Heddon.

Heddon fishing lures are the most collected in the country today. This seems to be due to their relative abundance (they span eighty years), the fine finishes, and the historic significance. However, Heddon Reels and Rods have also achieved a very high place among collectors of those fishing tackle items.

The Heddon Company was started in 1902 by James Heddon. Legend has it that Jim Heddon threw a stick he had been whittling on into the water, and a bass savagely struck it. Thus the idea of his wooden baits was born. Heddon’s sons Charles and William joined him as the company grew from a kitchen table operation until they were producing 12,000 to 15,000 baits per day in the 1950s.

James Heddon died in 1911, and the company name was changed to James Heddon’s Sons. Growth continued at a rapid rate, until they were involved in all facets of fishing tackle manufacturing. Heddon Lures are quite interesting to the collector, for they can be dated in general periods by the hook holders. The earliest Heddon lures have no cups, using simple screw eye hangers. Then brass and nickel plated cups were recessed under the screw eye. In 1918 Heddon was granted a patent for what collectors call the "L-rig" hook hanger. This patent was applied for in 1915, and the hanger was probably used at that time on some lures. The Heddon "Toilet Seat" rig was used from c1926-34; the flap or "two piece" hanger from c1934-48; with the one piece surface rig taking over from that time on. The beautiful paint finishes on Heddon wooden lures make them works of art. However today, even plastic Heddon lures are highly collectible, with some attaining unbelievable prices.

Heddon Rods also have their followers among bamboo rod collectors. Their rods are considered to be among the finest produced by any factory mass producer. They manufactured all types of rods – casting, fly, spinning and trolling. Their rods also evolved into the fiberglass era. The best selling Heddon fly rod was the Black Beauty, and many are still found to grace collections. The Heddon #1000 was the finest rod they produced, and is highly sought after by collectors.

Heddon started up in the reel business when they acquired the tooling from the B. F. Meek & Sons factory in Louisville, Kentucky. Along with the tooling they acquired reel designer William Carter, Jr. and his patents. This took place in 1916, and Heddon was soon producing high quality hand made reels very similar to the Meek Blue Grass line. A few years later, Jack Welch, who had worked for Meek and Talbot, joined the firm. During this period Heddon produced some high quality reels that are quite collectible today. In later years, Heddon sold a full line of factory reels including casting, spinning, fly, and automatic fly reels.