Fascinating, and I, too, assumed that the Heddons loved best were USA made. A reminder that in the post war boom well into the 1960s, it was pretty much the case that consumer goods were USA made, or they had "import" panache from a European maker. So much so that there wasn't much reason to place a USA-made sticker on the product, or even indicate that in the product literature. Who noticed that Heddon seldom if ever did? Where there was a source i.d., it was much more city and state recognition ("Akron, O" for Pflueger, let's say) than nation. In fishing tackle, the ascendency of Asian goods begins around 1970, evident in the Herter's catalog and gradually on retail shelves of large stores, and then even the little general stores. And "Made in USA" shows up in the labeling and marketing of tackle.
Eventually, Heddon, like many others, did import reels, such as the Daiwa-Seiko made Hardy knock-offs. Some--I forget if Heddon did--transitioned with "made-in-Japan, assembled in U.S." Most companies in a similar market niche did go to imports, but I can't picture a made-in-Japan Heddon fly rod. But possibly there were also some later Asian made Heddon fiberglass fly rods that came after the well-loved models discussed here? Hardware or tip-into-butt ferrules might be indicators. By the 1980s, just the absence of the once assumed "Made in USA" sticker or catalog description might also be a telltale.
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