July 2012
Rush Tango Minnow (Victory Finish)
J. K. Rush (U.S. Specialty Co)
Syracuse, NY
1916 – early 1920s
In the USA, the summer months have several patriotic holidays. May has Memorial Day, June has Flag Day, and July has the biggest of them all…Independence Day.
So, I thought I would feature a patriotic fishing lure color and a short history lesson!
From 1914 – 1918, the world was at war. The battle was called “The Great War” or “The World War”. Little did anyone know, the day the peace treaty was signed on Nov. 11th, 1918 (Armistice Day)…this was not the end of the war. The conflict would resurface years later in the new war, which was called World War II, and the Great War’s name changed to World War I.
The Great War (WWI) was between the Allies and the Central Powers (mainly Germany, Austria, and the Ottoman Empire). At the start of the war, defensive lines were nearly impossible to break thanks to strategies at the time and the fact that military tactics failed to keep pace with war technology. Barbed wire, machine guns, poison gas, and the now famous trench warfare made offensive attacks dangerous and nearly impossible for the attackers. Later in the war, war tactics improved and new inventions, such as the tank, made offensive attacks more feasible.
When a German submarine sank the British ocean liner, the Lusitania, and killed 128 American civilians on board, the US warned the Central Powers to cease the war and any attacks on merchant ships. The Germans did stop their submarine attacks on ships for awhile, then ignored the warning and began the underwater attacks again. They knew that this would bring the US into the war, but hoped to bring Mexico into the war also on their side with a promise of returning land to Mexico including the states of New Mexico, Arizona, and parts of Texas. The proposal to Mexico failed, and the USA entered the war in 1917. Not much more than a year later, the war was over.
Around this time, a company in the United States was producing a fishing lure that was becoming a huge success due to its fish catching capabilities. It was around 1917 that they introduced their “Victory Finish” color of fishing lure. The name of the finish was a way to add support for the troops in the war.
According to an old ad, the color “is a marvel of beauty and utility, made in two color combinations…” One color is gold, red, and green and the other is silver, red, green, and white. Both of these are in a striking “scale” pattern.
Most of these lures were sold in standard Rush Tango boxes, but some had a special Victory Finish box that was red, white, and blue in color…which is very hard to find in good condition today. One of these boxes is pictured above with a small version of the Swimming Minnow. Note that the company also offered a possible $50 cash prize for people that great success with their lure and offered them proof.
I have used several sizes of the Rush Tango series of lures fishing…and I have to admit…the action they have in the water is fantastic! When cast, the diving and wiggling action can be felt all the way back to the rod…and it does attract fish. Check out the bass I caught on a Rush Tango here: StillCatchingFish
A few pieces of little know WWI trivia:
1) During WWI, a long coat was used by the British and French in the war as an alternative to the heavy raincoats of the time. This long coat was given the name “trench coat”, due to the popular trench warfare at the time. The term trench coat is still used today to describe similar long jackets.
2) Many years later, it was discovered that the Lusitania, the ocean liner that was sank by the Germans that created a huge controversy with neutral countries, was smuggling ammunition and possibly other supplies along with the unsuspecting passengers when it was sunk. Also, the German Empire did run adds in US papers in New York prior to the sinking warning people not to board this ship due to the war in Europe.
