In 1924, Clyde Sinclair and Floyd Phelps purchased the established lure manufacturer Moonlight Bait Company, who had been manufactured baits since the turn of the century. After four years of ownership, they changed the name to the Paw Paw Bait Company due to them being in the city of Paw Paw , Michigan.
Over the years, Paw Paw would expand their catalog of offerings to include other items other than fishing lures, such as ice spearing decoys and duck decoys.
In 1929 they started manufacturing a spearing decoy. The fist ones had a metal tail but soon it was changed to a wooden tail. The spearing decoy was made in the 1930s to the 1950s, and possibly a little later. I am not sure of the quantity manufactured, but I know that I don’t see them for sale too often. They can be very sought after by some collectors if in excellent condition.
My decoy has some wear and tear and the paint is missing off the tack eyes, which is common on any tack-eyed baits. It is painted in the popular “spatter finish” that Paw Paw Bait Co is known for. It is sold wood and the take is curved to give it a nice round circle in the spearing hole when jigged. And yes, I have used this in the past.
Paw Paw sold to the Shakespeare Tackle Company of Kalamazoo in the early 1970’s and a few years later, Shakespeare sold to the Creek Chub Bait Company of Garrett, Indiana.
Paw Paw Spearing Decoy
Paw Paw Bait Co
Paw Paw, MI
1930s
March 2022
