Pflueger Enterprise Mfg Lures

Pflueger Enterprise Mfg lures were made for a long time. The Enterprise Manufacturing Company was first established in 1881 and incorporated in 1886. Pflueger was a part of, and had their tackle manufactured for them by, the Enterprise Manufacturing Company. Pflueger was one of the earliest fishing tackle companies. Enterprise Manufacturing was established in 1881 with Ferdinand Schumacker as President, Earnest A. Pflueger as Manager and Harry Comstock as Superintendent. Their first big success was the “Comstock Flying Helgramite” lure which incorporated Comstock’s 1883 patent. The 1897 Enterprise Mfg. Co. catalog lists E.F. Pflueger as President, A.L. Conger as vice-President, E.A. Pflueger as Secretary/Treasurer and J.E. Pflueger as Superintendent. E.F. Pflueger is listed as the inventor of the “Pflueger Luminous Bait.” At this time, Only metal and rubber lures were included in their catalog. They made a wide range of luminous metal and rubber lures. It wasn’t until the early 1900’s that they made wooden lures.

Their lures most sought after by collectors today are the Trory Minnow, the Flying Helgramite and the Crystal Minnow. The company name was eventually changed to just Pflueger Fishing Tackle in the 1910’s. The earliest wooden lures had the hooks attached to the bodies with trough-body wires and had no cup hardware as seen on the “Trory Minnow.” The next hook attachment design was a see-through attachment of wire clips holding the hooks and attached to a central body axial post. In 1911, Pflueger patented their “Never-Fail” hook hardware. Pflueger also produced a less expensive grade of tackle and called that line the “Four Brothers” brand. The name referred to the four Pflueger brothers that ran the company. Pflueger Enterprise Mfg lures are considered to be made by one of the great early lure makers in the USA.