![]() ![]() In 1934 Helin applied for a patent and began marketing the first handmade wooden Flatfish, selling 400 the first year. He ultimately dubbed his new lure creation The Flatfish. Helin knew at once he had found what he was looking for. With its trademark, flat nosed body and offset detachable hooks, the lure produced a life-like, wiggling, swimming action that appeared to be irresistible to predator fish. On September 12, 1933, after some final, minor tweaks, the Flatfish was finally perfected. He and his fishing mates enjoyed immediate success with the resident bass in the lake. In August that year he did a test trial with some of his final prototypes in Big Lake in Davisburg, Michigan. He was getting very close to his final design. By spring of 1933 Helin had hand carved about 1500 individual plugs. Helin began by whittling wooden plugs in different shapes and sizes, looking for the perfect design and action. So Helin decided to try his hand at designing a lightweight swimming plug that could be worked delicately and effectively even at the slowest retrieval speeds, while increasing the number of successful hook-sets. In many cases it allowed the fish to recognize the bait as being artificial before striking. Helin believed many strikes were missed due to the lack of flexibility and finesse in the retrieve. ![]() Whenever the retrieve was altered, the action disappeared. ![]() The majority commercially sold swimming plugs at the time were crudely fashioned and required a specific, precise retrieval speed to create fish-attracting, swimming action. By the late 1920s Helin had fashioned over 100 individual lures, yet he still felt there was still one major problem to tackle. During the 1920s, Helin experimented with a variety of different lure designs, including spoons, spinners, and bass bugs among others. Helin also liked to tinker and create his own fishing lures. A devoted fisherman, Helin bounced around from job to job just so that he could keep his summers free to fish. The Flatfish was invented in the 1930s by a talented Detroit auto worker named Charles Helin. If not, then surely your father or your grandfather has. If you have spent any time on the water, chances are you’ve seen or used this banana shaped lure at some point in your life. The Flatfish is a lure recognizable on sight and requires no introduction. ![]()
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