The USA and more....

Wow! September has been a great month with a lot going on... it kicked off with a 2 page feature in Trout Fisherman including a step by step and a review by Robbie Winram... I was over the moon with his comments.

I then brought together the culmination of 12 months research and work on rod blanks and built and fished a 9' 9# where all the rings were attached only with Bug-Bond (no thread)... 13 pike up to 16lb on the Harrison Advanced Rods Lohric blank... that is a seriously nice stick! I have named the rod "Zero" as in Zero Thread Technology (very tongue in cheek BUT I have proved a point... Bug-Bond is versatile!!)


As I've previously blogged Pete Gray provided some kind words about Bug-Bond...

In the background Steve Silverio has been fighting the Bug-Bond corner, Steve is a thoroughly nice guy and a great tyer I have huge respect for him and his talent... I hope to be posting a bit about Steve and his ties in the coming weeks...

So what's the big news I hear you ask... Well as of yesterday stocks of Bug-Bond went on the shelves of http://www.whitewaterflies.com/ . This is a major step for Bug-Bond and removes a major stumbling block in our progression in the US market. I've had huge support from the US angler but potsage costs inhibited some from purchasing the product. Not anymore!!

With the kit, Greg Becker the owner of (Whitewaterflies) has tied up a few patterns which should give inspiration to those that wish to throw away the epoxy and the varnish... thanks for the images Greg.

It won't stop there tho' I have a second retailer in the US that will come on stream in 7 days time or so... who will it be?

Thank you all for your support and watch this space...

Phun on the Phringe with Pete...

This week top fly tyer Pete Gray (USA) who usually ties in the UV Phree Zone, as he likes to call it has decided to tie using UV cured acrylics... for "Phun"

Pete is a great and much admired fly tyer, who leads the way... he's not a follower... many who see his ties on Stripersonline are constantly WOWed by his technique and dare I say it, his genius...

His comments on Stripersonline were short and to the point...

"Used with the "tip kit" its application is much more precise and the cured results are much more tack free than the sort'a almost tack free other stuff..."

"Bug-Bond hit a home run... CCG hit a Ground Rule Double..."

...and in an email to me “David, If given the choice between Bug-Bond and CCG, I'd absolutely go with your magic voodoo acrylic WITH the "tip kit"...Over the MOON!” Pete Gray

You're "Over the MOON!" well that makes two of us Pete... and thank you for allowing me to reproduce your comments and images.

The Ducking Fedley!

“Dealing with emails that come into the office is never a chore as they are mostly fishing or Bug-Bond related and like most, I enjoy a good fishy tale. One such anecdote with supporting photos was sent to me by Chris Sandford. Chris has very kindly allowed me to reproduce part of his email along with the photos so that I may share it with you (Chris, it is much appreciated. Thank you).

The unexpurgated version will be found in his soon to be published article in the Autumn issue of Waterlog magazine (http://www.waterlogmagazine.com/ do have a look at their website and consider subscribing to this quality journal).

Chris told me that although they didn’t win the one fly event, they didn’t do too badly and more to the point the Bug-Bond flies lasted the whole day… and by the look of the photo, Chris’s fly looks as if it could be fished again the following day and probably many more.

The excerpt from Chris’s email follows…”

“A week before the ‘One Fly’ competition Bob (A Passion for Angling) James called me and asked if I’d like to be part of the ‘Dream Team’ with him and Chris Tarrant....and would I mind tying the flies!

I knew that many parts of the Test were still quite coloured so I decided that I would give the team a choice between bright and heavy and fairly traditional and heavy! But I would do my best to make all the flies indestructible. It’s amazing how much damage can be done to one fly in just one day’s fishing so I gave them all a severe ‘Bug Bonding’!

On the day I presented Bob with the choice of the flies. “Your three ‘indestructibles’” I said. He looked at them carefully and asked ‘Which one are you going to use?’ I pointed to a small, tungsten headed, flash back bug on a size 14 hook. ‘Me too’ he said ‘What’s it called?’ ‘No idea’ I replied, ‘I only thought of it yesterday!’ Bob’s guide inspected it closely and muttered ‘Looks ****ing deadly to me!’ So that, we decided, was its name. The ****ing Deadly’!

One of the funniest moments related by Bob later in the day, was when the camera team covering the event filmed him landing three fine Trout on my fly. When asked by the director what the fly was called Bob had a lapse of memory and looked to his guide for help. Without missing a beat he said ‘Oh yes…that one…it’s ‘The Ducking Fedley’!

Cheers… Chris”

Size doesn't matter... but it helps!

You sometimes get that feeling in your water that the day is going to be good... not often as we would like BUT I just had to leave work early today.

1600 hrs and I was away from the desk and by 1700 hrs almost at the lake... My hollow tie was deployed in several marks but all failed to attract... BUT I knew I was in the wrong place! As the sun started to dip I decided to go to a mark where I'd lost a reasonable pike previously and decided to play hardball... I knew that I'd scored in this mark with dark flies... black or olive and decided to use one of my pal, Simon Graham's ties. Simon has become a great pal over the ether and we occasionally phone each other to chew the fat... I look forward to tying along side him at the BFFI in October!

I have digressed the tube fly... very wet at the moment is an olive raccoon tail, gold flash and brown raccoon head with a gold conehead... I armed it with a Sakuma Manta 2/0...

I cast into a mark where I'd had a loss earlier this year casting beyond the lilies and bringing the fly back on both sides of the V... Nothing was doing. However there is another slot in the lilies 6ft away but a difficult cast... more a back cast between the shrubbery and cast to the open water but then cast it onto the corner of the small lily pads... hopping it over the top of them and then dropping it into the water. Second cast and as it just dropped into the water a bait fish went vertical and with a boil of the water I was in...

Boy did this fish run for open water... a strong fish that I was keen to subdue quickly and get back in quickly... My newly built rod, a self build Harrison Lohric 9' 9# was perfection itself and at no point did I feel out of control...

So between my pal Simon Graham and my friends Steve Harrison and Mike Helliwell at Harrison Advanced Rods I banked a personal best at 16lb...

The photos are from the phone again... and thanks to the lad who took the photos!