CREEK CHUB DIRECTION CARDS

(Last Update 07/16/03)

These cards were placed in many of the older Creek Chub lure boxes. Most were printed on two sides. One side matched the boxed lure and usually offered instructions to properly work the bait. The opposite side listed another bait, hopefully enticing the buyer to purchase a second CCBCO lure.

Each card is approximately 3 3/4“ x 1 1/2“. They were small enough to fit in any of the standard size “fish” motif boxes or of course the larger boxes. They were printed in red, green and sometimes black. Most were printed on both sides but one specimen in this collection is printed on one side only. Originally the lure was actually wired to the card.

Some cards listed specific baits such as the Surface Dingbat or possibly the Flip Flap. Others were printed for baits that were made in many sizes such as the Plunker or Pikie series. This made it easier for CCBCO to keep an inventory of cards instead of producing a specific card for every series. An example of one of the Pikie card variations confirms this approach. It mentions this design was made in many different sizes, both straight bodied & jointed. Again, this allowed Creek Chub to use the same type card in many different Pikie series boxes. I also think the company would place a specific titled card (e.g. Injured Minnow) in a Baby Injured Minnow box because both lures were worked in the same manner.

I don’t believe direction cards were make for all the unique series although I’m convinced that many of the baits not listed here will come to light.

It’s strictly a guesstimate when these direction cards were made. Some clues are derived from the series listed. The River Rustler was made from 1931-1935 and the Dive Bomber was a series name used only during WWII. Also, I haven’t located any cards from series introduced in the 1950’s. An educated guess of production dates would be from the mid 1920’s to late 1940’s. Of course, some of the baits shown on the cards were made before & after these dates. For the purposes of this study I will go with these dates unless someone has documentation from the CCBCO archives that proves differently.

These are all the variations I’ve located over the last several years. I’m sure this group is far from complete. Compare your direction cards to this list & see how many different ones you have in your collection. Some of the spelling is lifted directly from the cards & may differ from lure reference books.

The cards are listed in alphabetical order. Text or color variation won’t be taken into consideration.