Heddon Sonic Lure
The Heddon Sonic Lure was first introduced to the public in the 1957 Catalog. Heddon of Dowagiac, Michigan continued to move forward with a long standing tradition of innovation, research and of course master marketing. The antique fishing lure was given a model series 385, and was the middle size Sonic produced by the lure giant along with the Ultra Sonic (Model Series 325) and the largest brethren the Super Sonic (Model Series 9385).
The Heddon Sonic was made of plastic and measured 1 1/2″ in length. The lure topped the scales and weighed in at 3/8oz. The lure was only ever produced with painted eyes. You, as a antique fishing lure collector can find this Sonic lure with gold eyes, white, and even orange colored eyes. The lure is easily recognizable for it famous for it shark fin molded into its back.
The Heddon Sonic Lure had a single twisted eye line tie just forward of the fin. The lure has two trebles both affixed with single screw eye hook hanger recessed into the plastic molded body. made for over 3 decades the Sonic can be found in a myriad of standard cataloged colors and a seemingly never ending list of variants and uncatalogued colors.
I’ve always been enthralled with breathing life back into piscatorial or finny tribe history. As collectors we read more than we will ever remember, and have forgotten more than we will ever seemingly know. Knowing this its a great idea to save the information to pass down to future collectors, fishermen or historians. We can do this via writing things down in book format, on the web such as this site, or even making sue we tell other collectors, don’t let your knowledge leave when you do. Along my path I’ve met some real great people that were willing to share everything they knew about the things of which they collect and covet. The information below was graciously contributed by long time collector Jim Viviano. Coming up on two decades ago Jim selflessly poured his life’s work into helping Ed build out a section of Ed’s Heddon Vamp website, which has long been dark for over a decade. This set the bar pretty high because there was no other site that contained the wealth of Sonic knowledge amassed by Jim.
But like all things, they seem to end for one reason or another and Ed’s Vamp site went dark. When it went dark, also did the cache of information for most that don’t know how to trace breadcrumbs back through the annals of the web. However, just like Jack Gallagher so graciously allowed me to breath life back into his Joe Pepper site via the Pepper section on this website, Jim was all in. When I approached Jim he bent over backwards to help make this happen. While Jim doesn’t own the collection that he spent decades amassing he still wanted to help collectors by sharing his knowledge. A big thank you to Jim we need to extend, its folks like him that make this hobby great. Thanks for letting me bring this back to life for others to enjoy & antique lure collectors to use and learn from.
Down below in the gallery you will see Jim’s amazing Heddon Sonic Lure Collection and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
1957 Heddon Sonic Lure Catalog
Super Sonic Lures
Lures that Broke the Sound Barrier!
Heddon experts theorized that if fish could detect vibrations and use them to locate food, it then become their job as researchers to determine what vibration range would indicate prey or desirable food items to most game fish. They started by listening under water to various lures and watching the reaction of fish to their vibrations. lt was reasoned that a best vibration would duplicate that of a minnow or small fish. The most productive sound vibrations were thrown off by one unusual looking lure.
It had no metal lip like most lures. Instead it employed a vibrator fin, which controlled the, frequency of vibration Also a tine degree of balance had to be maintained at both costing and trolling speeds. The Job was delicate and difficult.
Many months and countless lure models later, the “Sonic” was born. It is called “Sonic” because sonic means sound, the principle of this unusual attraction to fish field tests caught largemouth, smallmouth. spotted and white bosses. trout. walleyes, northern pike. muskellunge, and many saltwater species. And in darkness and under adverse water conditions. such as murkiness, algae or “bloom”, siltation from high water, etc., The ·”sonic” has taken fish consistently. Proof positive that scientific research is on important tool in Heddon’s modern lure making.
1958 Sonic Catalog
SOund is the Secret! This attraction makes it murderous for largemouth , Smallmouth, spotted and white bass, walleyes, pike, pickerel, muskies, trout, crappies, large panfish, and saltwater fish. For Spinning, light Casting.
The Sound and Fury of Sonic
Two Bass in One Cast “Sonic” Sound Does It Repeatedly
It is not unusual for us to receive letters from fishermen telling of two Bass on one cast on various Heddon lures. But it is most unusual for us to receive numerous letters telling of repeated two in one catches on one particular Heddon lure! Sonic is the first to rate this distinction.
Here are three pictures plus numerous letters received authenticating double catches by fishermen in widely separated stares, Meaning simply the fish catching ability of Sonic Sound is so potent that many fish go after it at one time.
Decades of the Heddon Sonic
1960, 1967, 1977, 1980 Heddon Sonic Lure Catalog Ads & Cataloged Color Examples.
Heddon Sonic Multi Pack
The ” fearsome foursome is made up of the four most popular colors of the famous “Sonic” lure, a color for every type of water. both salt and fresh, The three “Super Sonic” lures provide on all purpose kit for the bait caster and trolling fisherman. Be sure to check your line and leader because of the vicious smashes it brings. Drop these kits into your pocket and go fishing anywhere for any species of ti.sh The results wll1 amaze you!SK-4 – Contains 4 ··Sonic” lures. 385 series, packed in two-tone Styron jewelers box .
SELL OR CONSIGN YOUR ANTIQUE FISHING GEARHave Antique Lures, Reels, Rods you would like to Sell or Consign? Please Contact Us.We offer both a Ebay & Angling Marketplace Consignment Service, email for rates.
Have Antique Lures, Reels or other collectibles to Sell or Consign, Please Contact Me
Heddon Sonic Lure Color Codes & Rarity
This collection is 99% Heddon #385 size Sonics made in Dowagiac, MI. from 1957 to 1984. The “Dowagiac” 385 Sonics have eye screws for the line tie and hook hangers. Rarity Codes only pertain to the 385 size Sonics. For example, the CR “Crystal Rainbow” color is common on the Super Sonic but very rare on the #385. Heddon color codes and names changed thru the years, per the catalogs. In 1958 SF was “Silver Fish”, in 1964 SF was “Silver Finish”. In 1980 it was “Silver Shiner” and to add to the confusion, some collectors call SF “Silver Flash”.
The Sonic Lures in the gallery below are rated on a 1 out of 5 in Rarity 1 Being the easiest and 5 being the hardest to come by. This doesn’t always mean $, what it means is the scarcity of the lure to find and add to your collection.
I probably have made some mistakes with my code letters. Some lures were found in an unopened box or package and thus verified as correctly identified but some names and codes are admittedly just a good guess. For example, an “SF” (Silverfish) was found in a marked box. There are two other lures which look like the this lure. One is yellow, one is green, so I am calling them “YF” (Yellowfish) and “GF” (Greenfish) for now. I have denoted the guesses with a double asterisk ** after the names. The dates of manufacture are also very difficult to determine even with access to the catalogs, so most of the dates are “best guess” and are identified in the listing with an asterisk.
The Purpose of these pages is to share information with everyone.
Beware of Color Changes
Here are a few examples of 385 Sonics which have had a major color change. One might believe these lures were painted in a rare color but they were not. They have just darkened significantly. Why this happens to a very few lures while the great majority look as fresh as the day they were made is a mystery. No doubt, some combination of exposure to UV light, heat, and moisture is a factor. There doesn’t seem to be any structural distortion as seen in other lure models so whatever is doing it, it does not effect the plastic
Here’s a red headed 385 as usually found with one which has discolored to a dark brown/purple. A yellow coach dog Sonic with one which was yellow but is now dark green. Another red lure, a Vibra Flash, turned very dark purple brown. This yellow Sonic is going brown.
Great information and some great pictures thank you
Thanks, Glad you enjoyed it.
Hi Matt,
Great pictures with very helpful guide to color codes , thanks for sharing .
Thanks Billy Glad you enjoyed it, wouldnt have been possible without Jim. Matt
Thanks Matt. Those pictures help a lot