A story has long been told of James Heddon whittling a piece of wood as he waited beside an old mill pond in Dowagiac, Michigan for his fishing buddies to arrive. As the tossed the piece of wood into the pond, a bass rose to strike it. By the time the ripples from the monstrous splash had finally subsided, the idea of wooden topwater fishing lures had entered Heddon's mind. That thought grew into what became the largest fishing tackle manufacturing company in the country.

Whether that story is based in fact or fancy will never be known for sure. What is known is that Jim Heddon and his sons that later joined the business produced some of the finest wooden fishing lures ever made over a period spanning nearly seventy years.