Turner Jones micro jigs

Here you go, Ness.  These two I've had for probably over 10 years.  Colors are faded.

sad this awesome lure will be gone

First question, first.  Yes he made several jigs and prototypes.  He made Bill Beck and I some float and fly jigs also and they were unreal for early season Bass.  Merlin Olsen was a fly fisherman and was fishing the Green River, either early 80's or late 70's.  His guide used the "New fly/jig and of course they ripped them."  Merlin immediately wrote Mr. Jones and asked if he was in need or would like a spokes person for his Micro's.  Merlin said he would be that person free of any obligation other than Mr. Jones giving him all the Micro Jigs he needed to keep catching trout.  Deal was done and a match was made.

Prior to and after Turner's passing his Grand Daughter who lives pretty much off the grid made them for Phil and a few other of their better clients.  She  ran out of materials and there was some problem with stolen molds and other equipment from Turner's estate.  Kind of a tangled web, to say the very least.

At one time Turner took a partner, a young woman who he thought was going to help him.  She immediately stole lots of written information and molds and sold them to Lucky Strike and that's how they started making the product.  Thru much legal battling Mr. Jones got this stopped as he related to me. The jigs Lucky Strike made were similar but trash, there is a bonding process that adheres the  miniscule single strand of Hen Hackle under a colored collar of shrink wrap that holds this together.  There is no tie thread or no marabou as Turner said it makes the jig way to heavy and not realistic.  Both thread and marabou add bulk and this fly is extremely streamline and zero bulk.

After he molded and painted the head and added the eyes he then added the shrink wrap and hackle body and then clear coated the head and the attaching wrap.  Multiple steps that he said had to be exercised correctly to make the fly as life like as possible.  He said it is either a newly hatched sculpin or a small minnow imitation.  He also made Sculpin jigs that the head was an identical match for a very small sculpin.

 

We ended up this morning with 62 fish for 3 clients on this jig.  The fish here are extremely fat and healthy with lots of fish in the 13 to 17 inch range.

 

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Neat read. 

A white merlin olsen jig, brand new and still in its original unopened vial, just sold for $ 126.00 on eBay.  

 

I cringe knowing how many of those pink micros we bought years ago that rusted away in dads "trout bucket" when it got left out in the rain. 

The feather is what I'd call down I think rather than hackle (stiffer neck feather by definition)

Nice little fly.

I think  getting jigs that light (1.7 grains) would be a deal killer unless you machine your own molds, that would be about like a #7 shot pellet. As big as those heads look, my guess is they ain't lead or bismuth. And I'm guessing the head/eye is very important to this lure.

Are the eyes painted or an add-on?

Turner was not a rich man, quite the opposite.  He and his family came from Cally to  move to Springfield his daughter if still alive most likely lives in Cally.  Turner brought her over to the house once saying she was going to help him.  I knew this was not going to fly, and she was gone back to California in a week or two.

These people are what I refer to as VW Bus people, or really from that type of generation.  That included Turner to some extent but for sure his daughter and grand daughter.  60's and 70's both hard and soft rock.  There ain't a thing wrong with that.

He always wanted someone to help build jigs and take over the company, but "Whoa Nelly" that person would have been the birth child for being Micro Managed.  Turner was anal about those jigs.

At the height of his business he had 6 women working for him in a put together shop in his basement, each being managed and putting a piece together in the puzzle.  The wholesale price of the jigs didn't change much in the 20 plus years I  have used them, only when he had to go up.  I remember a dozen years ago the price of hooks really jumped and he said it was one of his saddest days when he had to call and say he had to increase the price of the jigs a few dollars a dozen.

Every component of the jig including the tube was purchased from a different manufacture.  I know in the end Heather his grand daughter{ I believe Heather is in her late 40's} ran out of tubes as they were no longer available or perhaps she just could no longer find or afford them.  She sent me quite a few loose in a zip lock.  Heather did not at the time have a car and she would give me her bank account number and ask me to please deposit the jig payment in her account. 

I relate this story about Turner.  In the late 90's he sent me a box with 50 dozen jigs in it thru the mail.  We were having some mail theft problems at Shell Knob and that package was taken from my mail box we are guessing cause it never was found.  I reordered the jigs and thought Geez, I'm out 50 doz.  Nope, Turner found out as the mail was being traced because of this  problem and I had ordered another exact set of jigs.  He said, "Bill did you get your micro's"  I told him I did not and he said he would resend them free.  I told him no way and sent a check to him and he sent it back.  I resent telling him why he should keep it and he sent it back and told me if I sent it again I would get no more jigs.

After that he insured the package and again I asked if I could pay the  postage with the Insurance and he said "NO".  He always called his clients after he sent the jigs and asked if they were what you ordered and if you were satisfied.  Every time.

In the end It was taking us 6 months to get them as he and Heather were making them by themselves, and he would send each color set as they  made them so you would have them always asking which you need the most.

I'm going to say without question that right now Phil Lilley has the largest amount of original Turner Jones Micro Jigs still in existence.  Lilleys over the years have sold hundreds of dozens.

In the past 5 yrs. the deal of the day at first was the trout magnet, and it ran a very successful course and still catches some fish.  Then the Berkley Power worm and it is without a doubt one of the best trout catchers I  have used in my career.  When times are tough however and when push comes to shove either a olive or a ginger 1/2 micro size 14 hook and 256th. oz. will put them all to shame as quick as a wink.

 

tjm, Turner called it extremely fine Neck Hackle.  Said he hand selected each piece and your right it is the same consistence of down.  As far as the eyes I believe they are stick on and then clear coated over, I have never had one come off.  As far as the head material I don't know what it is.  Turner was somewhat vague about it telling me  one time that it was not entirely lead and it was not entirely tungsten.  I will tell you it is heavy and sinks at a very rapid rate for its size.

The head of the 256 oz. is about half the size of this BB. 

55 minutes ago, Bill Babler said:

the deal of the day at first was the trout magnet, and it ran a very successful course and still catches some fish.  Then the Berkley Power worm and it is without a doubt one of the best trout catchers I  have used in my career. 

 

I can tell you that those stockers down by Cooper Creek didn't care whether it was a pink power worm or a trout magnet this past weekend as long as it was pink. There were so many fish in one small area that I think they were competing for anything you threw at them though. Definitely not one of the harder days of fish catching that I've experienced.