Jim Bagley, ca. 1955–60s
Jim Bagley Bait Company, ca. 1955–60s
Winter Haven
Acc. no. 2021M.012.135
In the 1950s, Jim Bagley, an electrician, began making and selling pork rind fishing baits. He began the Jim Bagley Bait Company and set up shop in Winter Haven. His Black Magic pork rind baits were a success, and Bagley soon left his job to make fishing lures full time. Around 1960, Bagley began making lures of balsa wood, starting with the Bang-O-Lure. He went on to make a line of different balsa wood lures. Bagley sold the company in the late 1980s.
