Captain Eric “Poppy” Heiden, 91, a U.S. Coast Guard-licensed charter captain, longtime Eagle Claw Pro Staffer, and one of the best-known figures in South Carolina's saltwater fishing community, passed away on August 26, 2026.

Eric's life on the water began at age 15, in 1950, when he could be found pushing a small wooden skiff through the breakers at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, alongside his father. When that boat broke down, as it often did, he simply kept fishing - swimming out through the surf on a black inner tube with a croaker sack to hold his catch. It was an early sign of the resourcefulness and devotion to fishing that would define the rest of his life.

He completed dental school in 1960, and as his career allowed for bigger boats and better gear, his passion only grew. In 1974, Eric and a group of fishing friends founded the Florence, South Carolina Bluewater Fishing Club, now one of the largest fishing clubs in the United States, still active today with more than 80 members. He went on to become a certified, licensed U.S. Coast Guard charter captain, running Heidenseek Charters out of Georgetown Landing Marina, South Carolina - first aboard a 26-foot Mako he fished for 20 years, and later aboard a Parker Pilot House bottom-fishing boat, both named Heidenseek.

Eric earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1956 and his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, in 1960. That same year, he opened Heiden Dental Center in Florence, South Carolina, where he practiced general dentistry as sole owner and operator for 38 years, until 1998. After selling the practice to Dr. Michael Messier, Eric continued working there as an independent contractor until approximately 2007. From 2010 until June 2014, he also owned and operated the Hygiene Center in Summerville, South Carolina. Throughout his career, Eric provided dental care and annual in-service training for staff at several Florence nursing centers, and served as an expert witness in dental matters for law firms and the South Carolina Dental Association.

He was a life member of the American Dental Association and its state and local chapters, a past member of the Grand Strand Dental Study Club and the Pee Dee Dental Study Club, and a former member of the American Society of Dentistry for Children. Eric held associate staff privileges at both McLeod Hospital and Carolinas Hospital in Florence, served as vice president and program chairman of the Waccamaw Library Volunteer Board, and chaired the Building and Cemetery Committee at Temple Beth Elohim in Georgetown.

His civic service ran just as deep as his professional life. Eric was elected to the Florence County School Board for eight years, chaired the Florence City Recreation Department for twelve years, and served on the Florence-Darlington Technical College Dental Advisory Board, where he was instrumental in establishing its dental assistant and hygiene programs.

He co-founded the Arts Alive Festival project at Francis Marion University, served on

several mayors' committees for city and county projects such as Freedom Florence, and was a former board member of the Florence YMCA and the Florence Chamber of Commerce.

Eric founded a dental clinic for needy citizens at the Florence County Health Department, was instrumental in bringing dental care and staff training to area nursing homes, and served on the board of the Pee Dee Mental Retardation Center. Even after retiring from full-time practice, he remained a vocal advocate for dental care for seniors, volunteered with Helping Hands, a dental office for indigent citizens in Georgetown, and found special reward cooking for those in need through the Bread for Life project at a Pawleys Island church.

He was a life member of the Florence Lions Club and the Florence Civitan Club, past president and charter member of the Florence Bluewater Fishing Club, and past president of Pee Dee Big Brothers in Florence, where his seven “little brothers” made his family complete, in his own words. Eric belonged to the Pee Dee Photographic Society and Florence Temple Beth Israel's Men's Club, refereed basketball for church leagues, the Florence YMCA, and Georgetown County Recreation, and coached city and county basketball leagues in Florence for 38 years. Among his many honors, Eric was named Jaycees' Young Man of the Year for both Florence and the state of South Carolina, received numerous commendations for service from civic clubs throughout Florence and Georgetown, and was awarded the National Eastman Kodak Award for dental research.

For the better part of five decades, Eric was affiliated with and proudly promoted Eagle Claw products, a relationship he summed up simply: “I will only suggest or recommend a product that I use daily and really believe in.” He also liked to remind audiences, “You don't have to spend a lot of money with fancy expensive gear to be successful at catching fish.” In 2012, that lifelong loyalty was recognized when he became the first-ever recipient of the International Eagle Claw Pro Staffer of the Year award - an honor now presented annually in his name. A photograph of Eric holding a red snapper has appeared in every Eagle Claw catalog distributed worldwide since.

Eric spent over fifty years fishing recreationally and commercially, from live baiting and trolling to bottom fishing and billfishing. He was an active member of the South Carolina Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association, a longtime participant and consultant for the Recreational Fishing Alliance, and a past member of the Charter Captains Association of America. He traveled to Washington, D.C. many times as an activist, meeting with Senator Fritz Hollings and Congressman Robin Tallon to help shape sensible fishing regulations - efforts that made South Carolina the first state able to adopt them.

As a founder and promoter for 28 years of the J. Jay Heiden Bottom Fish Competition, Eric built the only major bottom-fishing tournament in South Carolina, drawing as many as fifty entries and sponsorship from Eagle Claw, the IGFA, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, and the Florence Bluewater Fishing Club. He also served on the founding board of the Bobby Clark “Reel Kids/Reel Fun” fishing tournament, one of the largest youth fishing tournaments in the South, drawing upwards of 150 children each August for fifteen years and counting.

A true innovator, Eric was instrumental in introducing the 200EL circle hook to the bill fishing fleets of Costa Rica's west coast, where it became the mainstay of every bill fishing trip and, eventually, a legal requirement for catching all recreational billfish in that country. Crews in Quepos and Jaco affectionately dubbed him “Poppy,” a name that stuck for the rest of his life. In the 1960s, he was among the first to develop a leaning bar with rod holders for small boats, a design later custom-built by Mako Marine and adopted industry-wide. He also devised a technique using a large inflated rubber ball - the “Get Home Ring” - to raise anchors from deep water and keep them afloat for easy retrieval. He was the creator and developer of T.L.Sea marine cleanser.

Eric was a popular lecturer and writer throughout his career, speaking in the prestigious Saltwater Sportsman Magazine Seminar Series, addressing fishing clubs across North and South Carolina, and teaching in-house at Boaters World, West Marine, and Bass Pro Shops, as well as workshops at Nautica Marine and Pawleys Island Outdoors. He wrote for North Carolina Sportsman and South Carolina Sportsman magazines, including an article titled “Captain Eric Heiden, the Ace of Spades” about spadefish - the origin of the ace of spades decal that still marks the side of his boats. He also taught the U.S. Coast Guard fish identification course in Georgetown and served as a consultant to the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Department of Commerce. He also lectured on fishing and photography for local clubs in the Georgetown area and the Georgetown County Cultural Council.

Eric held the South Carolina state record for Wahoo from 1976 to 1982, with a 92 lb., 6 oz. catch landed on a Ted Williams rod and reel from Sears Roebuck. He also set the Scamp Grouper state record of 23 lbs., 14 oz. - caught accidentally during a Make-A-Wish charter trip with then 12-year-old Zack Fowler of Easley, South Carolina. In 1992, Eric and his crew, family, and grandchildren were named “Mako of the Year” at the well-known Mako Masters in West Palm Beach, and in 1997 he was named Angler of the Year and Boat of the Year by both the Florence and Georgetown fishing clubs. His grandson, Justin Graham, was himself once named National Youth Angler of the Year by Mako Marine - a family legacy of which Eric was especially proud.

For 36 years, Eric served as a guide and tour director on the west coast of Costa Rica, associated over the years with South Fishing Incorporated of Florida, DownEast Guide Service of Morehead City, North Carolina, and Frenzy Sportfishing of Columbia, South Carolina. Some of his Costa Rican trips landed as many as 250 billfish in three days. In February 2012, he completed a Costa Rican Super Grand Slam, catching a blue marlin, a striped marlin, a sailfish, a black marlin, and a yellowfin tuna all in a single day - a feat he considered one of the highlights of his fishing life.

Beyond the water, Eric was an avid photographer whose work captured the beauty of the sport he loved; his photo of a leaping sailfish, “Leapin' Lena,” won numerous accolades and hangs today at Eagle Claw's offices in Denver. In his later years he continued to teach and exhibit digital photography along the coast, served as senior advisor aboard the “Critter Gitter,” a 33-foot Wellcraft Express charter boat owned by Captain Maxie McMillan, andkept a 21-foot Carolina Skiff of his own for inshore fishing and shell hunting - still flyingEagle Claw decals to the end.

In June 2013, Eric married Rosa Lee Hudson Odom of Darlington, South Carolina, whom he adored and with whom he shared his final years. He is survived by his wife, Rosa Lee Heiden; his three daughters, Mindy Heiden (Steve Basinger), Robin Shuler (Gil), and Stacy Stephenson (Scott); his grandchildren, Justin (Amber), Tillye (Rob), Nick, Joshua, and Reagan; his great-grandchildren, Sophia and Noah; his stepdaughter Ryan Leigh Runyon (Joseph) and their children Jonah and Margaret; and the extended circle of fishing friends and “Heidenseek” crew members he mentored over more than seventy years on the water. Eric often said his greatest goal was to make fishing fun, safe, and rewarding for every member of the family, and affordable for all. By the time of his passing, he had also seen his most ardent wish come true - to be featured in the pages of the Eagle Claw catalog - and, by his own account, had finally completed everything on his bucket list. He will be remembered by the countless anglers, students, and friends he introduced to the water as “Captain Eric,” and by all who knew him best, simply, as “Poppy.”

A funeral service will be held at Beth Israel Congregation in Florence, South Carolina, on Wednesday, September 9, at 10:00 a.m., followed by a gathering to share fish stories over a catered lunch.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts to Beth Israel Congregation or BigBrothers Big Sisters of America.