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Bill Babler
Bill Babler

Turner Jones micro jigs

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.

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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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I'd like to have couple to look at, maybe dissect one, most of the little I know  about tying I learned by reverse engineering. There may be more to that little jig, it appears to have a clear tube over the collar. If so that clear tube would be the thin wall without adhesive , I think. The head is outside my skill set and obviously of his own design.

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18 hours ago, Gavin said:

Yeah, I was wrong. looks like a ton of work to replicate. His jig molds,  & remaining inventories might be available if you could locate & purchase. Would tell you allot if that's all he tied.

Phil pretty much has all his remaining completed inventory.  Molds are who only knows where.  Heather told me they were stolen.  The inventory that we received after he passed were heads he had already molded and were in her inventory.  I have tried to reach her this year, but her phone has been disconnected.

Out of the Blue one day she will call me and we will see what can be done.

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On ‎6‎/‎5‎/‎2018 at 1:18 PM, ColdWaterFshr said:

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

 

Phil, you may be sitting on a gold mine with your inventory... $126 per jig???  Maybe early retirement??? Kinda like the original Wiggle

Wart craze. 

Those things look great for still water fishing but we never have that down here on the White/Norfork rivers. 

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3 hours ago, Bill Babler said:

Texted that to Steven in under 30 seconds he said 109 per oz.

So I guess we should stop calling them 1/265th and call them 1/100th?

Wonder what the full micros are?  1/16th?

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dunno, got weigh  a dressed jug and one that is spent (bare jig head). Thanks CW, hope you can make Slosh's trip, our lets go soon when you have availability. Can't do JF this weekend. Midweek day trip possible, tell them you are mole whacking or playing golf.

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52 minutes ago, Gavin said:

dunno, got weigh  a dressed jug and one that is spent (bare jig head). Thanks CW, hope you can make Slosh's trip, our lets go soon when you have availability. Can't do JF this weekend. Midweek day trip possible, tell them you are mole whacking or playing golf.

We’re gonna have to rig you up with one of those blow devices that checks blood alcohol content before you can post. You know, like the one in your car 😄

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On 6/5/2018 at 6:22 PM, Phil Lilley said:

Just weighed a micro (1/256th oz).  It's .0092 ounces.

Someone do the math.

Not sure what you want the math for? Bill's gives how flies per ounce (not sure why this matters?)

1/256oz = .0039oz = jig head = 1.70898438 grains

jig head + Hook + paint + dressing = .0092oz= 4.025grains

1oz/.0092oz = 108.69 or ~ 109 jigs per ounce  and ~1739 jigs per pound (fwiw)

If the jig head weighs .0039 it's very likely that the finished lure weighs .0092 or roughly 2.3 times what the head weight is

By simple proportion the 1/156oz (.0064oz) heads should dress to ~ 2.3589 X 1/156 = .0151oz or 6.61 grains

And there would be ~66 jigs per ounce or 1059 jigs per pound

There are 7,000 grains in a pound. A Daisy BB weighs ~ 5.386 grains , a lead BB ~6.25 grains and shot approximately equivalent to the half jig head would be #7 bird shot and the cavity needed would 0.10" diameter.  A 0.245" diameter cavity should approximate the 1/156oz head- #3 buck is just a bit bigger

 

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2 hours ago, Phil Lilley said:

So I guess we should stop calling them 1/265th and call them 1/100th?

Wonder what the full micros are?  1/16th?

Man, I am so lost in this and the math. And, I’m pretty good at math. $109 per oz? What are we ciphering here? 

My tummy tells me a tiny bead, an 18 or smaller hook and some marabou tips tied in with thread and the fish will go, ‘Hey, that’s one of them Turner Jones micro jigs —I’ll race you to it.’ 😄 Would be so cheap and easy to tie one that durability wouldn’t really matter. 

No disrespect to those who have actually seen and/or fished these wonders, I’m just a bit of a skeptic. 

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