Lot 1836 email save

Rare O.C. Tuttle Deep Sea Bug Lure

Rare O.C. Tuttle Deep Sea Bug. Measuring about 9" long, (5 3/4" hook), red back, white belly with black hackle, yellow painted eyes, strong Ex condition, seldom offered.

Orley C. Tuttle (1876-1943) is credited with producing the first commercial deer hair tied fly, the Tuttle Devil Bug. By all accounts, the Old Forge, New York lure manufacturer developed this historic bait after fishing on the edge of a local lake where he observed hungry small mouth bass dinning on beetles. His ingenious lure was an attempt to imitate the insects by bundling strands of deer hair over a hook, clipping them into the desired shape, and hand painting details such as eyes and body stripes. When he showed his creation to his wife Lotti, she replied "It looks like a devil to me". In the year 1919, the Devil Bug was born, starting a decades long lure making business for the Tuttles. By 1922 the O.C. Tuttle company was selling over 50,000 baits a year, with over 800 design, color and size variations. Both the Devil Bug and the Tuttle Mouse, which is most likely the first flyrod mouse, introduced prior to 1926, are considered two of the finest hair tied baits of the early 20th century. Collectors prize not only the intricate hair baits and the colorful hand painted trolling spoons, but the trademark orange picture boxes they were packaged in. The following 28 lots were purchased directly from Edith Tuttle Morcy, daughter of O.C. Tuttle, by the consignor more than a decade ago. The Tuttle lots subsequent, were consigned from a long time Tuttle collector, many of these lures having originally come from the Tuttle family or having been purchased in the Old Forge area many years ago.