vamp

The Heddon Vampire/Vamp was first introduced in 1920. The Vamp remained in continuous production until the late 1940's. The Vamp was produced again for a few years in the early 1950's then it no longer showed up in the Heddon catalogues for a while. This great lure kept showing up in Heddon catalogues and making a come back till the early 1990's.

United States Patent Office Application filed December 27, 1920.

Be it known that I, William A. Stolley , a citizen of the United States, residing a Dowagiac, in the county of Cass, state of Michigan, have invented a new, original and ornamental Design for a Fish Bait Body, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part thereof.

This picture came out of the Dowagiac Factory Archives in 1977.

The top lure in the above photo is the first known Vampire to have existed. It has cup hardware and the screw loop in the cup belly hook hardware places this lure to have been manufactured before 1916. The pin in the nose was below center for this lure. This was the only Vampire with the pin below center, all other Vampires and Vamps have the pin mounted on center line. This lure is known by some collectors as the Vamp Prototype but after researching this lure I now believe that this lure was NOT a prototype lure. I believe it was the earliest of the Vampire lures and should be considered the rarest and most difficult Vampire to find.

The above black & white Vampire picture was a Red Checkered Border pamphlet that came in a "Down Leaping Bass" Heddon box. Notice that this New #7500 Vampire has Cup belly hook hanger. The 1920 or #18 Heddon Catalogue shows the same lure with L-rig hook hanger.

The Round Nose Vamp was never advertised in any of the Heddon Catalogues. Only made with the round pointed nose that looks very much like the nose of a River Runt. The pin in the nose is on the center line of the body and this lure was only painted in Rainbow color. The center diving lip screw is not integrated with the L-rig hook hanger so this is a Vamp not a Vampire. It has glass eyes and the name "Heddon Dowagiac" is stamped on the front of the diving lip. This lure is very hard to find and considered rare.

The Heddon, Vampire Minnow first came out in 1920. A good way to identify these early Vampires is by the diving lip. This style lip was integrated with the L-rig hook hanger. By 1922 they were all Vamps.

Vampire 1920 - 1922

Example of the lip integrated with the L-rig hook hanger

Vamp 1923 - 1934

Example of the lip that is separate from the L-rig hook hanger

Through the life of this bait, this lure measured 4-1/2" long and had one belly weight just behind the middle set of belly hooks. The Vampire and Vamp lures had the name Heddon Dowagiac stamped on the front side of the diving lip. The diameter of the body was 3/4" and they all had glass eyes. There was no name printed on the lure until 1933 when they printed the words Heddon Vamp, horizontally on the belly of the lure.

The Round Nose Vamp and the Early Vampires used the Short Loop Tail Hook Hanger. Then for the latter Vampires they switched to the Long Loop for about one years. Heddon went back the short loop so we can assume that the long loop must have caused the bait some problems. They continued to use the short loop through the rest of the L-rig and Toilet Seat hook rigging.

Long Loop 1922

Tail hook hanger for latter Vampires. (Stolley Patent1918)

Short Loop

Tail hook hanger used on Vampires, Vamp. (Stolley Latter Patent)

Colors for L-Rig Vampires 1920-1922
White body, Red and Green Spots Rainbow White body. Red Eyes and Tail Green Scale Pike Scale Shiner Scale	1920-1922 1920-1922 1920-1922 1920-1922 1920-1922 1922

Colors for L-Rig Vamps 1923-1934
White body, Red and Green Spots Rainbow White body. Red Eyes and Tail Green Scale Pike Scale Shiner Scale Mullet Scale Red Scale Frog Scale Yellow Perch Scale Orange Black Spots Blue Scale Green Frog (Later named Bull Frog) Bull Frog Luminous Red Dace Scale Natural Scale Silver Scale White body, Silver Specks, Red Head	1923-1934 1923-1934 1923-1934 1923-1934 1923-1934 1923-1934 1924-1929 1926-1934 1926-1934 1926-1934 1926-1929 1926-1929 1928 1929-1934 1930-1934 1930-1934 1930-1934 1930-1934 1930,1934

During this era Heddon used Toilet Seat Hardware. They continued to use the Stolley Patent Short Loop tail hook hardware. The lure diameter was 3/4" and measured 4-1/2" long. They had glass eyes and Heddon no longer stamped their name on the diving lip. This was the beginning of the plain diving lip for the Vamps. They printed the words Heddon Vamp, verticality on the belly of the lure.

1935-1936 Colors for Toilet Seat & Bar Rig Era
White body, Red and Green Spots Rainbow White body with red eyes and tail Luminous, Red Head and Tail Green Scale Yellow Perch Scale Pike Scale Red Dace Scale Shiner Scale Natural Scale Silver Scale White, Silver Specks, Red Head	1935-1936 1935-1936 1935-1936 1935-1936 1935-1936 1935-1936 1935-1936 1935-1936 1935-1936 1935-1936 1935-1936 1935-1936

This model vamp was made about 1936. The two belly hook hangers are type 3 bar. The name Heddon Vamp is painted axially on the bottom of the body between the belly hooks. This lure also has glass eyes and no name on the diving lip. This bait is rare and difficult to find.

This model Vamp used Two piece hardware or some people refer to it as Flap rig. The tail hook hardware was also changed to two piece hardware design. The lure diameter was 3/4", glass eyes and no name on the diving lip. The words Heddon Vamp were still printed horizontally but in 1948 it was changed. The words "Heddon Vamp" were now printed verticality. This bait are common and easier to find.

1937-1943 Colors for Two Piece Hardware Era
White body, Red and Green Spots Rainbow White body with red eyes and tail Luminous, Red Head and Tail Green Scale Yellow Perch Scale Pike Scale Red Dace Scale Shiner Scale Natural Scale Silver Scale White, Silver Specks, Red Head Bullfrog	1937-1943 1937-1943 1937-1943 1937-1943 1937-1943 1937-1943 1937-1943 1937-1943 1937-1943 1937-1943 1937-1943 1937-1943 1942-1943

Heddon began using One Piece Surface hardware for the vamp's in 1949. This was the beginning of the cheaper one piece surface hardware. After Heddon started using the Surface hook rigging in 1949 they continued using glass eyes through 1952. This version body had the words Heddon Vamp printed horizontal on the belly. These baits are common and quite easy to find.

Vamp Colors 1949-1953 Surface Rig Hardware
Pike Scale Yellow Perch Scale Shiner Scale White, Red Head White body, Red and Green Spots Green Scale	1949-1953 1949-1953 1949-1953 1949-1953 1949-1953 1949-1953

After the glass eyes they began using Nailed on Plastic eyes. This lure appeared in the 1952 Heddon catalogue and they continued to use this style through c.1965. This version also had the words Heddon Vamp printed horizontal on the belly and the nose came more to a point than the previous version.

Heddon began painting the eyes on the vamp in 1965. The body diameter was 13/16" and the painted eyes were 1/4" inch in diameter. The early painted eye version had the words Heddon Vamp printed horizontally on the belly and the later version had the words Original Heddon Wood Vamp printed horizontally on the belly. This bait is common and is easy to find.

Vamp Colors - Dowagiac Wood Classic
Pike Scale Yellow Shore Minnow Perch Shiner Scale White, Red Head White, Red and Green Spots	1965-1971 1965-1971 1965-1971 1965-1971 1965-1971 1965-1971

In 1966 - 1969 Heddon made a Fat body vamp. It had one piece surface hook hardware and painted eyes. The body diameter was 7/8" and this lure was slightly longer than all the other vamps. It measured just under 4-5/8" long. The words "Original Heddon Wood Vamp" were printed verticality on the belly.

Bee 4 James Heddon	Heddon, Big Bud	Heddon Hardware
Heddon, Crab Wiggler	Heddon to PRADCO	Heddon Vamp/Vampire
Heddon - WW II "E" Award	Heddon #100 Minnow	Heddon #150 Minnow
Heddon - Expert #200 Series	Non Heddon Company's	Heddon Company History
Heddon Boxes

Creek Chub Bait Co Hardware	Pflueger Minnows	Shakespeare Minnows
Creek Chub Company History	Pflueger Company History	Shakespeare Company History
CCBCO Boxes	Pflueger Boxes

South Bend, Bass Oreno	South Bend, Bass Oreno Colors	South Bend Catalogs
South Bend Underwater Minnows	South Bend Fishing Photo Contest	South Bend Company History
South Bend Boxes

My Collection Room	Grading System for Lures	Practice Casting Weights
Antique Lure Books