this very interesting 'unknown'!!

If you have any further information on any of the items displayed on this page which you'd like to share, please send your comments to me and I'll update the page accordingly. Contributions of interesting items and/or unknowns are encouraged. Lures pictured in Lure Lore are not for sale.

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Web Author: Tom Jacomet
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