Joe's Old Lures - Antique Florida Lures

Southern Bait Company
Coral Gables , Florida

One of the companies that used the name Southern Bait Company was located for a while in Savannah, Georgia. They manufactured a lure called the Tilton Porpoise. It was made of wood and had a fairly heavy lead weight in the nose. The lure has a very pleasing shape with smooth flowing lines. It is seen in the top picture on the right.

At some point, Southern Bait Company moved to Coral Gables, Florida. They continued to produce the Tilton Porpoise, but the material for the lure was changed from wood to plastic. The picture box shown on the right refers to Tilton's New Porpoise Minnows. Perhaps the "new" refers to the change in material. John L. Wyatt of Savanah, Georgia was granted a patent for the new lure design in 1939. There is at least one other style of cardboard box that has been seen for this lure.