The Kautzky Lazy Ike Lure - Learn the history and see how it's used!
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- In this episode of Angling Archaeology I explore the history of the Lazy Ike and put it to the test. Watch to see if classic catches a fish!
At Angling Archaeology, I set out to unearth the good ol' days.
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Sir, don't mean to wear an old fisherman's welcome out here, but I appreciated your history lesson on the Lazy Ike, as there is precious little info available on a bait (Lazy Ike) that has been out of production for years as best as I can tell. The Lazy Ike, at one time, was a fishing legend in this area (west-central Ga.). In the 1950's and 60's none of my fishing buddies went fishing "without" a Lazy Ike or three, in their tackle box. We did not have the fancy bass boat rigs common today. An aluminum flat bottom boat or wood equivalent. A tiny outboard motor, no trolling motors, just paddles was about it for big shot bass fishermen trying to ease up to their favorite fishing hole quiet. As mentioned before, a #3 or #4 size Lazy Ike was the "most fished" models. Usually the "frog pattern", silver with black scales, or perch patterns were most common.I cannot recall any fishermen using the "Top Ike", as it may not have been made in that time period of the 50's and 60's.This video of the Lazy Ike and its history stirred those old fishing memories inside me up, and they are good memories, with much thanks to this video of yours. From time to time I will break out my old tackle boxes, and relive fishing memories I had with various "special" baits, with the old Lazy Ike being at the top of the "most favored" list. If I was able to fish today, I would use "exactly" what I used back-in-the-day. My last reel was the Ambassador 5000C on a semi-stiff worm rod, threaded with 12lb test line. Damn, I miss those days! Getting old is a real "witch" at times! I do thank GOD for allowing those great fishing days to remember.
Thank you David. I really appreciate that. Stories like this are the reason I do this. I love fishing/collecting these old lures, and learning and sharing the history. Thanks again for watching!
My dad said that when he was growing up, he would fish the pond at the farm where his sister took horseback riding lessons. One of his top lures was the lazy ike. A couple of years ago we were fishing from the canoe at a pretty high pressure public lake and he caught two little ones on it in short order. I firmly believe that anglers can develop a special connection with certain lures that gets them to work. Thanks for making a video about this vintage lure.
I have 4 or 5 of them and still use them. Pike absolutely love them
Yes. That Lazy Ike is probably your new most favorite lure.
Your red/white bait with the odd back was the Top Ike from the Lazy Ike Bait Company. A great topwater bait, in frog pattern, perch, or black in spring and fall. Casting this bait in and around cover in shallow water, and the top ike will perform well. In the 1950's when I got serious about bass fishing, the #4 size Lazy Ike in a frog pattern, was a very productive bait. Casting from the boat to the bank, using a slow to medium crank, could produce some great days at the river, creek, or lake. We used Ambassador 5000 bait caster reels mounted on a stiff worm rod. The "ugly stick" had not been born into production in 1950's fresh water fishing time, but stiff worm rods were in abundance. Also, the Helin Flatfish was another favorite 1950's plug that most fishermen then had several sizes, and color patterns of the old Flatfish in their tackle box. The flatfish was a slow retrieve, as it had more side-to-side motion than an Egyptian bellydancer, and boy howdy could it catch fish! Since this old fella is on a roll talking about his golden days of fishing adventures, I would love to give honorable mentions to the Arbogast Jitterbug, a topwater killer that was hard for bait shops to keep in stock. The bug in frog and black and fishing it at o'dark thirty, hearing that throbbing sound it makes as it is slowly reeled in, stop & go rod-tip jerks to entice strikes and bass would hit this bait with a vengeance. That plopping bug-sound drove em crazy! That was another favorite, hard for bait shops to keep in stock. One more and I'll let the reader rest. The Heddon Zaragossa, a pregnant Zara Spook, that we used to "walk-the-dawg" before that phrase was born. A topwater killer that all serious bass men had in their tackle box , along with Lazy Ikes, Flatfish. and Jitterbugs, multiple sizes and color patterns with each. These were common baits in my fishing youth. Not able to fish like I once did, but man-oh-man do I have some great fishing memories to fall back on. This Lazy Ike video was more than an old fisherman, that once fished them, could stand. So I posted this long message to support this gents Lazy Ike commentary. This video struck a raw nerve and warm spot in me at the same time and I thank this man respectfully!
Thank you for sharing all that! Great info!! Appreciate you watching
Nice video...my name is Jim Askelson..Joe Kautzky sr was my great grandpa..Joe Kautzky jr a great uncle..my grandma was Marie kautzky Grant and there was another brother Rudy Kautzky..The lure you are asking about was a TOP IKE..it came in 2 different sizes and several color variations...Joe Kautzky Jr invented this lure and recieved a patent on it in the early 1950's. I have been collecting ikes for many years now and have over 1000+ ..no 2 are the same..always looking for ones I do not have ..shoot me a message if you or anybody has any for sale..so happy these are still being talked about and collected nearly 90 years later..I also have several of the sizes that still have the ends on them from when they were turned on the lathe..really cool pieces..thanks for keeping the ike alive !!!
Hey Nicole. That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing and taking the time to write in. My father-in-law grew up in Fort Dodge and remembers visiting the sporting goods store as a kid. Over 1000 Ike’s?!? That’s an impressive collection. That would be cool to see. If you ever want to share pics or vids of your collection, I’d be happy to make a video sharing that on CZcams. Thanks again for watching!
@@anglingarchaeologywow . That’s so great that a Kautzky family member reached out to you. It really is a small world. I remember pillaging through my fathers tackle box ( got in big trouble when he realized half his lures were missing) and the first thing that caught my eye was a lazy ime in a perch pattern. I fantasized about catching a huge pike on it. Never caught a darn thing on it. 🤣 but I wouldn’t hesitate to use one now. Great video. You got a new subscriber ✌️🎣🐸🇺🇸
Over my past bass fishing years, especially when I was a young, struggling financially lawman, my tackle box was most modest as far as crank baits were concerned. At a local bait shop, something rare nowadays, the owner had a "swap-a-lure" board mounted on the wall by the cash register. Many fisherman were like myself, not a hold lot of money for recreation, so the 50-cent swap-a-lures on the board was perfect for acquiring a quality bait at a modest price, or else, you could swap a bait for one of the lures on the board, even-steven. Most of my Lazy Ikes came by way of this board. The Lazy Ike was very popular in the mid-west part of Georgia in the 50's and 60's. A # 3 or # 4 size Lazy Ike, in a frog or silver pattern, was deadly bait while fishing in a pond, lake, creek, or river. The Heddon Game Fisher, a bait I could not afford, was another popular bait, when fishing in the still waters of a pond or lake. A perch pattern seem to be favored by fishermen for the Game Fisher. Those baits (Game Fisher) were bringing about 5-dollars in the 1960's, if memory serves. I snagged my Game Fisher off Mr. Chaney's "swap-a-lure" board for 50-cents. I fished it long and hard for a couple of years before losing it on a underwater snag. By that time Mr. Chaney and his baitshop had faded into the sunset. The Lazy Ike quit being marketed in this area starting in the mid-to-late 1970's. Newer, different designed baits that caught fish, could be fished fast, something a fisherman cannot do with the Lazy Ike. The Cordell Big O was a big seller, Tom Mann was just spitting distance away from Columbus and his baits flood the sporting goods sections of big department stores. But the Game Fisher had ceased being produced years before I ever acquired my first one. The Heddon Vamp & River Runt were a couple of other popular 1950's lures around here. I'm so sorry for the length of this post. Your great video stirs up some very precious fishing memories the good Lord blessed me with in my youth. Before I hit the Nursing Home scene, I still have my old fishing tackle, especially the old fishing lures, once popular, no longer produced. I hope to share those fishing artifacts with a collector of bass baits. Just don't expect to see some of this modern stuff that 2023 bass fishermen use for winning bass tournaments.
What an incredible story! Thank you for sharing that. It’s sad that places like Mr. Chaney’s are almost all but faded away these days. I love the idea of the “swap a lure” program. What might not work for you might be someone else’s favorite lure, and vise versa. Thank you again for sharing. I do these videos to keep the history/memory alive. I appreciate you watching!!
Loved the beer add intro. The effort you take into all that research is appreciated. Photos of old addresses is a great touch . The lineage of American ownership through time, tugs at a patriotic heart, while at the same time saddens the soul to see the small man fade away into conglomerates. Just for a profit decision to end history. The '77, '78 catalogs would look great against your Bronco. I think that unknown lure is a Chicken Hawk. Larry Dahlberg used the idea to make a tarpon lure. Have fun with the ice, it's in the 90's here.
Thank you Henry! I really appreciate that. I do these vids to try and keep those names alive. I think it's great to know how lures originated. They put a lot of effort into creating what might be a simple lure to most. I'm hoping the ice is gone for good... we're in the home stretch for spring!
Great fishing video . I love the music . Thanks for the Lazy Ike history . Now I know mine can't be replaced if I loose em so they're going in the retired tackle box . Thanks !
That's what I call an intro! The funky Ike is known as a Spinning Top Ike or Top Ike. You can get them on eBay or around $10 and up. Very strange-looking lure. And that bass that you finally caught! Super pretty, and healthy. Great episode.
Thanks man! I appreciate the info! I looked all over and couldn’t seem to track that down. Thanks for the help. Yes.. I had all odds stacked against me… especially with that hook falling out, but persistence pays off! 👊🏼 Thanks for watching
First pike on an Ike back in the 70 s here in Upstate NY. Always loved the Ike & Flat fish style lures. Thanks for the history lesson .
They were always a good lure for spawning fish, run across or near a nest and its deadly. My first tackle box, when I was about 6, had one in it, and I still have it, a red spotted version. I've also added several over the years.
Helen's Flatfish was another similar lure that worked well, both were also great for chain pickerel and crappie.
Dad would take us trolling around a lake in northern Minnesota every summer for a few years in the 80's. We caught a Northern with one of these almost every time we put it in the water. That just wasn't the target species, is all.
Thank you for making this video. My dad was a Lazy Ike fan and this lure always reminds me of him - he’d regularly haul in pike, walleye, and bass on this lure. Growing up with this lure on-hand I became quite good at fishing with this too. You can use it to simulate an injured fish by letting it float up now and then while reeling it in - I’ve had a lot of success with this method.
Also one other thing - because it’s so light it doesn’t always make the best casting lure but it is a fantastic little trolling lure especially at real slow speeds like in a canoe trolling for small mouth bass.
Thank You Chris! It was a lot of fun making this video. It’s a great little lure and has awesome action. When I caught the Bass I was doing that exact motion… stopping, letting it rise, reel, repeat.
There’s a lot of great nostalgia with these lures. Thanks for watching and subscribing!
Grew up 20 miles east of fort Dodge. I've got a handful of the real early Ike's. Thanks for making this video, definitely earned a sub.
Tight lines!
That’s awesome! Thank you for watching and subscribing 😃👍🏼
I use in shallower rocky waters bouncing off the bottom, I've never caught while trolling or fishing in heavier current
FYI I used to fish with a guy named Ike Schessleman from eastern Iowa. He made the lure in his shop in Strawberry Point,Ia . Original ones were hand carved and he used feathers that were varnished on for color. I saw his display case and his original carvings. He said he made them till he went into the service and when home needed money so sold the rights to Kautzky. I would have never heard of that store if he had not told me. History doesn't align with the story in the Lure history site that you shared info from.
God i couldnt imagine getting back to my car and finding my trailer being gone after a fishing trip.
Chiefs Kingdom Rocks The World Again
You know it 🤘🏼🍻
The weird lure at 8:26 is a Kautzky Top Ike .
Ahhh Thank you! I couldn’t find anything on it. Now I know. Appreciate the help. Thanks for watching!
65 years old and never got a bite on that goofy thing
I was losing hope, but wasn’t going to stop until something hit it. I bet it thrives best in the spring.
"de-thaw"?