LURED BY NOSTALGIA; LOCAL FISHERMEN PROUD OF THEIR EXTENSIVE COLLECTIONS.

Byline: John Morell Special to the Daily News

Legend has it that James Heddon, a turn-of-the-century beekeeper and inventor, tossed a small piece of wood he had been whittling into a Michigan lake. As he turned to leave, a large bass exploded onto the surface and swallowed the wood whole. Heddon pictured a hook and line attached to the wood, and, in 1906, he began making fishing lures that imitated minnows, frogs and mice.

It's not known if the whittling story is fact or a fisherman's tale, but the original Heddon creations he made at his kitchen table are among the most sought-after lures in a hobby that attracts anglers like fish to the worm.

``The early Heddon lures were ahead of their time,'' said Jim Hillier, an antique-lure collector from Simi Valley. ``You can see that there's real workmanship in the way they've been made, which is why everybody wants to have them.''

Prices for old Heddons range from $15 to $5,000, and collectors vie for these and other antique lures at swap meets and garage sales, hoping to find a lost gem in its original box with rust-free hardware. They hunt for early plugs from the ``big five'' lure manufacturers - Heddon, Shakespeare, South Bend, Creek Chub and Pflueger - as well as versions by small, here-today-gone-tomorrow outfits.

``There were lots of little outfits, two-guys-in-their-garage-kind of companies, who made some nice baits, and you always want to find those,'' said Studio City collector Rick Edmisten.

The National Fishing Lure Collector's Club has more than 4,000 members worldwide and most concentrate on finding lures made and sold in their geographic area. Southern California collectors look for early saltwater and bass baits, while those in the Northwest pick up salmon plugs. Midwest lure enthusiasts go for old muskie and pike baits, and British aficionados prize the metal trout spinners of the 1800s. Others just pick up whatever interests them.

``I might find a lure that I think is very interesting, but someone else won't give it a second look,'' said Edmisten, who has accumulated more than 2,000 lures in 18 years. ``There are a lot of $50 lures I like more than the $1,000 ones.''

Among Edmisten's holdings - which occupy 650 square feet of his home - are some unusual lures that make you wonder if the manufacturer's goal was to catch fish or a fisherman's eye, such as Dr. Wasweyler's Marvelous Electric Glow Casting Minnow. Made in 1915, the nearly 6-inch-long ``minnow'' had a red glass tube attached to the front of a sleek aluminum body. Fish were supposed to be attracted by the glow created by the battery-powered light inside. And when they struck, no less than five double hooks were anchored to the sides and back to bring the fish to the net.

Other interesting collectibles include hand-painted frogs with multiple joints to make them ``swim'' on the surface, double and triple spinners that simulate a school of minnows when trolled, and the infamous glass ``minnow tubes,'' into which the angler put water and a live baitfish then stopped up the end before making his cast.

``They were advertised as allowing you to fish all day with just one minnow,'' Edmisten said. ``However, being made of glass, if the tube hit a rock or smacked hard against the side of the boat, both the lure and minnow were gone.''

Getting a fisherman's attention is integral to the success or failure of a lure. But in collecting, the worse a lure sells the better its value. ``If it didn't catch fish, its production was limited and the rarer it becomes,'' Edmisten said.

While looking at early plugs, jigs and spinners, it's not hard to see that fishing lures haven't changed much over the past century. How do today's scientifically designed lures match up with their ancestors?

``Everything has its influence,'' said collector Dudley Murphy of Springfield, Mo. ``Rubber worms have been around for at least 80 years and the modern Zara Spook is derived from a lure Heddon made. The bottom line is, there's nothing new.''

How would the modern lure fish against the lure of the past?

``I think the older lures would do very well,'' said Glendale collector Dave Smith. ``Many times a new lure gets used so often that the fish shy away from it. You can then try an old lure, and it will work very well.''

Edmisten, who co-wrote ``Fishing Lure Collectibles'' (Collector Books) with Murphy in 1995, points out that the key to a lure's value is its condition.

``People usually keep old tackle boxes in the garage, where they're susceptible to hot and cold weather, and, if a clothes dryer is in the garage, humidity. Hooks then become prone to rust, and, on wood lures, the changes in temperature cause the wood to swell and contract, cracking the paint.''

Old tackle boxes that could contain a treasure of antique lures are usually passed down from generation to generation, although eventually they often find their way to the garbage heap.

``I don't know how many times people will learn what I collect and they'll say, `Oh I wish I had known that sooner! I just threw out my uncle's old tackle box,' '' Smith said. ``How many thousands of dollars in lures get tossed in the dump every day?''

More than an investment, Smith sees his collection as holding onto history. ``Some of them are very beautiful and they deserve to be preserved. They're a real piece of Americana.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--color) Rick Edmisten of Studio City has filled 650 square feet of his home with his lure collection. He has accumulated nearly 2,000 lures in his 18 years of collecting.

(2--color) The `TEAS-ORENO' lure display is one of Rick Edmisten's prized possessions.

Shaun Dyer / Special to the Daily News