World War 2 Era Plastic Lip Jitterbug
These aren’t the most valuable antique fishing lures out there. You won’t stumble on a rare one worth tens of thousands of dollars. The real reason the Arbogast Jitterbug is our lure of the week is simple: they are just so much fun to collect!
The Arbogast Jitterbug ranks among the most popular and easy-to-find vintage fishing lures. Whether you have a first-generation wooden model or a post-WWII plastic version, these lures have ignited the antique lure collecting bug in plenty of collectors.
Although they didn’t hit the market until the late ‘30s, the prototype started with a wooden broomstick and a spoon bowl back in the mid 1920s. Once released, they quickly became one of the most popular lures around. Arbogast still makes the Jitterbug today, and fishermen still favor it.
The earliest Jitterbug was wooden with a metal lip. During WWII, plastic took the place of the metal lip. Some colors and styles of the wooden lures turn up easily, such as the white with red-head. Rarer colors include black with white head, blue head and pearl with herringbones. You can date these lures by checking several features, including material, lip, body-style and hook hangers. For example, the first generation of wooden Jitterbug lures had a rounded body style and round, “toilet-bowl” styled hookhangers, the first of seven styles used over the years.
Many collections may have started with Jitterbugs, but no one will ever get rich selling them. The wide range of colors and patterns that make Jitterbug collecting so enjoyable also means they aren’t the most valuable lure on the market, though rare colors can bring several hundreds of dollars at auction. Of course, as we’ve discussed before, antique fishing lure collecting is rarely about gaining assets. Jitterbugs give beginners and veterans alike the chance to build a pretty impressive display of vintage lures. Check out JitterbugDrillers.com for a great presentation of both wooden and plastic models.
You can find these lures on Ebay.com, in antique stores or even at garage sales. Grab them whenever you can, because aside from being a lot of fun to collect and display, you’ll find they’re also useful as trade items between collectors. And.....did I mention they are a blast to fish with!
The Arbogast Jitterbug ranks among the most popular and easy-to-find vintage fishing lures. Whether you have a first-generation wooden model or a post-WWII plastic version, these lures have ignited the antique lure collecting bug in plenty of collectors.
Although they didn’t hit the market until the late ‘30s, the prototype started with a wooden broomstick and a spoon bowl back in the mid 1920s. Once released, they quickly became one of the most popular lures around. Arbogast still makes the Jitterbug today, and fishermen still favor it.
The earliest Jitterbug was wooden with a metal lip. During WWII, plastic took the place of the metal lip. Some colors and styles of the wooden lures turn up easily, such as the white with red-head. Rarer colors include black with white head, blue head and pearl with herringbones. You can date these lures by checking several features, including material, lip, body-style and hook hangers. For example, the first generation of wooden Jitterbug lures had a rounded body style and round, “toilet-bowl” styled hookhangers, the first of seven styles used over the years.
Many collections may have started with Jitterbugs, but no one will ever get rich selling them. The wide range of colors and patterns that make Jitterbug collecting so enjoyable also means they aren’t the most valuable lure on the market, though rare colors can bring several hundreds of dollars at auction. Of course, as we’ve discussed before, antique fishing lure collecting is rarely about gaining assets. Jitterbugs give beginners and veterans alike the chance to build a pretty impressive display of vintage lures. Check out JitterbugDrillers.com for a great presentation of both wooden and plastic models.
You can find these lures on Ebay.com, in antique stores or even at garage sales. Grab them whenever you can, because aside from being a lot of fun to collect and display, you’ll find they’re also useful as trade items between collectors. And.....did I mention they are a blast to fish with!
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