Bidspirit auction | Unusual Antique Frog or Reptile

Unusual Antique Frog or Reptile Decoy Bud Stewart. - Unusual Antique Frog or Reptile Decoy Bud Stewart. 7.5” long overall. Fish lure maker Elman ?Bud” Stewart (1913-1999) was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, but he lived in Michigan from the age of four when his family moved to Detroit. While living in Flint and Fenton he cultivated his love of a variety of outdoor-sports, especially fishing, and it was not long before he was working as a fishing guide. Disappointed in commercially available lures, Bud began making lures in 1920. He was only 14 when he whittled a crippled mouse lure that proved to attract bass. Other fishers soon wanted copies of the crippled mouse lure, and Bud began a lifetime of inventing and selling lures. He was insistent on creating lures that would be realistic in the water. He claims to have discarded more than 10,000 shapes in his quest to achieve effective lures. Among his most popular selling lures were the “Pad Hopper, â€? “Bloody Chicken, â€? “Crippled Wiggler, â€? “Muskies, â€? “Horseface, â€? and “Crippled Frog.â€? By 1933, Bud had established the Bud Stewart Tackle Company. He marketed his lures primarily at sports shows, where he would work up to 13 hours a day talking to customers about his lures. His sales pitches were memorable. A typical spiel was “Goofy things, torpedoes, spinners on front and back-there’s no such thing if you look in the lake. There’s 100 companies making door knobs, funny shapes, and broom handles. They put a big eye on it, give it a special name, and you will find some fisherman will buy it. Fish are susceptible at times to strange critters, but we have to refine the bait so the fish cannot see anything artificial.â€? So successful was Bud’s business that he claimed to have sold more than 100,000 of just one design across the country before he retired in 1980. In-house shipping is available. Pickup is Monday, January 15th from 12pm to 6:30pm in Carroll, Ohio 43112 or we will provide in-house shipping for this item. Once packed up we will send you an invoice for shipping & handling. Shipping questions: shipping@burnsbid.com Sales tax will be collected on all bidders. If tax exempt, make sure your certification is submitted with Proxibid.