Help Identifying Bear Hair Jigs "Foo Trollaid"

[Solddaboat]

I have found a couple of partial cards of Bear Hair Jigs in one of my tackle chest of drawers that I don't remember buying ( Sold my Boat in 2002 so haven't done much fishing in the last 20 years... Kids, work, time just gets away from you) anyway these Jigs are 3/8oz with a black weed guard and about a 3.0 heavy hook on a card labeled "Foo Troollaid" with a Decatur, Alabama address. I did search (nothing on Google) using DuckDuckGo and came up with the Footrollaid Patent from 1986 for a mechanism for controlling trolling motors. It referenced Billy Westmorland indirectly.. Can Anyone offer up any more information on these Jigs.. No one I have talked to has ever heard of them... Thanks 

[WRB]

Avoid opening this thread.

Tom

[Solddaboat]

2 hours ago, WRB said:

Avoid opening this thread.

Tom

Why?

[WRB]

On 10/28/2024 at 1:48 PM, Solddaboat said:

Why?

Foo troll aid….do I need to say more😎

[Solddaboat]

I think you could explain yourself.

 

[img]https://i.imgur.com/37CKH0S.jpg?3[/img]

I guess I can't load a picture of them on here...

 

I was just trying to see if anybody knew anything about them. But can't seem to get past the MAN

 

Thanks but No Thanks...

[Team9nine]

On 11/10/2024 at 7:01 PM, Solddaboat said:

I think you could explain yourself.

 

[img]https://i.imgur.com/37CKH0S.jpg?3[/img]

I guess I can't load a picture of them on here...

 

I was just trying to see if anybody knew anything about them. But can't seem to get past the MAN

 

Thanks but No Thanks...

 

I was able to see your picture. I did some searching through old newspapers but couldn't turn up anything about the jigs or the trolling motor modification/company. The Footrollaid was both TM'ed and patented between 1986 and 1994. You can see some pictures of the design here: Footrollaid patent

 

I did find some info on one of the inventors...fishing pics and catches from the 1960s into 1971. It appears he (McCaghren) owned a machine repair shop in Decatur, so no surprise he might have invented something like in the patent being an angler himself. I'm not certain about the tie-in with Westmoreland. Billy was tying his own "hoss fly" jigs well before then, and his smallmouth book came out in 1976, a decade before the foot motor deal. I'll keep digging, but this one might stay a mystery. I loaded the picture (below) in case someone else might recognize them.

 

It looks like Charles McCaghren passed in 2017 (age 82). His partner on the FooTrollaid patent, Jack Mullican, passed in 2023 (age 85).

 

 

 

 

[WRB]

Foo meaning intentionally meaningless led me to answer the post was a troll.

Apparently there maybe some meaning?

Polar bear hair was very popular before the bear was put on the endangered species list. Polar bear hair is illegal today.

Tom

[dopey]

Never heard of that brand!!  But I'd say get some bear hair and tie up your own.  I've got Black, Brown and Grizzly.  You CAN get polar bear if you want to do the paper work to get it.  

 

Looking at the picture of the card it says "Special jig hair" ?  But are you sure it's bear?   

[Solddaboat]

I guess I can't load a picture of them on here...

 

I was just trying to see if anybody knew anything about them. But can't seem to get past the MAN

 

Thanks but No Thanks...

 

 

Sorry, at the time I was frustrated with not being able (or knowing how) to load a picture and not being taken seriously about my questions.

 

I do appreciate the response from Team9nine as my searching not able to find a lot of the information he responded with.

 

Dopey, I have another area of the backing card that says "Bear Hair Jig" so I'm not sure but maybe only the six jigs that were attached on that area of the card were actual "Bear Hair"

 

Anyway, Thanks Again for the Help and Information. Maybe someone else will read this post and offer up a little more information in the future.  "Wish you all "Fast Waters and Big Eddy's"

 

 

 

 

[Munkin]

On 11/12/2024 at 8:30 PM, dopey said:

Never heard of that brand!!  But I'd say get some bear hair and tie up your own.  I've got Black, Brown and Grizzly.  You CAN get polar bear if you want to do the paper work to get it.  

 

Looking at the picture of the card it says "Special jig hair" ?  But are you sure it's bear?   

 

Where can I get brown or grizzly hair from? Polar bear are endangered so I guess you need a special permit to get it.

 

Allen

[WRB]

Bob Marriott’s Fly Fishing has a wide variety of fur, that where I got hair for tying jigs. 
Polar bear hair must be 1972 or older.

Black bear may  have brown fur. Brown bear (Kodiak) fur is available but lots of craft hair is sold under those names.

Suggest contacting Marriott’s they a lot available then on their site.

Tom