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The Bass-Oreno company
South Bend Bait Company built its empire on one shape: the Bass-Oreno, a slope-faced wooden plug introduced in 1915 that wobbled like nothing before it. Millions were sold, and the -Oreno suffix spread across a whole family of lures, from the tiny Fish-Oreno to the two-piece Truck-Oreno, one of the strangest and most valuable production lures ever made.
Because Bass-Orenos are so common, condition and color decide everything. Standard red-head-white examples are beginner-friendly, while early glass-eye versions, scarce colors, and the oversized musky variants bring real premiums. The Truck-Oreno, with its spinning head and bucktail tail, is the brand's grail.
| Model | Era | Type | Typical value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bass-Oreno | 1915+ | Wobbler | $10 – $60 | Glass-eye early versions and rare colors lead |
| Truck-Oreno | 1938-1940s | Musky topwater | $500 – $2,500 | The brand grail; parts must all be original |
| Vacuum Bait | 1920s | Topwater | $75 – $300 | Odd cup-faced design, earlier than it looks |
| Surf-Oreno | 1916+ | Topwater prop | $25 – $120 | Musky sizes and rare colors climb fast |
| Fish-Oreno | 1926+ | Wobbler | $30 – $100 | Metal head plate is the identifier |
| Panatella Minnow | 1912-1920s | Underwater minnow | $100 – $400 | Slim five-hook minnow from the earliest years |
Good collector condition, no box. The original box typically makes the package worth 3-4x more.
Full walkthrough: how to identify old fishing lures. Ready to sell? Check which lures are worth money.
The app confirms the model and era from one photo and shows live eBay listings for the same lure, so you know what yours is worth today.
Common examples sell for $10-40, but early glass-eye versions, scarce colors, and boxed examples reach well past $100. It is the perfect brand for starting a collection without spending much.
Complete original examples typically bring $500-2,500 depending on condition, with exceptional boxed examples going higher. Reproductions and married parts are common, so buy carefully.
Wood dominated until the late 1940s, when plastic took over most of the line. Glass eyes disappeared earlier, during the 1930s.