"CreekSpeak"

IDENTIFYING CCBCO LURE COLORS 1916-1960
ONLY CATALOG COLORS ARE LISTED HERE. NO SPECIAL COLORS.
03 Silver Shiner – An underrated color that was made on certain baits for a limited time & others for many years. This color is often mistaken for 00 Chub & 07 Mullet. A close comparison can usually help identify which is which.  Later Silver Shiner baits often have a faint pink stripe along the sides.
04 Golden Shiner – This is the only color to use this number after CCBCO standardized the numbering system in 1925. Made for many decades so you will encounter different size scale patterns & differing hues of golden scales. A much different color than #06 Goldfish so don't confuse the two.

05 Red Side & Dace – Although there are obvious differences, Creek Chub always listed them with the same number & essentially implied Dace & a newer version of Red Side superseded the earlier Old Red Side pattern. The early Red Side has larger scales & a blended red stripe along the sides. The later Red Side has smaller scales & an all red side without the many blended hues of the old type. Dace is similar to the new Red Side except there is always a blue stripe where the back & sides meet on Dace. The new Red Side is the scarcest of the three, overall. Dace is often mistakenly offered as new Red Side. An early Red Side & a Dace are shown.
06 Goldfish – A beautiful color scheme first offered during the “Intro” era (pre 1920). As usual, there are variations in painting on this color because of its long tenure. It wasn't discontinued until 1954. The back is orange with golden side scales & the cheeks are either silver or gold. A later Goldfish was introduced in the 1960’s that was similar to the old pattern except it had silver background to the scales & the lure had tack eyes instead of glass eyes. Another late bait was the #06 Gold Scale. It was a real yellow/golden color (no orange). Both late baits are out of the range of our study.

07 Mullet – Another gorgeous color which was made for several decades, resulting in many scale patterns & hues. There are examples ranging from a silvery blue to a deep aqua color, light gray or even green. Mullet is often confused with 00 Chub & 03 Silver Shiner. Although made for a long time, Mullet was produced on certain baits for a few short years. Three variations of Mullet are shown.

08 Rainbow – A very popular color. Produced on 21 different lures. The early production rainbows have a silver back while the later ones within this study USUALLY display a blue back. Don't confuse the name with the totally different fluorescent Rainbow Fire (#31). The cheaper Shur-Strike lure was also made in a variation of this color.
09 Brilliant Greenback – A scarce color on any bait. Produced only on the Wiggler, Baby Wiggler, Underwater Spinner Minnow, & Creek & River Fishing Lure. The pre-1920 examples will often exhibit a darker green scale pattern. You will also encounter a bronze/green shade & the more traditional light green design that is simply beautiful, at least to lure collectors. One clue to correctly identifying this color is the scale design. Instead of wrapping around to the belly area, it ends just below the eyes about ½ way down the sides. Don't confuse this with the Chub finish.
10 Blue Head & White – There isn't a problem identifying this one. It's a simple white lure with a dipped blue head & it is a catalog color only on the #700 Pikie series (#710). Made until c.1949.
11 White Head & Black – Not as scarce as the #10 Blue & White color. #11 was made in five different lures. No trick to identifying this one. Also see #11 Black with Nite Glo.
11 Black with Nite Glo – Made only for the #4100 series Jigger (#4111). Appears to be the same as the #11 White Head & Black except the head is luminous on the #4100 series Jigger.
12 All Red - A very scarce color made for the Wiggler & Baby Wiggler only. Beware of repaints on this tough color. Use caution when buying this color. Obtain it from a reliable source that knows the lure's history.
13 All Black – A very scarce color on MOST lures. It is usually available on the Midget Pikies, Dingbats & #3200 Plunker series. Similar to other solid colors which are easy to repaint, beware of scarcer lures in this color. Buy only from a very reliable source.
14 Yellow Spotted – A very scarce color on many baits but usually available on Darters. The spots were airbrushed over a solid yellow.
15 Tan Crab – This color available on the Crawdad & Baby Crawdad only. A combo of tan & army green. Not considered a rare color.
15 Plain Luminous – This is an early number for this color. See #17 for full details.
16 River Peeler – You will find this color combo on the #300 series Crawdad & #400 series Baby Crawdad only. The paint job is comprised of a steel blue & olive green. Sometimes the blue can be a more vivid hue. 
17 Plain Luminous – This white bait was offered in the 1925 catalog as #15 color on the #1500 series Injured Minnow. Tan Crab already used this number on the Crawdad & Baby Crawdad so it was decided to change this luminous bait to #17. For the next few years it was sometimes listed as #17 color under the Injured Minnow & sometimes only in the general index of colors available! Evidently this color wasn't a good seller because it was no longer listed anywhere by 1930. A catalog color on the #1500 Injured Minnow series only. Also, see #02 White which is similar in appearance.
18 Silver Flash – A very popular color. It was definitely one of Creek Chub’s best sellers. Available on 72 different lures! Characterized by the olive green head, chain stripe down the back & the side glitter. Generally common but can be tough on certain baits.
19 Frog – This color was listed for some reason as a 00 color on the #2000 series Darter until 1933. It was then reassigned the correct #19 color code. This was another best seller for CCBCO. The shades of green used on the body & irregular spots will have different hues from one period of time to the next.
20 Green Gar – A unique color reserved for the #2900 series Gar Minnow bait only! It has a beautiful two-tone green scale design. Fairly scarce & can be expensive if the Gar is in superior condition.
21 Day-N-Nite – Also known as Night-Glo. The first title is the earliest. It was changed to Night-Glo in the late 1930’s. It's difficult to determine this color from the #18 Silver Flash until you turn out the lights. This bait should glow in the dark because the underlying paint is luminous. If it has lost its glow, you got a Silver Flash because you can't prove otherwise. Made for the Pikie, Injured Minnow & Baby Injured Minnow only.
22 Luminous Red Head & White – Also known as a Nite-Glo & Red Head. The first title is the earliest. It was changed to the second title in the late 1930’s. Offered only on the #700 Pikie series as #722. It has sparkle on the white portion of the body. Scarce, but not rare.
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