Little Cleo 'wiggle girl'

[SirCranksalot]

I snagged 1 of those from a river bottom a little while back. Anyone know how old these things are?

 

Just cleaned layers of gunk on it and can now see the girl.

[Rod Caster]

Must have been a cold river, eh?

[skidoosafari]

1) Little Cleo

She was a hootchie-kootchie girl who for 43 years had her dancer's image stamped on the back of a fishing lure. A New York City songwriter named Charlie Clark saw Little Cleo perform during the 1930s; when he developed this popular spoon with its wiggling, dancing action in 1953, she became its namesake. In 1996 a female employee of a major retailer took offense at the dancer's image on the lure, and for the sake of newfound political correctness, the image was removed by Acme Tackle of Rhode Island, the current manufacturer. Little Cleo spoons are thick in proportion to their surface area, so they fish relatively deep. This makes them a favorite trout spoon, but in sizes ranging from 1/16 to 11/4 ounce, they're suitable for everything from panfish to steelhead and stripers.

[manitoubass2]

1) Little Cleo

She was a hootchie-kootchie girl who for 43 years had her dancer's image stamped on the back of a fishing lure. A New York City songwriter named Charlie Clark saw Little Cleo perform during the 1930s; when he developed this popular spoon with its wiggling, dancing action in 1953, she became its namesake. In 1996 a female employee of a major retailer took offense at the dancer's image on the lure, and for the sake of newfound political correctness, the image was removed by Acme Tackle of Rhode Island, the current manufacturer. Little Cleo spoons are thick in proportion to their surface area, so they fish relatively deep. This makes them a favorite trout spoon, but in sizes ranging from 1/16 to 11/4 ounce, they're suitable for everything from panfish to steelhead and stripers.

Epic

[MrSimon]

A 1/3 oz little cleo is one of my absolute favorite lures.

 

I have one in orange and silver that has caught me so many fish that I retired it. It's hanging above my fishing desk in the basement. I'm proud to say that it has the dancing girl on the back. I'm convinced the original models catch more fish .... mostly male fish though.

[esoxansteel]

im now checking out my Cleo stash for the hootchie momma

[SirCranksalot]

1) Little Cleo

She was a hootchie-kootchie girl who for 43 years had her dancer's image stamped on the back of a fishing lure. A New York City songwriter named Charlie Clark saw Little Cleo perform during the 1930s; when he developed this popular spoon with its wiggling, dancing action in 1953, she became its namesake. In 1996 a female employee of a major retailer took offense at the dancer's image on the lure, and for the sake of newfound political correctness, the image was removed by Acme Tackle of Rhode Island, the current manufacturer. Little Cleo spoons are thick in proportion to their surface area, so they fish relatively deep. This makes them a favorite trout spoon, but in sizes ranging from 1/16 to 11/4 ounce, they're suitable for everything from panfish to steelhead and stripers.

 

 

Wow! Thx. The wonders of Google. I guess I should have checked. So it looks like the last were prob sold around 1997. I'm not sure how long mine was at the bottom of the river. Funny though, there wasn't enough of the hook left to create a snag. Steel tends to rust slowly when submerged compared to when it's exposed to damp air, so I guess it had been there for a while.

[esoxansteel]

checked my Cleo stash found 14 Cleos with the Wiggle Girl, the rest just had Little Cleo then the weight on the back

[solopaddler]

I had zero clue the image wasn't still on the lure. Since '97 eh? Wow. I'll bet I have over a hundred on the old ones.