What's Not to Like About a Lazy Ike?

Somewhere around the mid-1930s, in the Fort Dodge, IA area, a fisherman named Newel Daniels was hand-carving what was to become the Lazy Ike. History has it that Joseph Kautzky (also spelled Kanutzky in some sources), Jr., of the Kautzky Manufacturing Co. (forerunner of the Lazy Ike Corp.), saw Daniels fishing the lure, liked it, and struck a deal with him.

From 1938 to 1940, Daniels produced lures for the company by hand. When he left, he turned over all rights to Kautzky, who then shifted responsibility for production to "Pop" Shuck, who kept making the lure by hand until about 1945, when lathe production came along. Wood production stopped in 1960, when a plastic version of the lure was introduced.

Kautzky produced several baits; however, the Lazy Ike was the most famous. It and the other Kautzky lures generally aren't considered collectible.

Lazy Ikes evidently still are in production, because multiple colors are available from http://www.lurenet.com, as well as other online websites, including eBay. And the bait, with its pronounced wiggle, still is catching fish 80 years later, as evidenced in this photo.

The fisherman involved here caught six bass this particular day with his frog-colored Lazy Ike, all of them ranging between 2 and 4 lbs. "It was like the '60s all over again," he said. He also was heard to describe his day as "not so good," which leaves me to wonder what he considers a good day.

Sure looks like there's something special to be said for that frog-colored Ike. For example, I also read about a father-son duo who were fishing one in a Missouri farm pond, with a storm rapidly approaching. Lightning and thunder warned that their fishing was about to end, but that didn't stop the son from making just one more cast.

"I cranked the reel handle a few times," said the boy, "and then my frog-colored Lazy Ike stopped as though it had hit a brick wall." He told his dad, who then started watching and offering advice, as the boy tried to gain control of the situation.

"When the huge bass was close enough to see," the boy explained, "the gears in my spincast reel locked up, and I was powerless to bring the fish any closer." He glanced over at his dad, who already was taking off his shoes and socks to go wading. His dad was in waist-deep water before he could lift the fish up and carry it to shore. The duo took the fish to a local hardware store, where it tipped the scales at 6 lbs. 10 ozs.

As reported in an account by Troy Jackson, "The Lazy Ike ranks among the heavy hitters of all-time when it comes to artificial lures... . This odd-looking creation with a wiggling action has likely caught millions of fish and anglers alike."

Jackson went on to explain that he found one of these baits on an endcap in a department store during the summer of 2014 and bought it for $1.50. "Sure didn't take long to get a return on my investment," he said, noting that within minutes of making his first casts with the lure a few days later, he caught the bass pictured here.

"I can't imagine that this thing is a staple in tackleboxes these days," Jackson continued, "as I've never seen anyone throw it. The $1.50 sticker price I paid speaks volumes as well, especially in a world of ever-increasingly outrageously priced lures, none of which I imagine have truly revolutionized our hobby... . However, the fact that I can pick up a lure that first hit the market during The Great Depression in a modern superstore has to count for something. In the end, it is simply a cool feather in my floppy hat to say that I caught a bass on a lure that my grandpas probably had in their tackleboxes as well."

The banana-shaped Lazy Ike and its big brother, the Mighty Ike, swim with a huge, searching "X" action, resembling a minnow in distress. They primarily attract walleye, bass, northern pike, and musky. Trolled (to depths reaching 11 to 13 feet) or cast (to depths reaching 4 to 6 feet), the lazy roll of the Ike has created fishing memories for generations of anglers.

Would like to thank my buddy, Charlie, for his comment on this article that I received in an email earlier today (Thursday, March 5). Also want to include some info he provided in that same note. "When I was a kid, spending my summers in Vermont," he said, adding, "we all used a Flatfish, which is almost the same thing. Northern pike were the target species back then. I have one in my tacklebox somewhere and might have to get it wet this spring.

"Around 1956," continued Charlie, "an old fisherman showed me his secret lure (see accompanying drawing, which Charlie acknowledged is 'bad')." Here's how it's made: Take two swivels and connect them with a split ring. Add a blade to the split ring. Put another split ring at the end and attach one long-shank and one short-shank hook, with the points facing each other. "Next, we would catch leopard frogs early in the morning," said Charlie, "then head out to the water. "We'd hook the frog through the lips on the short-shank hook and let the long-shank one ride free between his legs. That thing would fill the cooler in no time flat. Great times!"