FB Antique Saltwater Lures

[Zeal]

Wow this is awesome. Never understood Eel skins or how to do it but it still looks interesting. Always cool to see what the old timers used.

I never saw metal lips come with swivels already attached and drilled through the lip. Is there any reason to that?

[vineyardblues]

EELS are great BAIT
02 cents ><> ----
During WW2 all the beaches on Cape Cod were closed to fishing .
They could only fish the canal and we all know there are no fish in the canal
So they had to find a better lure ........
About 80 mile north in Worcester they had Norton’s, US Steel , Wyman Gordon’s.
HUGE factory’s with smart guys ..... several made eel skins and sold them as did Floyd Roman so they could fish the canal and the fast waters . Redtop sold the eels as did many other locations in Mass and RI
The holes in many wood and metal rigs were for the water to rush thru and enlarge the eel skin to make it larger and more lifelike .
Most eel skins were frozen first , then nailed to a tree outside , cut around the head with a razor then pulled toward the tail over the body and used inside out
Not sure who invented the eelskin first RI, NY fisherman Or Mass but who really cares !
Arthur Clarke sold rigged Eelbob's in RI early, I could not find his patent date .
some other examples , Enjoy