The Unstoppable Flatfish - Part 1
David Hutton, Palmetto Fly n Fish
December, 2022
All rights reserved

Today we do a deep dive on one of my favorite fishing lures - The Helin "Flatfish."

The World Famous Flatfish

For some of you, this lure may be a puzzler. One look and you're saying, "What the heck is that thing?"
Well, that "thing" is a swimming lure that has been around since the early 1930's. It is one of oldest artificial lures in continuous series production.
But the well-schooled fisherman immediately recognizes the familiar shape. Odds are also good that he knows what a fine lure it is.
It has stood the test of time and whole generations of fishermen cut their teeth on it,... it is the original, "banana plug."

It is none other than the venerable Helin Flatfish.

The Beginnings and The Man
The Flatfish was created by a Detroit auto worker named Charles Helin. "Charlie" was born in 1905, In New York City, and like many young men of his day, he eventually made his way to Detroit to work in the automobile industry. He was a devout fisherman, though, and it is said he rarely held a permanent job making cars..., because he wanted his summers free to fish.

Throughout the 1920's, he used his spare time to tinker with, and create, as many as 100 different lures, from spoons to spinners.
   But through it all, he wanted to address TWO key challenges:

The commercial lures of the day were crude, and their action was unreliable outside a particular retrieve speed. Whenever the retrieve was altered, the action disappeared
Hooking action was also poor, and the fish spotted them as fakes too often.

   Helin wanted to design a lure that overcame these shortcomings, especially the inconsistency and low-speed failures. At the time, this was a novel idea, but it ultimately opened the door to the modern swimming lures and crankbaits seen today.

   So with his vision in mind, Charlie started whittling wooden plugs in different shapes and sizes. He was looking for the perfect marriage of delicate design, good hook setting qualities, and reliable action.
He had no CAD program, by the way - this was basically a man with basic tools, going by trial-and-error and experience!
   Helin's was mainly interested in a super bass lure, but predatory fish are similar in their habits - he wanted a bass lure, but he ended up with a lure having universal appeal.
   By the spring of 1933, Helin had carved about 1,500 individual plugs by hand, and was homed in on the final design that would become the Flatfish.

   In August of that year, he went with his fishing pals to Big Lake, in Davisburg, Michigan. He brought along several of his finished prototypes for testing, and the party had immediate success with the resident bass in the lake.
   The lure had a seductive wiggling action that predatory fish found irresistible, and a unique, balance-offset, detachable hook arrangement that almost guaranteed hook-ups.

After some minor tweaks were made, he named his lure, "The Flatfish," in September, 1933.

Commercial Success
   Helin got a patent for the design in 1934, and the first handmade, wooden Flatfish went to market in that year. He sold 400.
   But the Flatfish really was unlike the other lures before it, and it caught a LOT of fish. The popularity of the Flatfish steadily increased, and at the close of 1937, over 10,000 lures had been sold - and Helin was now employing six people to make them.
Such was the success of the Flatfish, that he left the auto industry and formed the Helin Tackle Company.
  Between 1934 and 1949, over 5 million Flatfish were sold. How many more might have gone out to anglers, were it not for WWII? One can only wonder.

   Somewhere around 1946, the Flatfish started moving from a hand-made wood body to injection-molded plastic, to save manufacturing and labor costs.
   In time, Helin’s Flatfish would become the best selling minnow plug* in the world. By 1970, something like 40 million Flatfish had been sold. Perhaps only Eppingers, "Daredevle" spoon comes close to those numbers.

* Today we call them crank baits. Back then they were called, "minnow plugs"

   During its run, the Flatfish was made in models for fly fishing, trolling, surface casting, deep diving, salt water, and to cover a range of specific species.

By 1971, it was made in nearly 40 different special and standard colors, it spanned sizes from 1 inch to 7 inches, and it featured the trademark offset hooks on wire spreader bars under the lure,... as well as more conventional inline hook configurations.

Helin standard color selection, 1971

Charlie Helin kept a precise fishing journal going back to the early 1920's. so his fishing exploits and lure-making efforts were well documented. He was also an avid photographer.
Starting in 1939, and for the rest of the time that he ran the company, he used these talents to personally oversee the catalogs and brochures for which the company became well known.
These printed works weren't just sales pieces, either. They pulled together his fishing experiences, letters from users, his own photos, tips and tweaks, rigging information, and more....they were essentially fishing tutorials.

What Mr. Helin Wants You To Know

   - Helin insisted that several smaller, lighter hooks offered greater penetration and holding power than a few large hooks, and they were a signature feature on the Flatfish.

   - The use of snap swivels was discouraged with the Flatfish; Helin believed they robbed the lure of its natural appearance and motion. To that end, the lure was fitted with a twisted wire/figure 8 link at the eye.
   You can see both the spreader bar with hooks, below, and the connecting link in the opening foto.

1940 Box Insert - the unique hook spreaders are clearly shown

- Helin despised the many cheap imitations of his lure that inevitably appeared. "It took me 10 years to get the Flatfish right," he said, "and no quick made knock-off will have the precision or action of the real thing. The Flatfish is the only fishing lure that swims perfectly at all speeds, BUT, especially at slow - almost crawling - speeds, without losing any of its lifelike swimming action."

The Made Man
The Flatfish has sold in the tens of millions, caught countless fish over the decades, and has a number of record-breaking catches to its credit. This overwhelming success allowed the affable, outgoing Helin to travel the world and live rather luxuriously. One picture of him exists with a then-Miss Universe, aboard his personal aircraft, "Flying Flatfish V."
He was friends with Jean Sibelius, the great Finnish composer; I don't suppose many men could say that much. Helin was reported to be a kind, gregarious, and generous fellow, with a flamboyant streak and that peculiar, larger-than-life confidence found in many a self-made man.

Charles Helin passed away in 1979, age 74, in Detroit, Michigan.
The Helin Tackle Company was purchased in 1988 by the Yakima Bait Company. Today, the Flatfish is still made and sold under the Yakima and Worden names, in over 100 colors, and 14 sizes.

Charles Helin, L

Charles "Charlie" Helin

Writers should always strive for a job well done... even mediocre ones like me. So if you found value in this article, please like, comment, and share it.

Do you have questions, gripes, or suggestions?
If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com

If you appreciate a no-drama, no-hype Facebook group, follow this link and come join us at: Palmetto Fly n Fish

Thanks so much for reading, and...

Tight Lines,

Dave Hutton

- references

1. www.yakimabait.com

2. PA Angler Magazine

3. https://www.yakimabait.com/blog/2017-11-16-the-history-of-the-classic-flatfish/

4. https://www.dependablepickup.com/how-deep-do-flatfish-lures-go/

5. https://www.michigansportsman.com/Tips_n_Trix/Flatfish_Tuning.htm

Palmetto Fly N' Fish

FEATURED POST

Worm Farming... Again!

Wednesday, January 4, 2023