Lure Lore: Bear Creek Tweedler

Bear Creek Tweedler

The Bear Creek Tweedler was made by the Bear Creek Bait Company out of Kaleva, Michigan beginning in the very late 1940's.    It was one of three lures produced by this company from the 1940's until the 1970's as well as a line of fish decoys called "Ice King." The Bear Creek Tweedler was originally a wood bait and supposedly was made in plastic as well.  The Tweedler came in two sizes, one measuring 2" in length and have a double-treble on the tail, and one measuring 2 1/4" with a double-treble on the belly.  Both sizes are shown in the picture. The lure is unmarked so there is no clear way to identify it save for its distinctive features such as the metal lip. It has raised nail eyes, i.e., a nail was put into the lure where the eye is located and then material is used to build up around the nail to make the eye.

The Bear Creek Bait Company also made two other lures, the Bear Creek Sucker Minnow and the Coho King.  All of these these baits are fairly tough to find and especially the Tweedler in its original box is highly collectible.  To read our full write up about the Bear Creek Tweedler check out our Lure Lore: Bear Creek Tweedler page.  See our full series of lure history pages at our Lure Lore section.