Bob Ousley

The Snook Minnow / Magician

Ousley History

Born in 1926 in Memphis, Tennessee Bob worked for Sears for 35 years before the company moved him to Florida in 1955. Bob loved the water, and he also loved fishing, spear fishing and collected tropical fish for aquariums. This is when he saw his first Snook. Bob’s first hookup with a Snook started an addiction. Bob could not find a lure that would give him what he was looking for in a bait…..Something that would go 5 to 8 inches below the surface so decided to make his own.

In 1965 Bob carved his first model and made some for his own use in 3 sizes. He carved them out of cedar and each had a cut in the mouth instead of a metal diving lip and this is what made them dive the 8 inches he was looking for. His lures also had carved gills and a minnow shaped tail. To me it looks just like a baby Snook. His eye’s were taxidermy eyes and were red in color though some have just a painted eye. As said before the baits were made in 3 sizes. The smallest was a great lure but caught to many small Snook so he concentrated more on the two larger sizes. These had less action than the small one but this was what he was looking for in a bait.

The Snook Minnow

The Snook Minnow

Ousley Snook Minnows

The Snook Minnow was packaged in a plastic bag with a paper insert and offered in five colors and only in two sizes. There is a two piece cardboard box they were found in and marked BOB-O-TACKLE CO. You need to buy Volume III of “Florida Lure Makers and Their Lures” to read the rest of this very interesting story but be careful not to get hooked!

Much of the information on this page was obtained by utilizing the information provided by Doug Brace, Bill Stuart, and Russell Riddle in “Florida Lure Makers and Their Lures” (Currently out of print). The information we have provided is only a portion of the story.  If interested in purchasing this book, please reach out to other collectors in our forum to inquire about availability.

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