Heddon Crazy Crawler - Zinc Eye

Much has been published on Heddon's Crazy Crawlers so rather than repeat it, I refer you to Luckey's book as well as Sam Husselman's page I cited above. Suffice it to say, Crazy Crawler collecting can be a real challenge due to the varieties caused by different sizes (I believe Sam lists 9), colors, eyes, and hardware!

This particular Crazy Crawler is indeed a rare breed. First, it is a Luminous Red and White, as indicated on the belly of the lure showing the "LUM" marking. The luminous paint used on Crazy Crawlers has a tendency to flake off and good examples with paint intact are difficult to find. More unusual, however, is the eyes on this lure which are zinc eyes and are therefore 'raised' as compared to the standard painted eyes most Crazy Crawlers had. Why it was made with zinc eyes or when is unknown but Joe figures it was in the early 1940's as that was when this color was made. There are other examples of zinc eye Crazy Crawlers known to exist but Joe doesn't know of any in this particular color - I'd say that qualifies as "RARE-RARE"! (Remember - you saw it first on Lure Lore!)

Heddon Crazy Crawlers

This little grouping shows three 'tough' colors for Crazy Crawlers, from left to right, Luminous Glow-Worm, Yellow Shore, and Black Shore. Note the color variation on the Glow-Worm in the top left hand corner. This was due to this particular lure getting an extra coating of paint. Yellow Shore is considered by many Crazy Crawler collectors to be one of the toughest colors to obtain (and no wonder, Joe has 4 of 'em!).

Heddon Musky Crazy Crawlers

This box has 12 musky size Crazy Crawlers. The 6 on the left all have Donnally clip hardware and are (left to right) in Red & White Shore, Gray Mouse, and Red Head/White colors. The 6 on the left are all in the newer 'screw eye' hardware, and include the rare Chipmunk color as well as Gray Mouse, Red & White Shore, and Silver Shore.

Crazy Crawler values have been steadily increasing. Wood versions in 2-piece screw-eye common colors can be had in the $35-$50 range but expect to pay hundreds for musky sizes and more for rarer ones if you happen to find someone willing to sell!  (Note:  these price estimates are from the original 1997 article.)

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Odd Item!!!

Odd Heddon River Runt Fishing Lure

Sure - you color 'experts' probably figure this is just your everyday red head / black shore River Runt! This odd fellow came into the possession of a local collector who picked him up out of a tackle box figuring it as just another Black & White Shore Minnow. While handling the lure, some of the paint flaked off the head and he noticed it was solid red underneath. He purchased it for a $1 and when he returned home, carefully began removing more of the flaking paint. A close examination of this lure indicates that it originally was a Red Head / White but then received a Black & White Shore painting over it... go figure!

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.

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