Bagley Balsa Shiner/Pinfish Series

    In the late 70's and early 80's, if you could find a semi-active school of fish in relatively clear water, it was time to unleash Bagley's secret weapon, the Shiner/Pinfish. This often overlooked Bagley jewel, which was designed to run in 18 inches of water or less, could really catch 'em, given the right circumstances. I'm guessing these lures were most popular in Florida, where there was a lot of "skinny" water, because they were as rare as chicken teeth in my part of the country. The few Pinfish I did have were usually pretty beat up, as they were not a particularily durable lure. The primary reason for this was because the lead weight, which was located in the nose of the lure, created a harsh contrast to the much softer hard wood that surrounded it. Just sitting in your tackle box, the paint would often crack down the edges where the lead weight touched the wood, due to environmental conditions alone (e.g. heat, cold, humidity). Also, a poorly thrown cast into hard cover would very often produce a damaged lure because of the difficulty Bagley's craftsmen had getting paint to bond to the lead weight.

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