November 2013
Shucks Alive Corn Lure
Joy Products, Inc
Benedict, KS
1970s

A few months ago, I received this email about my “Lure Of The Month” for August of 2013:

“What a corny lure!  I have never seen such a lure and right after you posted this on your website, 3 of them appeared on eBay.  All of them sold for over $100.  Coincidence?”

I noticed a few on eBay too.  I am sure that one sold for a good price (even higher than I expected) and a few people who saw the auction had this lure themselves, and decided to sell it...hoping to get the same price.  Anyway, that is my guess.

But, the Dekalb Lure is not the corniest lure out there.  There is another lure from the 1970s that surpassed it...the “Shucks Alive Corn Lure” (that is what I call it as it may not have an official name).  I figured that this would be the perfect “Lure Of The Month” for November as I am sure many of you have heard of stories involving the Indians, Pilgrims, and planting corn. 

Opening in 1972, Joy Products, Inc, has since been a global leader in the Advertising Specialties Industry, providing their clients with creative and innovative promotional marketing solutions. Their items can help a company increase their brand awareness, motivate staff, or even announce a new product offering. 

As a gimmick, they came out with a “Corn Lure” in the 1970s.  This lure came with a pamphlet filled with outrageous claims.  I have listed a couple of these below:

“A fisherman reported that after getting this lure, there was a knock at the door.  It was two big bass lickin’ their lips, and one asked, “When and where are ya gonna use that tasty lookin’ lure?”

“One day a fisherman hooked into a big one.  He fought it for hours.  After landing it, no one had large enough scale to weigh it, so they weighed the shadow.  It weighed 40 pounds.”

The pamphlet continues on with more fishing related jokes.   It also adds:

“The important thing about fishin’ is enjoying yourself.  So have a lot of fun and good luck with your stories.”

How true!!

I will add that this lure is heavy and well made for a plastic promotional lure.  While this lure may not sell for the price that a Dekalb Lure does to collectors, it is still a neat piece…and may be even harder to find as not many were made.  And, it appears to even have all the things necessary to actually catch fish.

One last note, there is a Patent # on the package for this lure.  However, when I looked up the number through a patent search, it pulled up a document for a 1908 Butter Churn….