James Heddon Antique Lures

The words James Heddon and antique lure would certainly come to mind if asked who was the most collected and popular antique  lure maker today; one would have to say the Heddon lure. If not first, then in the Heddon would certainly be in top two antique fishing lure makers.  Why, and how did James Heddon and his legacy become the General Electric of antique and old fishing tackle?

James Heddon and Sons Antique Lure Makers 1902 - Current/EBSCO

   From initial carvings of ice decoys in the mid to later 1800's, to the famous, folk tale of the James Heddon hand carved frog; James Heddon & Sons fishing lure legacy and old fishing lures have lived on for longer than a century. A century that was filled with 2 World Wars, a great depression, dozens of large lure companies, lawsuits, patent infringement cases, and still survives today under the name Pradco/EBSCO.

    Much can be said as to how Heddon the giant fishing lure company survived, adapted, and changed the fishing lure industry forever. In essence James Heddon a humble man who was initially a Bee Keeper living in Dowagiac Michigan, whose roots were in England had an idea and executed a plan in an industry which was ripe for change. Though James Heddon alone was not solely responsible for the success of his antique lure empire by any means. With the help and leadership of his sons William and Charles who was a sales mastermind. Heddon and Sons along with great inventors on the staff such as William Stolley, Heddon would revolutionize the fishing tackle industry, and certainly our hobby of collecting old and antique fishing lures forever. 

Collecting Heddon Lures

 Most collectors novice and advanced seem to easily identify with the Heddon lures, whether from the its famous lure paint pattern Crackleback, or the shape and body of lures like the Heddon Dowagiac Perfect Casting Bait otherwise referred to as a Heddon Slope Nose, collectors seem to adorn Heddon as one of the antique and old fishing lure manufacturers to collect. With the fishing lures distinguishing Heddon shaped props (sometimes stamped Heddon's Dowagiac) and hand painted sweeping gill marks on a high forehead 150 underwater minnow, it is easy for one to understand the company slogan of Heddon Made, well made.

As time progresses I will add to the Heddon pages, adding more history, to the evolution of some of the famous Heddon  lures, from the Underwater Minnow, to the Crazy Crawler.

 Heddon Lure Summary

Come take a seat an see what it looks like inside the Heddon Factory. Take the time to view Heddon Antique Lure Patents to learn just how these lures were invented. We have set up pages to help educate you on what colors were painted on the old and now antique Heddon lures, their boxes and the numbers stamped on the ends.

We will show you multiple Heddon Antique Lure Galleries, including some collections such as the Heddon Frog Scale Collection. All in effort to provide a enjoyable education website devoted to the Old Fishing Lure. 

Heddon Lure Resources