Author: Floyd Roberts

  Floyd Roberts of Wisconsin is the author and owner of Antique Fishing Lures Website.  Mr. Roberts offers collectors over "one thousand five hundred" pages of information on rare old lures and fishing related subjects.  This website is the largest Antique Lure Site on today's internet which offers information that cannot be found in text books or anywhere on today's internet.  

  Surf The Bassman Section for the life history about Mr. Clyde A. Harbin Sr. and learn about his many accomplishments and involvement in the tackle industry.  For the first time on the internet read an in-depth story which marks the beginning of the NFLCC.  Learn all about Mr. Harbin's involvement in Japanese bass fishing and old lure collecting in Japan.   Read the facts how Mr. Harbin helped The First All-American Invitational Bass Tournament by Ray Scott become a successful fishing tournament and much more.

Come back soon.  Adding Hundreds of Items Soon!!!!!!

"NEW" Visit my Sale Page - Click on Link >>> Sale Page

A Little Background on Floyd Roberts -  Born in Wisconsin in 1954 I grew up just north of Milwaukee.  My family had a summer home in central Wisconsin which I would spend my summers fishing and enjoying water sports.  I have always been interested in the preservation of old fishing tackle and today I still have my tackle box that I used as a youngster.  I began seriously collecting in 1990, concentrating mainly on South Bend, Bass Oreno's #973 lures.  Over time I expanded my collection and today I collect many old lures such as Heddon Experts, Vamps, Crab Wigglers and Deep Diving Wigglers.  I also enjoy collecting pre 1940 three and five hook underwater minnows.  If you happen to stumble across these old lures from your grandfather or from just cleaning out your garage please give me a call.  I have a Want List below that I am willing to work on a deal with you.  You can contact me at my e-mail box at the bottom of this page.

  I joined the National Fishing Lures Collectors Club (NFLCC) in 1996.  While I was a member of America Online (AOL) I built my first old lure website.  This crude website was less than five pages long and consisted mostly of lure pictures.  While gaining experience in web building I continuously worked on improving my website.  I realized the need for written material on old lures rather than just pictures of them.  My website grew rapidly and after many rewrites my site had grown to more than forty pages.  

  I purchased AntiqueFishingLures.com domain name in 1998 and setup my own website.  Antique Fishing Lures continued to grow and by 1999 my website was over seventy-five pages in length with some very detailed information.  I designed The Bassman Section and began writing these pages in January of 2000.  Mr. Harbin generously supplied me with a "Mother Lode" of his hand assembled books and old lure information.  For the next four years I worked mainly on writing pages for the Bassman Section.  In 2001 I put a Copyright on my website and today if my entire lure website would be printed out it would be over 1,571 printable pages.

  In the years to come I plan to continuously add material to my lure website.  My Website is easy to navigate around in and you will find information that is not available anywhere on the internet or in text books.  Antique Fishing Lures Website is a website to book mark and re-visit in the future.

Heddon Index

• Bee 4 James Heddon   This page contains early history of the Heddon family before James Heddon and his lure company.  Learn about the Heddon ancestors at the Huxtable Farm in England before they immigrated to the United States and more Heddon information before the James Heddon and Son tackle company.

• Heddon, Big Bud    This page offer history and the background of the Heddon, #9410 Big Bud lure.  There is also information along with great photographs of the many Japanese marketed Big Bud's

• Heddon Hardware   This page consists of illustrations of hook hangers, tail hook hangers, propellers and Heddon Hardware chronological listing by the famous Bassman.

• Heddon, Crab Wiggler  This page was developed for the Crab Wiggler or Baby Crab Wiggler collector. In this section I discuss the different collars, line ties and different body styles along with the cataloged colors. I have gathered information starting from this lure's beginning in 1915 all the way till this lure's end. This page will help identify this lure and when it was manufactured.
• Heddon to PRADCO  The EBSCO company purchased Heddon in 1983.  Today PRADCO is the largest manufacturer of fishing lures which includes: Arbogast, Bomber, Cotton Cordell, Creek Chub, Excalibur, Heddon, Lazy Ike, Rebel, Riverside, Silver Thread, Smithwick and Yum Attractants.
• Heddon, Vampire/Vamp  I developed this page for dedicated Vamp collector. This lure can be confusing and difficult to date. It has taken me years of experience and research to come up with this information. I discuss different body styles, hook hardware, tail hook hangers, eyes and colors to help accurately date this lure.
• Heddon - WW II "E" Award   Learn about the E - Award that our government presented to Heddon and its employees because of its efforts towards WW II war production.  See a rare photograph that was taken in the Heddon factory the night prior to the ceremony.  
• Heddon #100 Minnow   Information on how to date the #100 Heddon Minnow.  See photo's of lures along with hardware styles.  Find catalogued Heddon colors from the start to the end of production of this minnow.
• Heddon #150 Minnow  Information for Heddon #150 Minnows.  From the early 150 minnow all the way to the 150 minnow with surface hardware.  
• Heddon - Expert #200 Series  Great information which starts from this lure's birth through the end when Heddon decided to retired this famous bait.
• Non Heddon Company's    Heddon also made lures for "non" Heddon company's.  Learn about these retailers and how to identify these highly collectible Heddon lures. 
• Heddon Boxes Information concerning Heddon boxes
• Heddon Company History Background information on the Heddon company

CCBCO, Pflueger & Shakespeare Index

• Creek Chub Bait Co Hardware  This page illustrates and dates CCBCO mouthpieces
• Creek Chub Bait Co Boxes Information concerning Creek Chub Boxes
• Creek Chub Company History Background information on the Creek Chub company
• Pflueger Minnows   This page offers information on early Pflueger minnows and their hardware along with cataloged colors.
• Pflueger Boxes Information concerning Pflueger boxes
• Pflueger Company History Background information on the Pflueger company
• Shakespeare Minnows    This page is a terrific reference in identifying Shakespeare minnows.  Learn the difference from the early Gem Clip and the later Flat Plate hardware and how to easily identify this hardware.  See illustrations of the progression of the propeller stages throughout the years and more.
• Shakespeare Company History Background information on the Shakespeare company

South Bend Index

• South Bend, Bass Oreno. This page was developed for the serious Bass Oreno collector. There is detailed information starting from this lure's beginning in 1915 all the way to 1965 when the B.F. Gladding Co. purchased South Bend.  You will be able to identify the exact year an individual lure was manufactured. There is information on all the eye stages, hook hangers, body styles and all cataloged colors through the life of this famous bait.
• South Bend, Bass Oreno Colors  This page has Bass-Oreno colors charts and a complete chart with all of the catalogued Bass-Oreno colors along with the color code, when the color was produced and the difficulty range.
• South Bend Catalogs   This unique page discusses retail and trade catalogs from the first catalog the company issued through today's present South Bend Sporting Good Company.
• South Bend Underwater Minnows   This is a terrific page for South Bend minnows.  This page offers information on how to identify South Bend minnows along with hardware and propeller illustrations.  Read about some mystery minnows that have surfaced.
• South Bend Fishing Photo Contest  The first South Bend Bait Co. Fish-Photo Contest was held in 1923 and continued through the 1930's, & 1940's.  Learn about the 1945 Fishing Photo catalog and more.
• South Bend Boxes Information concerning South Bend boxes
• South Bend Company History Background information on the South Bend company

Miscellaneous Subjects

• My Collection Room   I illustrated some of my lure collection which I have displayed in my collection room.  Come look inside and see what I have done.
• Grading System for Lures  I have laid out the NFLCC lure grading system on this page. There are illustrations of lures in each category along with a description of the lure condition.  The purpose of this page is to help you understand how to grade lures and help you communicate lure condition to other people without the aid of a picture.

• Practice Casting Weights   This page offers information on casting weights starting in the early 1900's.  I was unsuccessful in locating written information for casting weights THUS the reason for creating this page.  If you collect Practice Plugs or interested in Tournament Casting Medals this is a page you will want to visit. 

• Reference Lure Books  If books is what you are looking for you came to the right place.  I have listed many of the books in my library for antique fishing lures. There is an illustration of each book along with a brief description. There is a source listed where each book can be purchased along with direct links to Amazon Books. I made ordering on line as simple as clicking on a Icon.

Favorite link Page

• Favorite Sites  Please e-mail me if you would like to have your website link on this page.  A reciprocal link on your website would be greatly appreciated.  

For Sale Page

• Sale Page  Follow this link for items I have for sale at a fair price.

 Mr. Clyde A. Harbin Sr. "The Famous BASSMAN ™"

  The first time I met Mr. Clyde A. Harbin Sr. was in January of 2000 when I received his first e-mail.  This marked the beginning of our friendship and old lure relationship.  Shortly afterwards Mr. Harbin generously started supplying me with his material and allowed me to write about his experiences, accomplishments and contributions he made towards the tackle and fishing industry.  It is because of Mr. Harbin's generosity and interest in my website that I was able to design and write the Bassman Section.

Mr. Clyde A. Harbin Sr. is a dedicated person in helping others in the field of old lures and through his efforts and knowledge in this hobby he educated and inspired thousands of collectors around the world.  He is considered the nation's authority on old lures.     In the Bassman Section learn the Footprints of the Famous Bassman along with stories about Mr. Harbin's involvement in Japanese bass fishing and old lure collecting in Japan.  Read a in-depth story which marked the Beginning of the NFLCC and learn the facts how Mr. Harbin helped The First All-American Invitational Bass Tournament by Ray Scott become a successful fishing tournament. .     My sincere Thanks and Gratitude to my friend Clyde A. Harbin Sr. the Famous BASSMAN for making this possible.

Please remember to bookmark this site for future reference.

Floyd Roberts >>>  

*** Collector Values for Old Lures ***  If you are inquiring for lure values click on my Collector Values for Old Lures link.  This link will take you directly to Amazon Books where Captain John's Fishing Tackle Price Guide is listed for purchase.  This Website generates a lot of traffic and I can no longer keep up to request's asking for lure values.  Please do not e-mail me asking for values of old lures because I will not respond to these types of request.

Since I Started Counting