Pflueger All-In-One Minnow

Adjustable diving lip baits have been produced by a number of manufacturers over the years and are popular with tackle collectors due to this unique feature. Examples include the Wilson Six-In-One Wobbler, the Paulson Wobbler, the Zink Screwtail, and the more recent Heddon Abu Hi-Lo to name a few. All involved a singular diving lip which can be moved to different positions to affect the diving depth of the lure.

The Pflueger Company took a more interesting approach with the introduction of the Pflueger All-In-One. First produced around 1916, the All-In-One had four diving lips which were interchangable and gave the lure a different action when used.

The lips were held in place by a eye screw and metal bracket. The bracket 'hooked' into a small cutout in the lip to hold the lip in the correct position. To replace the lip, you simply turned the eye screw until the lip came loose, pulled out the lip, slid in the next lip and tightened the screw.

The lips are clearly stamped "Pflueger All-In-One" and have the Bulldog trademark and are consecutively number from 1 to 4. The #1 lip caused the lure to rotate, #2 to deep dive, #3 to dive shallow and #4 to plane the surface of the water.

Rhinestone Eye Pflueger All-In-One Fishing Lure

The wooden body of the lure measures 4" in length, and utilizes Pflueger's never-fail hardware rigging. It came with both glass eyes and rhinestone eyes. Colors for this lure include luminous, frog, white (shown with lip #2), green crackleback, green & red spots and rainbow crackleback.

Because of the fact that the diving lips were separate from the lure, examples of this lure with all 4 diving lips are scarce and according to one tackle book, the diving lips are worth more than the lure! In any event, prices I've seen for this lure have currently been running between $300-$500 and included only 1 lip.  (Additional note:  these price estimates are from the original 1998 article.)

My Bait Shop Updates:

• The original production of this lure is somewhere 1914 and 1916 range and it was no longer in the 1925 catalog. 
• There are only a handful of known boxes for this bait out there so it is extremely rare to find one, especially with all four diving lips. 

Below is an additional image of an early Pflueger All-In-One Minnow with box and paperwork (thanks to Langs Auction for use of the image).

Early Pflueger All-In-One Minnow with Box and Paperwork

Unknown Lure

Although the consensus of opinion from other collectors who've seen this is that it is a home-made lure, how many guys who made their own lures marked them with a name and weight?!? This metal bait consists of a hollow tube measuring 1 1/2" in length and 5/8" in diameter. A metal cross-piece on either end serves to hold the wire spinner which runs thru the bait. Painted white, the red stripes are actually some sort of red tape. Hand-painted in fine letters on the side are "ROL-IN-BABY" and at the top of the lure "1 OZ", an indication that it must have been made in various weights! Boy, bet you can't wait to find one!

UNKNOWN UPDATE: Jim Semple of Baldwin, Maine writes: "I saw the picture of your lure and I found it very interesting. Back in the 60's and early 70's I remember a Guy by the name of Will that made lures out of brass and copper tubing that looked very similar. He claimed that retrieved at the surface very quickly near feeding bait fish for stripers and such mimicked a fish fleeing. He said that they made a sound that attracted the stripers and blues. I had a couple at one time but I have looked high and low with no success. Some of them that I remember had the natural brass color with white and red spots and some were dipped into white paint and then had red stripes or red and yellow stripes. I do not remember if they had any name on them but they did come in two different sizes that I know of, 1 1/2" and 3". I have no idea what the guy's last name was but he was from Conn. I believe and he vacationed here in Maine around Biddeford Pool area. I have not seen him in over 25 years.

Many thanks to Jim for this interesting bit of information!

If you have any further information on any of the items displayed on this page which you'd like to share, please send your comments to me and I'll update the page accordingly. Contributions of interesting items and/or unknowns are encouraged.

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