Vintage Tackle Contest: Harvey Flame Fin

The lure in the photo below was entered into our vintage tackle contest by Chris Kaliontgis, who bought the bait from a coworker selling off a bunch of old fishing gear stashed in his attic. This is one of the more bizarre looking lures I’ve seen in the contest inbox. Of course, Dr. Todd Larson of the The Whitefish Press and “Fishing For History” blog nailed the ID…but not without a fight!

Dr. Todd says:

“It’s not often I’m stumped, but for this week I had to put out a call to the lure gurus at Joe’s Board for a positive ID. You have a very interesting lure from an enigmatic lure maker by the name of Jim Harvey of Lakeville, Connecticut. Harvey founded a tackle company (a division of Local Industries Inc.) that dealt specifically in resin-coated lures, mostly for fly rod use. His lures are absolutely distinct and once you see one, you’ll recognize the dozens of variations he made ranging from minnows to frogs. You have what is known as a “Spinning Minnow,” sometimes referred to as a “Flame Fin.” According to Harvey collectors Jim Garrett and Skip Brooks, these rare lures came in three sizes and a variety of color combinations. Yours dates from the 1940s and is worth around $30-$40 in current condition. It’s a neat bait and probably would still catch fish. To see a nice photo of a boxed Harvey bait from Rob Pavey’s great collection, click here.”

Brownie points for stumping Doc Larson, Chris! When that happens you know you’ve got a real rarity. Thanks for sending, and enjoy the Berkley Digital Tournament Scale that’s headed your way.

If you’ve already sent me photos of your vintage tackle, keep checking every Thursday to see if I chose it for an appraisal by Dr. Todd. If you haven’t and want to enter the contest, email photos of your old tackle to fstackle@gmail.com, along with your name, mailing address, and story of how you acquired the gear. If I use it in a Thursday post, you get a Berkley Digital Tournament Scale (left, $40).