The well known Florida Fishing Tackle manufacturing co. operated in St. Petersburg from the 30s to the 50s and sold  Barracuda Brand tackle. This early Florida Fishing Tackle carton is in the common, but quite colorful Barracuda Brand box from the 30s, and the lure has glass eyes. Later baits had painted or tack eyes. Barracuda Brand is popular.

Frederick  Flood of Frostproof, Fla., sold these hand-painted Florida Shiner, or Florida Shinner, wonders in the mid-1920s. The Florida Shiner line tie is on the side, making the "shinner"  circle like a wounded baitfish, a feature mentioned in the 1928 patent papers. Flood sold the Florida Shinner lures only from his home.  This early lure  is an important part of Florida's angling heritage.

This hard plastic Fenner Weedless Automatic Bait  dates to the 1920s, according to reference books, but I think it's more like 1930s. The Fenner Weedless Automatic Bait looks like a red and white casting plug. The recessed hooks spring open when the fish strikes. The picture box is attractive, and gimmicky.  They are called WAB for short.

 This obscure Illinois company, Gephart, sold the supposedly patented "Gep-Bait" in the mid 1920s. The lure later became Bill Jamison's Wig-Wag bait. The early Gep-Baits have the name stenciled on the back, and the  long, narrow, orange box is marked only on the endflaps.

 The Garland Corkhead  featured a genuine cork head affixed to a wooden body. Garland Bait boxes came in several styles. Most Garland Bait lures from the 1930s have tack eyes and are hard to find in nice shape, as they were effective fish catchers.  The bulbous head of this classic Florida lure is avocado green! 

 Garland Brothers also made Garland's Cork Head Minnow lures in Plant City. Note the graphic explaining the intricate construction of the Cork Head Minnow. The cork head and wooden body outline can be seen in the closeup photo of the neck below. The papers also explain that the lures were named after famous Florida fishing spots! This Garland Cork-Head Minnow came from a visitor to this website.  

This eccentric plastic lure from the late 30s and early 40s is magnetic with an elaborate weedless harness. Offered by General Tool in St. Paul, Minn., the box also mentions the Clyde Hoage trademark and the Water Gremlin line of baits. This company also made a wooden minnows with adjustable fins - called the Clyd Hoage Spoon Fin Minnow.   I'd like to finda Hoage Spoon Fin  in the box!

This 1940s plastic Gentleman Jim lure was made by C.W. Waddell of Chicago, who also sold Glo-Top bobbers and a  Troll-Rite rod holder. This Goldfish lure is a special order color and the box bottom is inscribed from Mr. Waddell to a friend.  Gentleman Jim lures came in 5 standard colors.

This is the Gentleman Jim Jr. lure that was made by C.W. Waddell of Chicago in the inaugural days of the spinning reel, circa 1940s. The white box is scarce and is one of six that turned up all in one group, and the collector who found them was kind enough to let me have one for my collection.

The Gen-Shaw Bait, also called Genshaw Bait, was made in the 30s and 40s by V.C. Genshaw of Kankakee, Illinois. A co-maker, P. LaRoche, is mentioned in the box.  The Gen-Shaw, or Genshaw lure, was first made in wood, and later in a composition material. This is the earliest  Gen-Shaw picture box. The Gen-Shaw inside is in frog spot.

 Patented in 1920,  the Gloworm was made in Washington State. The wooden box is slotted  to form a perfect carrying case for this bait, which vanished after only a year or two. Perhaps by coincidence, Heddon came out with a similar  3-piece jointed lure, the Gamefisher, at about the same time.

These wooden baits from the 1930s turn up everywhere  in various "Go-Getter" boxes with no maker or address. Although Abbey & Imbrie also made "go-getter" lures, these do not appear to be the same. Horrocks-Ibbotson  Co. is a likely suspect for these attractive, but cheaply made, baits.

Grube was an early maker of rubber lures and was in business by 1912. This Grube's Rubber Crawfish, circa 1918, has a well-made brass diving lip and black bead glass eyes. The Grube's Crawfish box features a swastika, a symbol of good fortune until  its adoption by Hitler as a symbol of Nazi Germany. Delaware Ohio was a major tire center.

This rubber lure from the 1930s has a flapping metal tail and a nickel-plated diving lip. The rubber is of exceptional quality. We can only assume that the lure's namesake is W.J. "Bill" Grube, a pioneer of rubber lures.   Most Grube baits are on cards; boxes are scarce.