Makinen Stream Tested Lures.
Starting in 1917 Bill Makinen began whittling out fishing plugs from wood. Just a kid at the time and not much for money to buy what he wanted to fish with. And with a deep love of hunting and fishing he started working on ways to catch fish with his own hand made lures. Bill would carve & whittle for hours working to perfect and produce a new action for his new style fishing plug. He would field test his lures in a nice stream close to home, playing with colors and fine tuning his designs, and catching some amazing fish in the process. As his obsession grew Bill began crafting lures on a larger scale turning his garage into a work shop. As with many successful people, his persistent and driving obsession with quality led to a large demand for his lures. Growing to a point, his obsession developed into a nice business that would employ north of fifty people in Kaleva Michigan. By the mid 1940's The Makinen Tackle Company would have a new factory and be building lures from wood for a time and Tenite, later having most all of the lures crafted in Tenite. We will feature as many great Makinen Lures as we can find right here on our site, as we love the story and the quality of this great company and the great people behind the making and collecting of these lures. If you have Makinen brand lures you believe we would be interested in please contact us.
Makinen K-10-F Black Waddle Bug.
Makinen K-10-F Black Waddle Bug.
Makinen K-10-F Black Waddle Bug.
Makinen K-10-F Black Waddle Bug.
Makinen Waddle Bug K-10-F Black. This very cool early 1940's era, Wood Waddle Bug is in fantastic shape. A very nice addition to our collection, the Waddle Bug is a more scarce Makinen series. The Waddle Bug is the hardest of the Makinen lures to find, these lures worked very well, the success rate with them was spectacular. As stated from the 1947 Makinen catalog "The Black Waddle Bug Is a rascal". This is another fantastic lure preserved by Bill Helmer. We are Honored to continue the preservation of this lure.
Makinen Yellow K.10.G Waddle Bug.
Makinen Yellow K.10.G Waddle Bug.
Makinen Yellow K.10.G Waddle Bug.
Makinen Yellow K.10.G Waddle Bug.
Makinen Waddle Bug K-10-G Yellow. This 1940's era, Wood Waddle Bug is in fantastic shape. We believe the Waddle Bug was made in wood only. Which is why these are so very hard to find. The Waddle Bug is a more scarce Makinen series and is the hardest of the Makinen lures to find in any color. According to the 1947 Makinen catalog "The Yellow and Black Waddle Bug is a popular and attractive color combination, with its buggle appearance as its name Indicates, Its waddle and wiggle gets 'em." This is another fantastic lure preserved by Bill Helmer. We are Honored to continue the preservation of this lure.
Makinen Green K.10.B Waddle Bug.
Makinen Green K.10.B Waddle Bug.
Makinen Waddle Bug K-10-B Green. A 1940's era, Wood Waddle Bug in fantastic shape. We after our research believe the Waddle Bug was only ever made in wood. Which is why these are so very hard to find. The Waddle Bug is a more scarce Makinen series and is by far the hardest of the Makinen lures to find in any color. According to the 1947 Makinen catalog "The Green color life like bugs; and when the old Pike sees this, it's all off and he's a goner. The fish can't resist this one as "The Bug" plays and waddles on the surface." This is another fantastic lure preserved by Bill Helmer. We are Honored to continue the preservation of this lure.
Makinen Merry Widow in White with Gold Scale and Red Dots.
Makinen Merry Widow in White with Gold Scale and Red Dots.
Makinen Merry Widow in White with Gold Scale and Red Dots.
Makinen Merry Widow in White with Gold Scale and Red Dots.
This Scarce Wooden Makinen Merry Widow L-10-E is an early version dating to 1946/1947 We believe this lure was Manufactured in 1946 and packaged and sold in 1947. With the "Stream Tested Baits" Slogan added to the boxes in 1947. Makinen also switched to Tenite plastics in 1947. Our lure is in Wood dating it to 1946/47 before the switch to tenite. This lure was a great field find for us, as the lure was found loose in a jar on a shelf with a bunch of other lures, it took some hunting but we were able to find the box for this lure in the same building just on the other side of the building and with a Meadowbrook Runt in it! Sometimes it pays off to dig around, as we were able to put this combo back together.
Makinen Merry Widow L.10.G Yellow Spot.
Makinen Merry Widow L.10.G Yellow Spot.
Makinen Merry Widow L.10.G Yellow Spot.
Makinen Merry Widow L.10.G Yellow Spot.
This Scarce Wooden Makinen Merry Widow L-10-G is an early version dating to 1946/1947 We believe this lure was Manufactured in 1946 and packaged and sold in 1947. Makinen switched to Tenite plastics in 1947. Our lure is in Wood dating it to 1946/47 before the switch to tenite. This is another great add for us Wood Makinen lures are becoming very scarce, anytime we find these great lures in wood we add them. The Makinen catalog describes the color as follows. (The Yellow body with the black stripe on back is a beautiful color scheme. With small red spots on the belly and a red gill makes this lure irresistible to the fish.) Irresistible to collectors as well!
Makinen Holi Comet P.10.B Green Frog.
Makinen Holi Comet P.10.B Green Frog.
Makinen Holi Comet P.10.B Green Frog.
Makinen Holi Comet P.10.B Green Frog.
This Scarce Wooden Makinen Holi-Comet P-10-B is an early version dating to 1946/1947 We believe this lure was Manufactured in 1946 as it is an early wood version. Makinen also switched to Tenite plastics in 1947. Our lure is in Wood dating it to 1946/47 before the switch to tenite. This lure was a great find for us, wood versions of Makinen lures are becoming harder to come by. This is a fantastic color the Frog Pattern by Makinen was a cool unique pattern. The write up on this color in the Makinen catalog is as follows. (The natural-looking frog color of this bait makes it one of our best sellers. It resembles the live frog not only in color but In action as well.)
Makinen Holi-Comet P10.A Plastic Red Head and White with scale.
Makinen Holi-Comet P10.A Plastic Red Head and White with scale.
Makinen Holi-Comet P10.A Plastic Red Head and White with scale.
Makinen Holi-Comet P10.A Plastic Red Head and White with scale.
This Makinen Holi-Comet P-10-A is a Tenite version dating to the mid 1950's and is complete with correct box and paperwork. This lure was acquired from an amazing NFLCC collector in the U.S. The Holi-Comet was and is a fantastic fishing lure. Creating a lot of action and delivering results for anglers who chose to use these remarkable lures. Always keep an eye open and preserve these lures whenever your given the chance to do so.
Rare Makinen Holi-Comet in Goldfish/Orange Finish.
Rare Makinen Holi-Comet in Goldfish/Orange Finish.
Rare Makinen Holi-Comet in Goldfish/Orange Finish.
Rare Makinen Holi-Comet in Goldfish/Orange Finish.
Makinen Holi-Comet in, According to the 1947 Makinen Catalog P.10.D Orange or "Goldfish" color. This color is not common and considered Rare. Here in Canada this color is deadly for Pike and Walleye. This lure is in great shape Thanks to the Late Bill Hellmer, known for having one of the largest Makinen lure collections. He carefully preserved this lure in the correct box with the catalog inside. Bills passion for all things Makinen led to the preservation of some of the hardest to find Makinen lures around. We were able to acquire some of Bill's Collection and this lure through Bill's Friend Gary Deppe who as well has done an amazing job of finding these lures great homes and collections to join. For us we Honor Bill Helmer by continuing what he started, carefully preserving great Makinen lures for the Future.