Joe's Old Lures - Antique Florida Lures

Porter Bait Company
Daytona Beach, Florida

Richard Porter was one of Florida's earliest lure makers. His first baits were "clothes pin" lures, also known as pier baits, and he began selling them sometime around 1920. The heavily weighted lures were used to catch many fish in the Daytona area and just up the road at the Flagler Beach pier. Porter made the baits at his home and at his father's garage and sold them through local stores.

Early Porter Clothes Pin Lures

Flagler Beach Municipal Pier in 1929

Some experts believe these two baits to be early wooden lures made by Dick Porter. They are thought to have been made sometime in the 1930's.

As far as I know, there is no definitive evidence to either prove or disprove that these lures were actually made by Porter.

Possible Early Porter Lures

Around 1937 Dick Porter and his friend Ray Johnson started the Dixie Bait Company in Daytona Beach, Florida. The company was in business for only two or three years and produced several beautifully detailed wooden lure models during that time. See the story on this web site about the Dixie Bait Company for additional information.

Several years later, in 1946, Porter officially formed the Porter Bait Company in Daytona Beach, Florida. For the next 25 years the Porter Bait Company manufactured some of the finest fishing lures ever made in the State of Florida or anywhere else. They are characterized by beautiful paint patterns and construction of a very high quality.

Many of the early lure models can be easily identified by a target painted on the belly.

Here are some examples of Porter Bait Company lures:

Darter	Pop-Stop
Bottle Opener	Smart-Aleck
Dart-O	Spindle
Duz-Biz	Duz-Biz Type in smaller size
Top-Spin	Ol' Crip
Later Style Darter	Broken-Back
Heavily weighted Pirate	Pirate with spinners
Stix with bead	Stix with spinners
SpinPop with later box style	Crip with later box style
Early 2-Piece Cardboard Box	Early Cardboard Box With Cellophane Window
The Flame-Ball is hard to find	Shrimp Porter clothes pin lures continued to be made for over 50 years. These are later models. See the page about pier baits for more Porter lures