View Full Version : Heddon Slopenose!
For several years, owning one of these was a quest for me! It is one of my "holy grails"! History:
This is a Heddon "Dowagiac Casting Bait", circa 1902 and manufactured by the now well-known Heddon Company of Dowagiac, Michigan. It is Heddon's FIRST commercially produced lure, and one of the first wooden lures ever made! Affectonately known by collectors as the "Slopenose".
Legend has it that ol' Jim Heddon, while waiting for a fishing buddy on the bank of a pond, passed some time away by whittling on a dried stick. After a time, he tossed the stick into the water, it sat there... then... you guessed it... a Bass smashed it as it floated on the surface! This stuck with Jim, and he later whittled more sticks, and "perfected" the shape. Somewhere along the line he decided that a "collar" made from a flattened bottle cap would give it some action when reeled across the surface. He painted them red/white/blue, maybe with a little patriotism in mind. Remember, he had no other lures like this upon which to get ideas! It worked, and he marketed them and founded The James Heddon Fishing Tackle Company and gave inspiration to the dozens of lure makers to follow. This old bait IS a great piece of fishing history.
They are not often sold/traded by collectors, but I saw this one being offered, and through some negotiations, managed to grab it. Thus, this quest (although I have many more!) has been completed! :D
Hope you enjoyed! Best---- JoeW.
(http://outdoor-fishing.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1058&d=1319303206)
toadfrog
10-22-2011, 06:22 PM
Ya know all my life I figured antiques were just something somebody had worn out or had become nothing more than a curiosity . But since Joe has put stories behind the lures I'm seeing them in a new light . Somehow it makes them sort of personal now. Thanks Joe.
bass or bass?
10-22-2011, 06:53 PM
Hey Joe, how about a photo of this rare find?
Pic is up now--- double click for bigger image. I tried something new with pic posting but evidently it didn't work.
Bass-- wasn't my "find"-- got it from another collector, so he "found" it, I just swap/bot it from him.
And toad-- that's why I like old tackle- some of those lures didn't even catch fish! But what I consider interesting is "the stories they have to tell". Someday, toad, your lures will have stories to tell! Heck--- that floating toadfrog you worked on for me already has a story! It was created as a result of an auction!@
Glad you guys liked the post. I'm smiling from ear to ear! :D
Best--- JoeW
After reading and looking at some of this old stuff.
I have found myself thinking more about old lures.
I guess I got bit by Joe's bug. yesterday while driving down the street
I came accross a yard sale. from the road I saw several fishing poles. So of course I
had to stop. the rods were beat up and nasty. so I quickly asked if they had any tackle for sale
they had an old nasty tackle box, looked like it had not been open for several years. when I opened it
I saw a few lures and some hooks and weights. nothing much older than 4 or 5 years.
However they were asking for it's weight in gold. needless to say they still have it all.
JoeW some how your collecting habit has reached all the way to Ca.
I no longer look at an old rod or lure with out thinking what would Joe say about this. LOL
Watch out, cwd! Collecting old tackle is an incurable disease! Not fatal- but it can lead to a total neglect of all other things in your life! LOL!
When I first started collecting, that was BEFORE tackle actually became collectible!, people were just about giving old stuff away! Whole tackleboxes full for $50, good old wooden lures for a buck apiece. Then collector's books started including old tackle, tackle collecting references were published, newspaper articles, club formed, etc. Now everyone knows how valuable old tackle can be, and a lot of sellers think that "if it's dirty, it must be old, and if it's old, it must be worth a brazillian dollars" and price it as such. Couple years ago, I walked into a little antique store on vacation in the Adirondack Mt's here in NY. dealer had a wire strung across a wall with about 50 "old" lures hanging from it, and a sign that said "Old Lures $25 each". I tell ya, there was everything from used Rapala's and R/W Dardevles to panfish jigs hanging there! However, there were about a half dozen REAL old ones, value well in excess of $25 each! I picked those down and as I paid for them, the owner asked "You're not interested in any of those other old ones?" I said nope and tried to keep from laughing. Those 6 lures look very nice in my collection!
Had a plumber doing some work for me a few years ago-- he saw my collection and said he had some old tackle. i went to his house and paid him well for a vintage 1870's metal lure! Paid him more for the lure than what his plumbing bill was!
Ah-- not only do old lures have stories to tell, but so do old collectors! Have fun cwd! Best---- JoeW
toadfrog
10-24-2011, 10:42 AM
Pic is up now--- double click for bigger image. I tried something new with pic posting but evidently it didn't work.
Bass-- wasn't my "find"-- got it from another collector, so he "found" it, I just swap/bot it from him.
And toad-- that's why I like old tackle- some of those lures didn't even catch fish! But what I consider interesting is "the stories they have to tell". Someday, toad, your lures will have stories to tell! Heck--- that floating toadfrog you worked on for me already has a story! It was created as a result of an auction!@
Glad you guys liked the post. I'm smiling from ear to ear! :D
Best--- JoeWHeads up Buddy. The weird the wacky from the depths of a strange mind is in the mail!!!! FINALLY . When you open that have a crucifix a stake and some garlic handy . Can't tell what may rise from the coffin. BOO!
dugger
10-24-2011, 03:49 PM
Joe be carefull I heard toadfrog was off his meds or was it on someone elses meds anyway be carefull he did warn ya!!!!!!!!!
When Toadfrog says he has sent a package. I always get happy.
I may not know what is in it, but I bet I will enjoy what ever it is.
However this time he has said this has come from the depth of a strange mind
and you may want to have several items close by when you open it.He did not mention the need for Holy Water. so it may be safe. But then again he ended by saying BOO.
So me being a true friend just forward the package to me and save your self.
I will throw myself on the package,and if it dont go BOOM. I will open it up and tell you
what your missing LOL
It is good to know you are up and moveing along Toadfrog. still try to get plenty of rest.
Wow! A genuine slopenose...I'm still huntin' for mine. http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_13_1.gif
LOL! I'm confused, tho. Are you a collector too? Or are you talkin' about some cosmetic surgery on your proboscus? Or are you hoping to catch some breed of Ohio fish?shrug LOL!
that Heddon Slopenose is not super-rare, but necause of it's history, most collectors want one and so most are tied up in collections. I was lucky to find a collector that had TWO- and he was willing to part with one. :)
Have a good one--- snow- ice, wind? Best---- JoeW
Hee hee! They're scarce as hen's teeth around here! :D
sharps4590
12-29-2011, 06:04 AM
Being mostly a fly fisherman I am always on the lookout for old rods, reels or anything associated with early fly fishing. However, since joining this forum and reading Joe's posts I have been paying attention to old bait casting reels and lures. Another benign addiction....just what I needed....thanks Joe!!!
Welcome to the dark side, sharp! I always enjoy the "stories" that old tackle has to tell. Like the Jitterbug was originally designed as a floating/diving lure until they turned the lip around sideways!
I've seen very interesting collections of small "fly rod size" lures made for use with fly rods. More than just the poppers and bugs (which make an interesting collection in themselvesd), but most popular bass sized lures were just downsized for use with the long stick! There's a fly rod Jitterbug, fly rod Bass-Oreno, fly rod Pikie minnow, etc! Those would look great in an old small Umco box, or better yet- an little vintage wooden box!
Funny- since talking with YOU here, I've bot three vintage fly rods! LOL! Best---- JoeW
Just for you Sharp--- here's some fly rod lures to show you what's available! Trout oreno's, Trout tango, fly rod flatfish, some I don't know (these aren't mine!). Tough to cast these I bet- especially with a cdlassic cane rod! LOL! But I bet mostly there were trolled with a fly rod. Getting the "bug"? Best---- JoeW
Joe,
I noticed the flat fish are marked F4 and F3...I'm assuming the "F" is for flyrod. I have old flatfish marked L9, S3, and X4. What do these numbers mean? http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_6_2v.gif
LOL! It's easy! S= Surface, M= Musky, LU= Light Underwater! Here's a couple copies from a 1950 catalog from Helin. Note at top: over 6 million sold by end of 1949! Wow! Dat's a lot of lures! I seem to recall a later cat from the 1960's saying something like "over 23 million sold"? Note on pics-- one page shows model numbers, the other shows color codes (usually stamped on end of box).
Some other notes:
Fishermen were encouraged to allow a fish to "play" for awhile so as many of the little hooks would catch the fish as possible. On some models, that's as many as four trebles! Real sportsman-like! Hooks in the fishes mouth, eyes, face, gill covers, etc- fun to unhook!
Oldest ones (pre- 1950 something probably) are wood! They have the model stamped on top, although the earlier plastic ones did too. Later plastics had the model number molded in raised letters on the back. earliest boxes were 2-pc cardboard, then with plastic tops or sleeves.
I always encourage new collectors to give lures like Flatfish a try. There's a lot around, you should be able to find them from collectors, flea markets, garage sales, etc for a couple bucks a piece. Most collectors don't care for them- I don't know why- probably because there ARE so many!
I did a quick count- if you collected them- if you wanted one of each size and color.... that would be 267 different lures! That would be a challenge!
They don't cast well! But they caught fish! Helin also made a surface bait called a Fishcake, and a metal spoon with a plastic insert called a Swimmerspoon- looked like a metal flatfish!. Great company with a lot of history, and a lot of stories to tell!
Have fun- Best----- JoeW
More great history on the flatfish lure. Thanks for this info JoeW.
I remember as a kid I had 3 or 4 flatfish lures a couple of small ones and med. size ones.
I bought them at a weastern auto store. Thinking they would be great for bluegill and pike.
I will never forget them, as they taugh me the best lession about watching for hooks, evey time I would try to tie one on, I woud get stuck in the fingers with all the trebel hooks. So much so I quit trying to use them.
the only thing they hooked were my fingers and other lures in my tackle box.
I forgot what I did with them, my brother may have them in with his tackle.
If he has them I pitty him, because I swear they were alive and would hook any fingers that got neer them.LOL
To this day I still stay away from them far away.
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