The homemade wooden minnow to the right came from Michigan and has a line tie on each end, and a paint job that resembles the early Trory and Pardee Minnow lures. The mouse below has a braided tail made from fishing line - and metal ears. One of my favorite folk art lures is the egg-shaped creation (BELOW RIGHT) with the grooves and the early square box swivel.  I suspect his one might date to the late 1800s.

The large rotary head (RIGHT) has been suspected to be a Hagen Impeller from Wisconsin, but others say it is a homemade antique lure. The reverse pecker-head (BELOW CENTER) looks a little like a Jim Donaly bait - but it came from Michigan. The colorful lures (BELOW RIGHT) hail from Chicago and closely resemble the Jim Dandy baits - right down to the twisted wire hook protectors.  

Fly rod anglers also created their own brand of folk art fishing lures. The wooden bass bugs (RIGHT)  are well-made and old, and the white one may be a Walter Wilson bug, made in Shelbyville, Ind. The red lure with white hair (BELOW LEFT) has a body cased in leather. The colorful wobbler (BELOW CENTER) was built using Moonlight Bait Co. hardware. The quadruple spinner (BELOW RIGHT) is a mystery. It originated in upstate New York and has a cork body hand wrapped onto to the shaft. Its four bladed prop is painted red on one side and luminous on the other.  

 The early handmade lure (RIGHT) includes an external belly weight, which could date this piece to the pre-1910 years. The shaft going through the lure beside it is reminiscent of a FLying Helgramite, but we likely will never know the maker. The leather-tail minnow (BELOW LEFT) came from New York and is half-decoy and half lure. Other baits (BELOW RIGHT) are made from a clothespin, and from glass lamp beads.