The 75-year-old Stanley, a native Texan, has been described as "the father of the modern-day jig." He understood about balance...to get a jig to fall right, to look natural, to stand up, all that.
He understood about the bite angle...how different hooks and weedguards change the bite angle of a jig, and if you cut down on the bite angle, you miss more fish. He invented the nylon-bristle weedguard system.
It also should be noted that he later got into building spinnerbaits.
Stanley competed in more than 100 Bassmaster tournaments, amassing more than $300,000 in winnings. He earned over a third of that by winning the 1987 Megabucks event on Florida's Harris Chain. A decade later, he beat a stacked field at the 1997 Texas Central Invitational on Sam Rayburn.
Stanley qualified for and competed in the 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, and 1992 Bassmaster Classics. Along the way, he also found time to host ESPN's Sportsman's Challenge and G3 Outdoors. He was elected to the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in 2012.
Jay expressed it best when he said, "Love to his family and work family. Bless 'em and Lord, thank you for Lonnie."
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