Heddon's Tiger Lure

January 10, 2006 - Vol.11, No. 1

Heddon's Tiger Lure - Part 1

1967 Heddon Catalog Page Tiger Lure Advertisement
(Click on picture to enlarge)

In 1967, Heddon Tackle Company, then a division of Daisy Manufacturing Company, came out with a new lure called the "Tiger". The Tiger lure was advertised as "The ferocious new Heddon TIGER, the new bait with the killer instinct, is always on the prowl...ready to strike!" WOW! Up until I read this, I always thought it was the fish that struck the lure, not the other way around - I just gotta get me a couple of these to fish with! Let's face it - 'truth in advertising' it's not! (Of course, there's been a Tiger eating sugar covered corn flakes since 1952 with no complaints so by 1967, the ad guys at Heddon must have figured what the heck..!)

Sizes and series number of Heddon Tiger lures

The first series of the Tiger lures in 1967 came in three (3) different sizes and seven (7) different cataloged colors. Heddon assigned their series numbers 1010, 1020, and 1030 to the different sizes. The 1010 was 1/4 oz., 2-3/8" long and came with two No. 8 treble hooks. The 1020 was 3/8 oz., 3-1/4" long and came with two No. 4 treble hooks. The 1030 was 1/2 oz., 4-1/4" long and came with two No. 2 treble hooks. The 1010 thru 1030 are all marked on the belly with the words "HEDDON TIGER". The following year, in 1968, Heddon added the "Big Tiger" lure, #1040, which was listed as 1 oz., 5-1/4" long and having 2/0 treble hooks. This, the largest of the Tiger lures, is marked on the belly "HEDDON BIG TIGER." The length of the Big Tiger included the reinforced nose line tie and tail hook fastener; the body itself is 5" long.

In 1969, the #1010 was renamed as the "Tiger Cub" though the belly printing remained as "HEDDON TIGER".

Picture	Color Code	Color Name & Description
	SF	Silver Finish (Black head, tail & spine, silver insert)
	GF	Gold Finish (Black head, tail & spine, gold insert)
	Y	Yellow (Yellow head, tail & spine, silver insert)
	L	Perch (Green head, tail & spine, red angled rib pattern on sides, gold insert)
	PL	Purple (Purple head, tail & spine, silver insert)
	SD	Shad (Green head, tail & spine, silver insert)
	TG	Tiger (White transparent body, yellow head, tail & spine, black 'tiger' stripes on body. silver insert)

First Cataloged Colors for Heddon Tigers, 1967

All of the seven colors of the initial production had a 'flash' insert in the body similiar to that used in the Fish Flash colors produced in the early to mid-1950's.

Picture	Color Code	Color Name & Description
	BL	Blue (Clear transparent body, blue head, tail & spine, silver insert with silver flitter or glitter on sides)
	TG	Tiger (Solid white body, orange head, tail & spine)
	Y	Yellow (Clear transparent body, yellow head, tail & spine, silver insert with silver flitter or glitter on sides)
	RW	Red (Clear transparent body, red head, tail & spine, silver insert with silver flitter or glitter on sides)
	SS	Silver Flash (Clear transparent body, olive green head, tail & spine, silver insert, silver flitter or glitter on sides)
	SDF	Shad (Clear transparent body, red around eyes, light green spine & tail, silver insert, silver flitter or glitter on sides)

Heddon Big Tiger Catalog Colors, 1968

In 1968, the addition of the Big Tiger, series #1040, was added, and with the exception of the Tiger color (TG), all had a silver glitter or flitter on the sides.

Picture	Color Code	Color Name & Description
	RH	Red Head (Solid white body, solid red head, solid white eye with black iris)

In the 1970 catalog, an eighth (8th) color was listed to the Tiger line, Red Head (RH). It was cataloged only for the 1010 thru 1030 models. Oddly, Heddon's 1969 catalog showed a #1010, Tiger Cub, in this color but it was not listed in the available colors.

Of note at this point is that all of the Tigers with the exception of the Red Head had clear, plastic transparent eye with a black iris.

1971 was the last year Heddon listed the Tigers in their catalog in these 4 sizes. In 1980, Heddon again began listing the Tiger lures but only in the 1010, 1020, and 1040 sizes and is a completely different set of colors. More information on those will be presented in Part 3.

Next edition of Lure Lore - Part 2 - Tiger boxes, advertising and displays!

If you have any further information on any of the items displayed on this page which you'd like to share, please send your comments to me and I'll update the page accordingly. Contributions of interesting items and/or unknowns are encouraged. Lures pictured in Lure Lore are not for sale.

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