Kingfisher was a trademark name for the Philadelphia, Pa., wholesaler called the Edward K. Tryon Company. Most Kingfisher Minnows are actually Pflueger prodiucts sold in Kingfisher boxes.  This all-red minnow was found in a box with a package of Kingfisher snelled hooks.

The Kimmich Mouse was patented in 1929 by Harry Kimmich and sold for a few years thereafter. These mice have a wooden head and well-tied hair tail. The eyes are little black glass beads. Kimmich Mice are often moth-eaten when found, and should be protected with mothballs.

This wonderful bait has milky glass eyes and elaborate, spring-loaded hook hangers cast from German silver. Klipons were made by Green-Wyle Co.  in the 1920s. This model is called the "Squirmer"  and has a finish  much like Heddon's "bar perch" pattern of the same era. Gazing at this bait is like listening to Beethoven while enjoying fine wine.

The Knowles Automatic Striker was a finely made German silver spoon patented in February 1906 and marketed well into the early 1920s. It featured a swiveling single hook that was held in place with a little clasp that sprang free upon a strike.  The bait was made in six sizes. The box is attractive.

The is a wooden Ed Knowles Bassfishir lure dating to the mid to late teens, and made in San Francisco. Ed Knowles is stamped on the diving lip. The Bassfishir is a huge salmon or saltwater bait. Ed Knowles and the Bassfishir are also the makers of the Knowles Automatic Striker.

Kreher-Kraft Lunker Lures offered the "Plopper" bait in the late 1920s, possibly as a competitor - or even a forerunner - of Creek Chub's popular Injured Minnow  introduced about the same time.   Note the bulbous body and headlight-like, forward-facing glass eyes. This fat lure has a beautiful paint job. Clearfield is an industrial  coal-mining town.

This  hand-painted lure is made from genuine rawhide, according to the literature accompanying this circa 1916 lure from Kurz Brothers Company of Chicago. The attractive lure features hand-painted gills, a riveted eye and an oblong external belly weight. After catching a few fish, however, my guess is that it would resemble a dog's chew toy.  

 These unique paddle wheel Layfield Lures were made in the late 30s/early 40s by by brothers Jess and Cotton Layfield. This group of Layfield Lures was a gift from the Layfield brothers to Bob Brister, a well-known journalist for Outdoor Life magazine. The paddle wheeler was informally called "Cotton's Topwater." The hackle was made from skunk hair, and the spots were hand applied.

Anton Lauby patented these exquisite wooden spoons around 1935. His company, based in Marshfield, Wisc., was sold in 1938. The airbrushed finishes on Lauby lures are among the prettiest anywhere. Lauby also obtained patents for several of the tools he engineered for building his baits.

This intricate Lauby product features a slotted rear end with a spring-loaded hook that emerges upon a strike. Note the wonderful rainbow  finish. Lauby's young daughter, Tillie, helped paint these unusual wooden lures, and sometimes painted her fingernails in similar patterns.  This box and lure are much larger than the example shown above.

This wonderful trio of mint Lauby lures came to us from a man in Marshfield - Lauby's hometown - who visited this website. The two mint in box specimens include a rare FLYROD Lauby; and a MUSKY Lauby, too! Below are closer individual pictures of these gemlike lures.