The River Runt Spook is possibly the biggest selling lure in the world, with thousands of people worldwide collecting them.
It originated in the 1930s through a combination of various factors. In 1929 Heddon introduced the No 110 series River Runt, which was made of wood. In 1930 they introduced three new transparent “spook” baits. The 9100 series Super-Dowagiac Spook, the 9000 series Shrimpy Spook and the 9800 series Sea-Spook.
These were made of a plastic material called Heddylin and called Spook to differentiate them from the wooded ones.
The claimed improvements were that they were more lifelike and resembled “fish-flesh”. They had fish scale and because they were transparent, they had an iridescent appearance This along with their indestructibility made them a real “go getter”
In 1932 the famous Vamp baits were also offered in plastic and given two numerical designations 9500 series, and 9100. 9500 was a hollow floating model whilst 9100 was a sinker for fishing underwater. Another sea fishing bait the 9600 Salt-Spook was added.
LEAPING BASS BOX
In August 1932 a new number of designations were announced for the following year’s models. The 9750 Vamp-Spook, 9730 Jointed Vamp-Spook, 9850 Basser-Spook, C9850 Basser-Spook for saltwater, and 9130 Torpedo-Spook.
In 1934 the River Runt Spook was launched. Given the number 9100, it differed from the wooden bait in that it was more like the Vamp bait in shape. The wooden bait had glass eyes and the spook had painted ones. This was called the “standard sinking” model 2 1/2 inches long with a weight of 1/2 ounce. It was available in nine colours.
This would be a good time to explain colour and model designation. 9111 is a 9110 series River Runt in rainbow colour. The 1 indicates the colour. A 9119XRS is a River Runt in Silver Shore Minnow, the 9XRS denoting the colour. This system is used for all Heddon baits. It has however led to some confusion as Heddon did change the system in the 1940’s. The 9111 River Runt in Rainbow changed to 9110RB.
GO DEEPER RIVER RUNT SPOOK WITH EXTENDED LIP
In 1935 two more lures were added to the range, the 9400 Floating River-Runt Spook and the 9430 Jointed River-Runt Spook (Floating). The 9400 was 3 1/8-inch-long with a weight of 3/8 ounce and the jointed model was 4 inches long weighing 3/4 ounce. On the jointed model, each end was held in place by a pinned metal plate.
The “Shore-Minnow” finish introduced in 1935 was Heddon’s attempt to simulate what a fish saw underwater. An x-ray design that showed the backbone and ribs of shallow feeding fry or minnow. Another new colour was the Glow Worm which shone in the dark because some of the paint finish was luminous.
In 1937 sixteen colours were now available and two more models were introduced. This was the 9330 Jointed-Sinking-River-Runt-Spook and the 950 River-Runtie-Spook. The 9330 was 2 1/2 inches long and weighed 4/7 ounces.
The 950 was 1 ¼ inches long weighed 1/25 ounce and suitable for use on a fly rod. This was a new lure and was also available in wood. Some people might wonder how a lure could be used on a fly rod and the question is easy. I have friends who fish on Rutland water with four-inch-long tubes and cast them with ease.
1939 saw the introduction of the 9010 Midget-River-Runt Spook, 3/8 ounce and 2 ¼ inch-long, for use with light rods and lines. There was another new colour introduction with the XGF or Greenfish, again made to imitate shallow living minnows.
In 1940 there was another new model introduced but in two sizes. The Midget Go Deeper River-Runt-Spook and the Standard Size Go Deeper River-Runt-Spook. The Midget was designated D9010 and the Standard size D9110.
UNDERSIDE OF THE SPOOK SHOWING ONE PIECE HOOK RIG
They both utilised the bodies of their normal-sized companions but with an extra-large spoon lip. With this fitted it was possible to fish at depths of up to twenty feet whilst also looking like a metal spoon. The D9010 was 3 ¼ inches long and weighed 3/7 ounces, while the D9110 was 3 ½ inches and 3/5 ounces in weight.
More introductions followed in 1941 when the No-Snag-River-Runt-Spook was introduced. With its collar guard, line tie and hook guards it was possible to fish in weedy places without hooking weeds. This one differed in that it had a double hook fixed to the body, rather than the free hanging treble. The lure was designated N9110, weighed 5/8 ounce and was 2 ½ inches long.
In 1949 the Midgit Digit River-Runt-Spook was introduced. This was designated 9020 and was based on the wooded Midget Diget River Runt first introduced in 1941. This measured 1 5/8 inches and weighed 3/8 ounce. Also, in this year there was a change to the D9010 Go Deeper model. The shape of the scoop lip changed to a flat stepped lip.
NO-SNAG- RIVER-RUNT-SPOOK
The next model to be introduced was in 1952 when the D9430 Jointed Go-Deeper-River-Runt-Spook appeared. This was a combination of two existing baits, the front of the jointed floating bait and the back of the jointed sinking bait. The lip was the same as the flat step lip introduced in 1949. This model weighed 5/8 ounces and was 4 1/4 inches long.
It was also joined by the 350 Tiny River-Runt which was 2 1/8 inches long and yet weighed only 1/5 ounce.
The final additions to the model range were in 1953 when the 340 Tiny-Floating-River-Runt and the D350 Tiny-Go-Deeper-River-Runt-Spook were introduced.
For the collector, this means that there are sixteen models of the River Runt to collect. Now we come to the question of how many variations.
The answer is simple, number of models X number of colours X number of hardware variations X number of box variations = THOUSANDS!
There are literally hundreds of colours that Heddon used throughout the years that the River Runt was in production. In addition to the standard ones shown in the catalogues, there were the experimental one and special issue ones.
The lure was produced until the 1980s under the Heddon name even though Heddon did not own the company. The Heddon company had first been sold in 1956. It changed hands several times before becoming part of EBSCO industries under the PRADCO banner.
With the company changing hands there were changes to the lure in colour, hardware and minor changes of shape. The eye changed from a gold with black iris to white with black iris in the 1960’s.
Hardware is the term used that applies to the hook and the way that it is connected to the body of the lure. All models used the standard treble hook except for the Runtie and the No-Snag models. The first method used to secure the hook to the body was called the two-piece flap rig. In 1948 this changed to the one-piece surface rig. On the smallest lures, there is also the cup and screw-eyed hook used.
BOX ENDS SHOWING MODEL NUMBERS
The box used for the River Runt changed a few times. The first was a cardboard box, followed by cardboard with a plastic lid and in the 1970s blister packing. The three most common boxes that I have found in England are all cardboard boxes and were used until the mid-1950s.
The famous Jumping Bass box when first issued had a White and Red Shore Minnow River Runt hanging from its mouth. Around 1946 this changed to a Yellow Shore Minnow. The other box is the one known as the Fisherman Box with pictures of good catches of fish on them. The name of the Lure is stamped on the end. I believe that this box was introduced in 1935 and was in use until the mid-1940s.
TWO BOXED SPOOKS ONE JOINTED.
The Go-Deeper lures are the ones with the most significant changes to them. In addition to the change of blade shape in the 1960’s, they were also available with a coloured diving blade. These typically were black or gold, additionally, you could have it to match the colour of the lure itself.
The name of the lure was also changed from the Go-Deeper to the Deep Dive and from the Midget Go-Deeper to the Midget Deep Dive. This was indicated by adding an additional D to the series number, i.e.D9010 to DD9010.
As I stated earlier, the problem with colours is that there were so many of them. When Heddon changed hands in the 1960s, many more colours were added. I have a list of over fifty colours that were available up until the mid-1950s. When the Daisey-Heddon company was sold to the Victor Comptometer company in 1966, more colours were added.
I hope that this has helped the people who have expressed an interest in the River Runt Spook. Anyone who wants a colour identification chart can contact me and I will be only too pleased to help.
April 1997
THE HEDDON RIVER RUNT FROM WHITEFISHPRESS
Since the original article, Tom Jacomet along with Dennis Boulais have written The Heddon River Runt and is available from http://whitefishpress.com/
Tom also has the site Lure Lore which I have used for many years to garner information. http://www.lurelore.com/