4 (EXC) POST-WAR 1948 MILLSITE WIG WAG FLOATER VINTAGE FISHING LURES

Description: MILLSITE HISTORY Millsite Tackle did not have a huge product line, basically only around a half-dozen or so lures and a couple of stringers, but the lures they did have were pretty impressive. They were unique and were good sellers, and we'll get into that a bit as we discuss the company history. Millsite Tackle, located in Howell, Michigan, began in 1934 when Jack Withey partnered with Leora Wickman, widow of Henry Wickman, former owner of the Millsite Steel & Wire Works company. The two decided to reopen the company as Millsite Tackle, seeing as the best selling product of the Steel & Wire Works was what was called the "Keep-Em-Alive" fish stringer, an 8-clip metal stringer that was reportedly the first live fish stringer manufactured in the world. So now the company would give up manufacturing Model T car jacks and grain elevator equipment, and would instead focus solely on fishing gear. The "Keep-Em-Alive" stringer was brilliant. Metal clip stringers are still being manufactured today. The other item that made up Millsite Tackle's initial two-product line was a fly box. I don't know if the early fly box was the same box as their Daisy Fly Box, which was a round, multi-compartment box with a clear plastic lid and a spring-loaded hatch. The earliest catalog I've seen with the Daisy box was from 1940. I assume it's the same box. The Daisy was a consistent seller for the company throughout their existence, and was featured in many Millsite ads. The first fishing baits Millsite sold were the Lur All Beetlebug lures. Withey had purchased the Beetlebug Bait Company in 1938, and they began selling the inventory that came with that sale. Just one year later, in 1939, Millsite took the Lur All Beetlebug, redesigned it slightly and began manufacturing it in plastic. They called it the Floating Beetle Bug, and it may be the world's first, or one of the first, mass-produced fishing lures made in Tenite, a plastic material developed by the Eastman Chemical Company. Millsite was not, however, the first company to manufacture their lures in plastic. Heddon was using a plastic called Pyralin as early as 1927 in their Luny Frog lure. But Millsite would proudly declare that their company produced all of their lures in plastic. One year later in 1940, the company broke ground again, by adding a BB to the rear section of the Beetle Bug, creating what is thought to be the world's first rattling fishing plug. They called this lure the Rattlebug, which quickly became a top seller for Millsite. Then in 1941 the company would begin producing what is one of the most interesting and unique fishing lures ever made, the Daily Double. The Daily Double was marketed as 2-lures-in-1, as there was a line tie on either side of the boomerang-shaped bait, one for shallow running and the other for deeper diving. This was very attractive to anglers trying to stretch their dollar. You could essentially get two lures for the price of one, and that one only cost around a dollar. Yes, the Daily Double became a consistent top seller for Millsite. There is some controversy over who designed the Daily Double. Some claim that it was Jack Withey. But others claim it was Ralph, Jack, Hall who designed and carved the first prototypes in wood. Hall was a former sales rep for Millsite, and would later purchase the company. Hall and Jack Withey's brother Robert would run the new Millsite Tackle Company as partners from around 1944 onward. But before that transaction Millsite added several lures to their line-up. In 1940-41 they added a Heddon River Runt copy that was initially called the Ninety Niner, then the Wig Wag, before they settled on the Millsite Minnow. They also added the Bassor Bait in the same time period, basically a knock-off of the South Bend Bass-Oreno, but in plastic. The Spin-E-Bee was another addition, an abbreviated, stubby version of the Bassor. The Deep Creep, later called the Deep Creeper, was a deep diving lure. In 1942 they took a cue from the Fred Arbogast company and designed the Paddle Plug, a surface lure clearly influenced by the Arbogast Jitterbug. But the Paddle Plug was essentially a Beetle Bug body with an upside down Jitterbug lip. Later they added two slits, or louvers, on either side of the lip to create a bubble trail when the lure was retrieved. During WWII the company shut down. Following the war Jack Hall made his purchase of the company. They also added a fish scaler, fisherman's log book, line dryer, and poly cord stringers to their line-up, including a clever combination of cord stringer with metal fish clips, like those on their "Keep-Em-Alive" stringer, that slid over the stringer cord. Later on, in the early 1970s they added a line of ice fishing rods and a couple of simple ice fishing reels. Jack Hall's son, Don Hall, eventually took his father's place, and later Robert Withey sold his interest in the company to Don as well. In 1971 Millsite Tackle closed its business. These days Millsite lures and paraphernalia are sought by collectors. It's easy to see why this Michigan tackle company with close to four decades in business is attractive to collectors. Their line-up was not huge or intimidating and some of their products were highly unique. I hope you enjoy viewing or investing in my 60 year Millsite collection.

Price: 71.99 USD

Location: Athens, Texas

End Time: 2024-12-30T02:59:01.000Z

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