The "Jumping Jo" is a hollow metal bait which measures 3 3/4" in length and weighs about 2/3 ounce. It was produced by Electronic Units, Inc., of Dayton, Ohio, sometime around 1946. As far as I know, it is the only lure ever made by this company.
It is a surface lure and is unusual in that the line tie is located on the bottom fin of the lure. The rear treble weight combined with the buoyance of the lure caused the bait to stand vertically in the water when at rest, tail down. Once at rest, the bait was to be retrieved by using 'short jerks', thereby causing the lure to 'jump' completely out of the water, and then allowing it to again come to rest. Large metal horizontal fins which run completely around the lure added to the lure's 'splash' as it hit the water after take-off!
Jumping Jo comes in a orange striped box. Instructions for fishing the lure are found on the bottom so there is no paper inside the box. The side of the box typically contains the number "4" and color code letters and name for the lure although unmarked boxes do exist.
The price listed for the lure on the box was "$1.25" and that "includes federal tax" - whatever tax that was I can't imagine!
I believe there are 7 different colors for the Jumping Jo including Orange & Black, Frog, Yellow, Red & White, Silver, Black, and Perch as shown in the following color chart:
 Black (B) |
 Frog (F) |
 Orange & Black (O&B) |
 Perch (P) |
 Red & White (R&W) |
 Silver (S) |
 Yellow (Y) |
 Some of the lures have "Jumping Jo" imprinted in ink on the bottom fin while others do not. |
One of the strange things about this lure is that it seems to be more easily found new-in-the-box than most lures and in fact, I've seen very few without the box. I've heard a rumor that someone found a large cache of these in some warehouse and that is why there are so many! Of course, it could just be that the lure didn't work very well and fishermen just didn't use them!
Collector value for these new-in-the-box runs from $25 to $35.
If you have any further information on any of the items displayed on this page which you'd like to share, please send your comments to me and I'll update the page accordingly. Contributions of interesting items and/or unknowns are encouraged! Lures pictured in Lure Lore are not for sale!
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Web Author: Tom Jacomet
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