"CreekSpeak"

CREEK CHUB BAIT CO. SPECIALS
SELECTED EXAMPLES FROM THE #100 TO #9600 ORIGINAL SERIES

During most years of production, Creek Chub Bait Co. (CCBCo) would accept custom orders from individual customers or dealers who were looking for a color or rigging that wasn’t normally offered on certain baits. These are known as “Specials” and can be divided into several arbitrary types. Some Specials won’t necessarily fall neatly into any of the following definitions:

  • Catalog Colors I: This sounds like a contradiction of terms. The color is a standard offering on another series but not the series ordered. An example would be a #09 Brilliant Greenback color. It was a catalog color on only four of the wooden baitcasting lures. On any other series, it would be a Special.
  • Catalog Colors II: Sometimes a lure will be found in a box stamped “Special” but it is a catalog color for that lure. What gives? It could possibly be an example with custom rigging. Usually it’s a lure that was ordered before or after the color was available as a catalog item on that series.
  • Variations of Standard Colors: A slight change in a standard color may alter the final appearance dramatically. Sometimes a customer believed a unique combo of catalog colors would work wonders on his/her favorite fishing spot. A cream belly might be replaced with one in yellow or an untold number of other options.
  • The Sky’s The Limit: These lures were orders from clients looking for that magic combination of paint and/or rigging that might be the secret to landing the local lunkers. Many Specials in this category were colors not ordinarily inventoried by CCBCo.
  • In-House Whimsies: Employees at CCBCo sometimes painted oddball lure patterns during idle times. The only examples painted in any quantity were the “Toad” Van Houton lures explained under the #200 Baby Wiggler description
  • Sporting Goods Stores: Western Auto is one example of stores with angling departments. The buying power of this chain of retail outlets permitted them to order not only standard lures but many Special colors that weren’t available to any other buyer.

Certain dealers would help design unique body styles or variations of standard CCBCo bodies in many colors. Most collectors have dubbed these physical changes as “non-catalog” baits instead of Specials since the changes usually required more than a simple paint or rigging alteration. They won’t be covered here.

CCBCo’s order instructions changed over the years but it was often possible to obtain Specials directly from them at a slight premium in price when ordered in lots as small as one dozen.

Below you will see one Special from each of the original baitcasting series that I have available in my collection. All are from the 1916-1960 era.

The actual Creek Chub series number & lure name is followed by a short comment next to each example to explain their Special status.
#100 Wiggler

#100 Wiggler: #101 Perch. Notice the oversized, flat head.
Housed in a #101 Special box.

#200 Baby Wiggler

#200 Baby Wiggler: #200 Silver Shiner Special. An in-house custom color developed by employee “Toad” Van Houton. A silver body with silver scales. This is one of many styles of Toad’s regular or elongated lips he hand painted in several patterns.

#300 Crawdad #300 Crawdad: WA#V-364. A color combo made expressly for Western Auto. This pattern is known as Red Devil. The back is stenciled “Crawdad”.
#700SW Pikie #700SW Pikie: #702 Red & White. This one is a custom rigging from CCBCo known as a “West Coast” Special. A saltwater example with two trebles instead of three. A copper wire runs through the body (but not into the lip) & a screw enters the side.
#934 Baby Pikie #900 Baby Pikie: #934 Blue Flash. A color normally associated with saltwater baits. This example is from the 1950’s.
#1400 Big Creek Bug Wiggler

#1400 Big Creek Bug Wiggler: #1410 Blue & White. The baitcasting size in a design produced in three sizes (two are fly rod baits). It may be unique in this color. This is one of my best Specials.
Injured Minnow #1500 Injured Minnow: #1508 Rainbow. A Special in this series that isn’t exceptionally rare. However, Rainbow is a pattern that is highly collected, resulting in a much sought after Special.
#1600 Baby Injured Minnow #1600 Baby Injured Minnow: #1600 Orange Gantron. When colors aren’t used on ANY CCBCo series they are usually given the series number by collectors since there isn’t any other reference to use. This matte paint was used in conjunction with other colors to form the #31 Rainbow Fire & #32 Fire Plug. As a solid color, it is a special order.
#1800 Underwater Spinner Minnow #1800 Underwater Spinner Minnow: #1800 Chub. It’s a catalog color on a few other series, but not this one. Oddly, although this is a scarce series in any color, I’ve seen several examples of this Special color.
#2005 Darter #2000 Darter: #2005 Dace. Similar to the later Red Side pattern except Dace has a blended blue area between the sides & back.
#2100 Fintail Shiner

#2100 Fintail Shiner: #2100 Pikie Scale. It’s a common color on many designs. In this case, never a catalog color on this scarce series.
#2219 Midget Pikie

#2200 Midget Pikie: #2219 Frog. A very difficult catalog color to locate on most Pikie series from the glass eye era (pre-1961). Never a standard color on this series, hence an admired Special.
#2312-L Husky Pikie #2300-L Husky Pikie: #2312-L White. This is a glass eye bait in a color normally seen in later production. Red shading around the eyes & red chin blush. Only two trebles & internally weighted. Known as the “L” (leaded) variation.
#2640 Jointed Pikie

#2600 Jointed Pikie: #2640 Red & White with Glitter. Although never a catalog color on any series, CCBCo DID assign this color combo a #40 designation. There is a similar catalog color in the #700 Pikie series. However, it is a luminous bait & this one isn’t. This Special was ordered with a deep diver lip.
Jointed Baby Pikie #2700 Jointed Baby Pikie: #2714 Yellow Spotted. It's a common color on the #2000 Darter series but a special order here. C.1950’s.
#3302 Sarasota

#3300 Sarasota: #3302 Red & White. It appears to be a catalog bait but look at the line tie. It is located on the tip of the nose instead of on TOP of the nose. Housed in #3302 Special box.
#3800 Beetle #3800 Beetle: #3818 Silver Flash. A fairly large group was produced for the Sutcliffe Co. in Louisville, KY.
#4304 River Scamp

#4300 River Scamp: #4304 Golden Shiner. A popular catalog color on many other series of CCBCo lures.
4906 Jointed Darter

#4900 Jointed Darter: #4906 Goldfish. CCBCo utilized this pattern as a catalog color on very few series. Some Creek Chub collectors covet this motif over all others.

5100 Dingbat #5100 Dingbat: #5105 Dace. Specials in the hair bait series are very popular.
#5200 Surface Dingbat #5200 Baby Dingbat: #V-345 Western Auto Sunspot. One of the many custom colors produced exclusively by Creek Chub for this retailer.
Surface Dingbat #5400 Surface Dingbat: #V-334 Western Auto Black Sable. Another proprietary Special for this chain of stores. 
#5500 Jointed Snook Pikie #5500 Jointed Snook Pikie: #5500 Pink & White Luminous. An interesting color combo. Not to be confused with the later Banana color.
#5931 Midget Plunker #5900 Midget Plunker: #5931 Non-Gantron Rainbow Fire. From 1950-1954, a catalog color in this series, but in a Gantron matte finish. This is a late 1950’s bait with a glossy paint that Creek Chub decided to later use. A variation of a catalog color that was requested after regular production ended.
#6018 Midget Beetle #6000 Midget Beetle: #6018 Silver Flash. Although a Special in this series, this lure is in its original LABEL end box. Normally, Specials are in end STAMPED boxes due to their limited production (not enough made to warrant CCBCo to print labels).
#6611 Dive Bomber #6600 Dive Bomber: #6611 Black & White Victory. This is by far my best Special. It displays FOUR special features: Yellow painted eyes (Victory patterns normally made without any eyes), Glitter back, gold plated hooks, black & white paint scheme!
#7011 The Seven Thousand #7000 The Seven Thousand: #7011 Black & White. The entire series offered from only 1950-1954. Few Specials were made.
#7103 Snook Plunker #7100 Snook Plunker: #7103 Silver Shiner. Several catalog colors in this series, but not this one.
#8000YB Midget Darter #8000 Midget Darter: #8000 YB Yellow With Black Bars. This color combo often seen on certain Heddon baits, but never standard on CCBCo lures.
#9038-S Spinning Darter #9000 Spinning Darter: #9038-S Pearl with spinner. Pearl IS a catalog color on this series. Yet, it’s a Special due to the added spinner. 
#9200 Spinning Plunker #9200 Spinning Plunker: #9200 Black with White Spots. It was never a catalog color on ANY Creek Chub series.
#9307 Spinning Pikie #9300 Spinning Pikie: #9307 Mullet. A beautiful color heavily collected in catalog & Special examples.
#9414 Yellow Spotted Spinning Jointed Pikie #9400 Spinning Jointed Pikie: #9414 Yellow Spotted. This is one of the odd, unnatural color combos employed by CCBCo.
#9503 Spinning Injured Minnow #9500 Spinning Injured Minnow: #9503 Silver Shiner. Yet another mini-jewel from Creek Chub.

As more Specials are added to my collection that aren’t in any of the series shown here, they will be included.

Contact me if you have in EX+ CCBCo Specials for sale. I may be interested in examples from these series or others in the Original Series. Lures must be factory original. NO repaints. I can’t use the Specials from the 1960’s-1970’s.

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