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Veltic – the story of the world's best spinner <in Swedish>

Text and photo: Per Persson

There are lures that catch fish. There are lures that bring back memories. And then there are lures that, after decades, have reached an almost mythical status.
The Rublex Veltic belongs to the last category.
The little spinner is not particularly modern. It is not the longest-casting lure, it has no advanced jointed construction and it lacks many of the features that today's lure makers like to highlight. Yet it keeps catching fish, year after year and generation after generation.
At Pelles Fiske the verdict has long been clear:
The Veltic is the undisputed number one!
This is above all based on many years of fishing for grayling and perch, but also on catches of trout, whitefish, pike and several more unexpected species. At the same time, the Veltic has a far more branched history than you might first think. The model has been around since the 1950s, has been manufactured in both France and Spain and has appeared in a large number of colours and special versions.
What follows is an attempt to gather the story of the Veltic, from Erik Widén's Swedish description in 1974 to the Pearl series, the older black colours and the still living Dutch Veltic family.

A French classic from the 1950s
The Veltic was created within the classic French spinner brand Rublex. The model is said to have been introduced in 1953, and thus belongs to the generation of European spinners that were established during the great post-war expansion of sport fishing.
Rublex is above all associated with France, but the manufacturing was taken over around 1990 by the Spanish company Lukris. This means that older Veltics may be marked or packaged as French-made, while later specimens come from Spain.
The basic construction, on the other hand, has changed surprisingly little.
The Veltic is recognized by its elongated, almost egg-shaped blade. The blade is relatively flat and has stamped or embossed wave lines. It is suspended in a U-shaped clevis and rotates close to the axis of the spinner. The body is spindle-shaped and grooved, and in front of the treble hook normally sits the characteristic red plastic tube.
It is a simple construction, but it works.
The blade starts working quickly and keeps rotating even at a slow retrieve. The narrow rotation angle makes the Veltic run stably at a useful medium depth, and it works well also in flowing water.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing is not that the Veltic was designed in the 1950s, but that it still looks essentially the same.

Erik Widén's description from 1974
An important source for the Veltic's Swedish history is Erik Widén's book Drag för drag – en handbok om spinn- och haspelbeten ("Lure by lure – a handbook of casting and spinning lures"), published in 1974.
In the book, Widén describes and evaluates a large number of the lures of the time. He covers construction, weights, colours, hooks, casting properties and action in the water. The Veltic is among the lures that receive a very positive verdict.
Widén's description reads (translated from the Swedish):
Veltic: Blade spinner with a spindle-shaped, grooved body. The elongated, almost flat blade has stamped wave patterns on the outside and is mounted in a U-shaped clevis.
Weights: 2, 3.5, 5 and 8 grams.
Colours: Red/G, Red/K, Black/G, Black/K, S, G, K.
Hooks: A thin, bronzed treble of French type, which should be replaced with a stronger one if bigger fish are around.
Casting properties: Ordinary.
Action in the water: Spins excellently at all speeds. Runs at medium depth.
Comment: The two-gram version of this spinner has for many years been one of my absolute favourite lures for perch. It has also shown great attraction for more odd species such as asp, bream, ide and even roach, which in some cases may have taken it for an insect. The larger models of the Veltic, on the other hand, are to be regarded as rather mediocre.
Widén's verdict is interesting for several reasons.
Firstly, he notes that the Veltic spins well at all speeds. That is still one of the model's foremost qualities.
Secondly, he highlights the two-gram version. It is precisely the smallest Veltic that has later come to enjoy almost cult status among many perch and grayling fishermen.
Thirdly, the colour list shows that the 1974 range did not look the same as today's.

The small Veltic was the best one even back then
Erik Widén was particularly fond of the two-gram version. His idea that small fish may sometimes perceive the spinner as an insect is not unreasonable. The small Veltic gives off rapid vibrations and small flashes of light, while moving considerably more discreetly than a larger blade lure.
At Pelles Fiske the experiences have been similar.
The article about Drag för drag (in Swedish) tells, among other things, about a fishing trip where the Veltic produced three grayling during the first part of the fishing alone. When the trip was summed up, the catch had grown to five grayling and four perch.
The fishing companion used a spinner that in appearance closely resembled a Veltic. The difference was summarized like this:
“He used a spinner that was similar to my Veltic in every way – the difference was that it was not a Veltic!”
This is of course not a scientifically controlled comparison. But when the same thing happens on repeated fishing trips, it becomes increasingly hard to dismiss the result as pure coincidence.
On the page where the world's best lures are ranked (in Swedish), Harran and Räven did not agree on everything. Rapala and Panter were ranked differently depending on who made the list.
But about first place there was no doubt.
Both put the Veltic as number one.
Räven's verdict was clear:
“The Veltic is utterly superior to these spinners.”
The smallest models were described as the best ones and as nearly impossible to beat. Harran emphasized the Veltic as superior for grayling, but also as very effective for trout, perch and whitefish.

The Veltic colours through history
Writing the Veltic's construction history is relatively easy. Sorting out all the colours is considerably harder.
Older Rublex catalogues are only partly digitized. The same colour may have been called different things on different markets, and shops have sometimes used their own translations instead of Rublex's official codes.
In addition, the Veltic seems to have had several parallel product lines. Alongside the French-Spanish Rublex series there are, among others, Pearl variants, regional fish-imitating colours and an extensive Dutch family that is often sold as Albatros Veltic or simply Veltic.
Nevertheless, several distinct eras can be discerned.

The early metallic colours
The pure metallic colours seem to form the foundation of the Veltic's colour history:
In Erik Widén's Swedish description from 1974 these are listed as:
In Rublex's later international code system the following are used instead:
It is not securely documented exactly which colours existed already at the introduction in 1953. That the metallic colours are among the oldest versions is, however, very likely. They were in Widén's description in 1974 and have since lived on in various forms.

The red and black colours of 1974
Erik Widén's colour list is particularly interesting:
Red/G should mean red decor on a gold base, while Red/K is red decor on a copper base.
These two combinations have clear relatives in Rublex's later range:
More unusual are the two black colours:
They show that in the 1970s the Veltic existed with black decor on gold and copper bases respectively.
These colours have no direct counterparts in Rublex's modern standard range. They may have disappeared, changed or evolved into later three-colour combinations.
At the same time, the Dutch Veltic family still has a black/silver model. The black-decorated Veltic variants have thus not entirely disappeared, even if the combinations have changed.

Rublex's international colour codes
During the latter part of the 20th century Rublex increasingly began to use letter codes.
The codes are based on French colour words:
CodeMeaning
AArgent – silver
OOr – gold
CCuivre – copper
RRouge – red
NNoir – black
VVert – green
This means that, for example, ORN can be read as gold, red and black, while ANV means silver, black and green.
The modern code system comprises three main groups: pure metallic colours, red variants and three-colour wave patterns.

The red wave patterns
A central colour family is built on red fields against three different metallic bases:
CodeColour
ARsilver and red
ORgold and red
CRcopper and red
These were complemented with black contrast:
CodeColour
ARNsilver, red and black
ORNgold, red and black
CRNcopper, red and black
The colour fields often follow the stamped wave pattern of the blade. This is the decor that many people today most strongly associate with the Veltic.
It is reasonable to assume that Widén's older Red/G and Red/K are predecessors of, or older names for, OR and CR. Exactly when the transition took place cannot, however, be established without more dated catalogues.

The green and black-green variants
Another main family consists of:
CodeColour
ANVsilver, black and green
ONVgold, black and green
CNVcopper, black and green
In photographs the green colour can look very different. It can be bright green, dark green, blue-green or almost turquoise.
The differences may be due to:
One should therefore be careful about regarding every blue-green Veltic as a separate official colour. A blue or turquoise copper variant may very well be an older or aged CNV.

Veltic Pearl – a colourful special series
Among the most distinctive Veltic variants is the Veltic Pearl.
The Pearl is not just an ordinary Veltic with yet another colour code. It has its own type of decor with a large mother-of-pearl shimmering or fluorescent centre field. The word Pearl is printed clearly on the blade.
On several specimens, Rublex, the size number and Veltic are also printed in the lower colour field of the blade.
The Pearl series seems to have appeared mainly during the 1990s and around the turn of the millennium, but the exact years of introduction and discontinuation have not been securely established.

Orange or pink Pearl
The Pearl that first attracted attention has a shiny silver outer edge and a centre section that shifts between:
Depending on the light, the same blade can appear distinctly pink one moment and almost orange the next.
In the middle of the blade, Pearl is written in dark text. The lower part is often a stronger orange or red.
It is a colourful and very easily identified version.

Yellow or chartreuse Pearl
The Veltic Pearl also exists in a more yellow version.
The colour can be described as:
This is probably the variant that is sometimes described as the “yellow Veltic”. It should, however, not be confused with the Dutch colour Yellow/Green/Red.
The Pearl series has the distinct Pearl print and a larger continuous mother-of-pearl field. The Dutch colour instead has the ordinary Veltic blade with several separated colour fields.

White and light Pearl
There is also a white or very light Pearl.
It can be perceived as:
Some specimens may have changed through ageing. A lacquer that was originally white or faintly yellow may after many years look more cream-coloured.
In Japanese collector and auction contexts, codes such as SPJ and GPJ also occur. They have sometimes been interpreted as silver- and gold-based Pearl variants respectively.
No reliable official explanation of these codes has, however, been found. They should therefore be regarded as clues rather than definitive colour designations.

The sizes of the Pearl series
The Veltic Pearl has been documented in at least the following sizes:
SizeWeight
no 12 grams
no 23.5 grams
no 35 grams
no 48 grams
Equally reliable evidence of the Pearl in no 5 and no 6 has not yet been found.
The large number of Pearl specimens on Japanese collector sites may indicate that the series was particularly popular in Japan, or that special export runs were shipped there. It does not, however, necessarily mean that the Pearl was made solely for the Japanese market.

The modern Rublex range
In Rublex's modern catalogue range, the ordinary Veltic has appeared in twelve main colours:
CodeColour combination
Asilver
Ccopper
Ogold
ARsilver and red
ORgold and red
CRcopper and red
ARNsilver, red and black
ORNgold, red and black
CRNcopper, red and black
ANVsilver, black and green
ONVgold, black and green
CNVcopper, black and green
All colours need not have been manufactured or stocked in every size. In the official range, the colour selection normally seems to shrink for the larger models.
In modern times the Veltic has appeared in the following sizes:
SizeWeight
no 12 grams
no 23.5 grams
no 35 grams
no 48 grams
no 510 grams
no 612 grams
The four smallest correspond to the weights Erik Widén described in 1974. The two larger models have been added, or gained wider distribution, later.

Veltic SP
Alongside the standard model there is, or has been, the Veltic SP.
The SP should not be confused with the Pearl.
The Veltic SP is a more uniformly metal-finished model and has mainly appeared in:
The Pearl, by contrast, is characterized by its painted mother-of-pearl field and the large Pearl print on the blade.

The Dutch Veltic family
When you search for Veltic in the Netherlands and the rest of the Benelux, a distinct product family emerges that does not entirely correspond to the modern Lukris and Rublex code range.
There, the model is sold under several different names:
The construction is clearly Veltic: the elongated blade, the grooved body, the red tube in front of the hook and the same size scale from 2 to 12 grams.
The exact commercial relationship between this Dutch product line and the French-Spanish Rublex series has, on the other hand, not been clarified.
It would therefore be wrong to unreservedly call all Dutch colours official Lukris/Rublex colours. At the same time, this is obviously not a matter of a few mislabelled lures. The colours are sold as a coherent Veltic family by several Dutch and German retailers.

The seven Dutch main colours
The Dutch series comprises seven recurring colour schemes:
ColourDescription
Goldgold
Silversilver
Gold/Redgold and red
Silver/Blacksilver and black
Orange/Blackorange and black
Yellow/Green/Redyellow, green and red
Silver/Greensilver and green
The interesting thing is that the six original colours are offered in all six sizes, from the little two-grammer to the twelve-gram model. Silver/Green, on the other hand, is documented only in the smaller sizes (1–3).
This differs from Rublex's official code range, where not all colours seem to exist in all sizes.

Gold and Silver
Gold and silver are the most traditional colours in the Dutch family.
In practice they correspond to Rublex's classic:
The same colours were, moreover, found in Erik Widén's Swedish colour list of 1974.
Gold and silver thus form a clear link between the Veltic's oldest and newest generations.

Gold/Red
Gold/Red is close to Erik Widén's Red/G and Rublex's later code OR.
It is not certain that the exact placement of the decor is the same in all generations. An older Red/G may have had a different paint pattern than a modern OR or Dutch Gold/Red.
The colour combination is nevertheless clearly one of the Veltic's most long-lived.

Silver/Black
Silver/Black is particularly interesting because it connects to the older black variants.
Erik Widén listed in 1974:
There was no Black/Silver in his list. The Dutch Silver/Black may therefore be a later addition to the same black-on-metal idea.
It may be:
In any case, the find shows that black decor on a metallic base still lives on within the Veltic family.

Orange/Black
Orange/Black is missing from Rublex's modern standard system with the codes A–CNV.
It is one of the most distinctive colours of the Dutch series. The blade has a strong orange field combined with black decor.
From a distance, Orange/Black may resemble an orange Pearl, but they are two different designs.
The Dutch Orange/Black:
The Pearl, by contrast, is an older, separate special series.

Yellow/Green/Red
The most striking colour in the Dutch family is Yellow/Green/Red, or in Dutch Geel/Groen/Rood.
It has:
The colour is documented across the whole size range from 2 to 12 grams.
Yellow/Green/Red is sometimes sold under the popular name Fire Tiger – among others, a British retailer has sold it under that name in sizes 3–6. It is thus not a colour of its own, but a trade name for Yellow/Green/Red.

Silver/Green
Silver/Green is an official colour in the Dutch series. On retailer sites it also appears as Green, Silver.
The colour is documented as an ordinary single spinner in sizes 1–3 (2–5 grams), while the tandem model does not seem to be sold in this colour.

Veltic Tandem
The Dutch family also includes the Veltic Tandem 4+6, a considerably larger lure of about 18.5 grams.
The tandem model has two rotating Veltic-like blades placed one after the other. It is mainly intended for larger predatory fish, for example pike.
It appears in the same main colours as the single spinners:
Silver/Green, on the other hand, does not seem to appear on the tandem model.
The tandem model shows that the Veltic has not only survived as a small grayling and perch spinner. In the Netherlands the construction has also evolved into a larger pike lure.
It is at the same time interesting that the product descriptions still highlight the same qualities that Erik Widén did in 1974: the elongated blade and the reliable rotation at different retrieve speeds.

Fish-imitating export colours
On markets outside Europe, above all in New Zealand and Australia, the Veltic has also appeared under colour names such as:
Several of these are probably English trade names for already known Rublex colours.
For example:
Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout, on the other hand, appear to be true fish-imitating decors with scale- or trout-like patterns.
They may have been regional export colours or special series for markets where the Veltic is used above all for trout fishing.

A reconstructed timeline
A fully reliable year-by-year colour history requires more original catalogues. The following timeline is therefore a reconstruction built on documented colour lists, current catalogues, original packaging and retailer ranges.

The 1950s
The Veltic is introduced, according to established information in 1953.
The first colours are not fully documented. Pure metallic colours in silver, gold and copper are probably among the earliest versions.

The 1960s
The Veltic becomes established as a classic French spinner.
The range seems to have consisted mainly of metallic colours and relatively simple painted contrasts.

1974
Erik Widén documents the following colours:
He especially highlights the two-gram version as a first-class perch lure and notes that the lure spins excellently at all speeds.

The latter part of the 20th century
Rublex's international letter codes are established.
The range develops into two- and three-colour wave patterns in red, black and green on silver, gold and copper bases.

Around 1990
The manufacturing of Rublex is taken over by the Spanish company Lukris.
Older French-made and newer Spanish-made Veltics continue to circulate in parallel.

Probably the 1990s until around the turn of the millennium
The Veltic Pearl appears in:
The Pearl exists at least in sizes 1–4.

The 2000s
Rublex's standard range stabilizes around the twelve colour codes:
A, C, O, AR, OR, CR, ARN, ORN, CRN, ANV, ONV and CNV.
The Veltic SP appears as a parallel metal-finished model.
Regional trout imitations and other export colours continue to be sold.

Unknown starting time – the Netherlands and Benelux
An extensive Dutch Veltic family is established, often labelled Albatros Veltic or simply Veltic.
The range is concentrated on six colours:
The family covers all six sizes from 2 to 12 grams.
Later Dutch development
The range is complemented with:

Today
The Veltic is still manufactured and sold.
The French-Spanish Rublex line lives on in parallel with the Dutch family and various regional export versions.
The colours and the packaging have changed, but the basic construction is still the same as Erik Widén described in 1974.

Summary of colour families known so far

Older Swedish colours, documented in 1974

Modern Rublex range

Veltic Pearl

Dutch Veltic Albatros series

Regional export colours
The list is probably not yet complete.

Why is the Veltic so effective?
No single quality probably explains everything. The Veltic's strength lies in the combination of several factors.
The blade starts rotating quickly. It keeps working even at a slow retrieve. The rotation stays close to the axis, and the lure holds a stable medium depth.
The small model gives off rapid vibrations and small flashes without creating the same commotion as a larger spinner.
To a perch, grayling or trout, the two-grammer may represent:
Perhaps this is precisely the point. The Veltic does not need to imitate a particular prey animal exactly. It gives off enough signals to awaken the fish's interest and trigger a strike.
The casting properties are, just as Erik Widén wrote, ordinary. There are small spinners that cast further.
But a lure does not need to be best in the air.
It needs to be best when it is in the water.
At Pelles Fiske the experience was summarized like this:
“That the Panter is excellent is true, and that the Veltic is even better is also true.”
It is hard to put it better.

King Veltic lives on
The Veltic has survived changing fishing methods, new materials, new brands and an ever-growing supply of lures.
For more than seventy years the little spinner has kept doing what it was designed for: catching fish.
For the collector, the Veltic is an almost inexhaustible field. There are:
The more catalogues, tackle boxes and web shops you examine, the more variants seem to turn up.
But you do not need to be a collector to appreciate a Veltic.
It is enough to tie a two-grammer to the line, cast it into a grayling or perch water and start reeling.
Fifty years after Erik Widén's positive verdict, and more than seventy years after the model's introduction, the verdict of Pelles Fiske stands:
The Veltic is the world's best lure.

Facts: Veltic
Type: Blade spinner
Origin: France
Introduced: According to established information 1953
Later manufacturing: Lukris, Spain
Classic weights: 2, 3.5, 5 and 8 grams
Later sizes: Also 10 and 12 grams
Known main lines: Rublex Veltic, Veltic SP, Veltic Pearl and the Dutch Albatros/Veltic
Special models: Tandem
Erik Widén's verdict 1974: Spins excellently at all speeds
Pelles Fiske's verdict: The undisputed number one