I picked up a tackle box full of lures at a garage sale and the majority of lures were different size flatfish. Has anyone used them? What species are they commonly used for and has anyone used them in Texas? Based on the other items in the box, I would guess the tackle was used up north.

My Dad had a few flat fish and more " lazy ikes", a similarly shaped bait. He used them for bass fishing.

I think they are intended for Pike .

MO

Wow! The old Helin Flatfish....... What a find! I used them a lot as a kid; in Vermont, New Jersey, and Florida. Don't know if they ever had a salt water model, but there was a wide range of sizes for a wide range of fish sizes. I caught trout and bass galore on them up north. I always liked the medium and larger ones that had a harness to offset the front trebles out to the sides. They caught a lot of fish. If I remember correctly, they were made in both wood and plastic. I recall gluing a wooden one together that I broke hitting a culvert on a wide cast. They were great lures.

My Dad used to use them for bass. I was never a fan but I am sure they will work.

As I recall, they were go-to lures for my brother and me. You could work them from barely moving to fairly fast, and you could twitch them in place. They definitely caught fish.

what a find

Flatfish are old school lures and, based on size and colors, effective for panfish, trout, bass, musky, pike and most predatory fish. Coming from the West Coast, I used them to catch hundreds of Ckinook and Coho salmon, steelhead and smallmouth bass. Largemouth are not as attraced because they are not generally found in swift water where the current makes the flatfish move much more rapidly which triggers strikes. If you fish them in lakes, ponds or slow moving water, you need to fast crank them for best results.

Once you learn how to use them in your environment, they can be very effective. I suggest you start by selecting a few in the 2” - 3” size and frog or green pattern and troll them at about 2-3 mph about 10’ offshore. You might be suprised because I bet the bass have never seen one before

Nice haul! I have caught many trout in northern New Mexico on those back in the 60's.

My Dad use to troll them on Lake Erie for walleye back in the 60's and 70's... White with red and black dots... They had a front spreader bar that made them 3 treble hooks... They put a piece of nightcrawlers on the rear hook... Dan

In the mid 70’s I had a bait really similar to these. It was a Heddon Tadpolly. It was one size down from the largest ones you have in the picture. Don’t remember much about it, but it was solid black with a wide wobble. Hooked a good sized fish on it that I never got a look at. One my first times bass fishing and didn’t know about setting the hook, sharpening a hook or having a rod with the backbone to hook a bass.