Paul Bunyan Transparent Dodger

The Paul Bunyan Bait Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota, made fishing lures in the 1930's and 1940's. Of all their lures, perhaps the most common was the metal spoon which had large plastic ruby eyes known as the Red Eye Wiggler. Another fairly common lure made by Paul Bunyan was the Transparent Dodger. The Transparent Dodger was made starting around 1938. It measures 4" in length and lists at 5/8 ounce. Besides the distinct shape of the lure, the Dodger came with 2 variations of eyes, one being a silver flat disc and the other rhinestone eyes.

The bottom of each lure has a rib pattern which in the case of the transparent colors, shows through the lure. One variation to the lure is that on the back of some, the words "PAUL BUNYAN DODGER" appear in raised letters. The paper catalog which came in the lure's box pictured below listed six colors and their catalog numbers as follows:

900C - Clear Transparent

900R - Ruby Transparent

900A - Amber Transparent

900G - Green Transparent

900WR - White Opaque with Red Head

900B - Black

Solid Yellow

There is a seventh color as well which has a solid yellow body and is considered very scarce. 

Transparent Dodger in Amber with box & paper

Like a number of lures made by other companies, Paul Bunyan also made this lure for fly fishing, calling it the "Artful Dodger", which was 1 1/4" in length and weighed 1/25 ounces (pictured with the Transparent Dodger above). It came in the same colors as the Transparent Dodger with the exception of the solid yellow. There is two shades of green as well, one much darker than the other.

Brookland Dodger in Clear in Plastic box

In addition to the the Dodger and the Artful Dodger, Paul Bunyan also made a third model called the Brookland Dodger. This model has brass metal wings on either side of the body. The colors for the Brookland Dodger are the same as the Transparent Dodger.

Transparent Dodgers and the Artful Dodgers run from $10 to $20 without the box and nearly double with the box. The Brookland Dodger runs from $40 to $60 without the box and up to $100 with the box as they are scarce and tough to find.

• The Paul Bunyan Bait Company was in business from 1939-1966 when they were purchased by Prescott.
• The Transparent Dodger was made from 1939-1963.
• The Brooklyn Dodger was only made from 1950-1953.

UNKNOWN?

The unknown lure pictured here has no markings but looks a lot like a Orchard Industries lure.

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