BUG-BOND & Fleye Foils

Earlier this year I blogged that I'd been involved with Bob Popovics and his Fleye Foils... so how do they work... do they work and if they do where can you get them?

First off if you think the Surf Candy is just for the saltwater flyfisherman then think again! NOT SO! Read on...

Lutz Schepers of www.theflypeople.com contacted me recently to confirm that of the UV cure resins he'd tried the best was BUG-BOND... he now stocks BUG-BOND alongside Fleye Foils. Lutz is currently the man in Europe who sells both retail and wholesale Bob Popovic's Fleye Foils. But do they work?

As I always say the proof of the pudding is in the eating... photos and video of the use of Fleye Foils when trout fishing with Lutz are the proof. There are many great contemporary tyers that are turning their attention to the foils... are they a gimmic... no, they aren't, they are an addition to the fisherman's armoury AND they catch fish!

I'm pleased that Lutz has put his faith not only in Fleye Foils but also BUG-BOND the award winning tack-free UV Cure Resin.

Contact Lutz at www.theflypeople.com

BUG-BOND hits the "Sails" in Malaysia

Last week I had an email from long time Bug-Bond user and friend, Tom Gorman... Tom was THE first overseas customer (out of my then circle of friends) of BUG-BOND.  I remember getting an email in January 2010 from Tom just days after I opened the doors for business. Tom was going to Costa Rica and needed to get flies tied pronto... we messaged each other and I was soon sending product to an American living and working in Hong-Kong. Over the ensuing years we have kept in touch and I have followed Tom's fishing for Sailfish... Tom has kindly allowed me to share his email and photos.

"Hi David

Just back from Rompin, Malaysia, where Bug-Bond had a hand in some excellent fly fishing for sailfish . Attaching two pics, one "before" showing a ten-inch sailfish popper I tied, with the fly head finished with Bug-Bond. It's tied tube-style with a Rainy's popper head slipped on the front of the tube. Despite the raspy bill, Bug-Bond held up beautifully.

The other pic, "after", shows the same fly as we brought one sail to the boat for release. The reel is an Abel Super 12, and I fished a Rio Outbound 12 wt WF F/I line which makes a fairly easy job of casting such a big fly for this kind of fly fishing.

Sails averaged around 30 kg. Fishing was slower than usual for this time of year but I managed to bring 4 to the boat in 3 days. Great fun. Guide was Dominic Pereira of Fishzone Sportfishing out of Singapore who's a crack guide and great fellow to fish with. He and his partner Ian Pinto are the go-to fly fishing guides in Rompin and have been for years .

Hope you can get there one of these days . Thanks for the 'bond'(Bug-Bond).

Thanks and best

Tom"

It should be noted that Tom switched to BUG-BOND for all his fly line connections... the first to put his trust in BUG-BOND in that way on such a big trip back in 2010... Tom, thanks for your support. 

New fly and a red letter day!

Its been a busy 12 months or so and fishing sadly hasn't featured massively... sadly. Funny from a guy who has a fishing related business as well!

I'm also in the midst of a hectic few weeks of shows and I also need to sit down and tie patterns outside the show environment and allow my creative mind run wild (that's a laugh) and then go out and fish. Product testing always goes on...

Last night I tied a fly... using the reverse tying method. 4x cock saddle hackles, white bucktail and some new material and finished off with BUG-BOND and eyes. This morning 6am the alarm goes... dark outside and windy... stuff it, put the alarm on 30 minutes. I'm at the water's edge by 0730 and pike number one is in the bag at 0758 and less than an hour later fish number two is out of the water!

Fish two is a clonker a specimen Perch, a stripey... the UK record is 6lbs 4oz and this is weighing in at 3lbs 8oz. Nothing magical about that with the exception that just over ten years ago a virus wiped out the perch in this lake and over the past five years nothing really over a 1lb has come out... rumours of 2lb perch but nothing concrete. Until now!

A Personal Best and on my own fly... I have my Mojo back!

BUG-BOND in Glasgow

Cheryl curing BUG-BOND on the head of her first fly!

The Glasgow Angling Centre Open Weekends are hugely successful and I wouldn't be suprised if they weren't the largest free fishing shows in the UK. Run in March and September they are dates for the diary and not to be missed.

I love the warm welcome from customers and staff alike... all are enthusiastic and its a treat to be there.

I was demonstrating BUG-BOND alongside fellow fly tyers Dougie Loughridge, Paul Procter, Allan Liddle and one of my personal favourites, the quiet man... Paul Little who has a talent beyond the reach of most mortals... his flies are faultless.

The beauty of an event like this is that I meet folk who were early adopters of  BUG-BOND and who come to have a natter to those who are just setting out on the journey of fly fishing & fly tying... there are the young and not so young who are all taken by new flash materials and enjoy watching for the first time the fast curing of BUG-BOND... some whispering to friends refer to it as "drying"... call it what they will I don't mind.

It gives me a complete buzz getting a person to tie a fly for the first time and watch them as they create their first fly. One such person was Cheryl McCrory, she'd come to the show with her boyfriend Gary McLellan (a BUG-BOND user). Cheryl is a dental nurse and is used to curing dental composites but she's never tied a fly. I think you'll agree that as a first fly she did a good job. Well done Cheryl!

Thank you Glasgow... see you all in March!

Irish Fly Fair November 2012 (Galway)

The Irish Fly Fair & International Angling Show

Galway Bay Hotel, Salthill, Galway

10th-11th November 2012

(Saturday & Sunday from 10am - 5pm daily)


Welcome to Ireland’s best fly-fishing event of the year!

The show will feature a range of exhibitors from all parts of the angling world; as normal, at its heart will be some of the world’s greatest fly dressers who will display their unique skills and craft. This year the show will be even better for the angling public as we have assembled the largest group of fly tyers ever to dress flies at any show in Ireland. At the moment, we have over 60 of the world’s most famous Fly Tyers from 15 different countries.

·There will also be a large number of trade stands selling all the top quality tackle brands and fly tying materials.

·We plan to hold a series of interesting and relevant angling talks from famous personalities.

·New for 2012 is a Fly-dressers’ Workshop with some of the greatest fly-dressers in the world passing on their wisdom and tips.

·Outside, there will be fly casting demonstrations and help clinics by famous anglers, among them Charles Jardine (England) Glenda Powell (Ireland) and Hywel Morgan (Wales)

. Free individual fly-casting and fly-tying tuition from APGAI - IRELAND. In their ranks they have some of the highest qualified instructors and best-known personalities in the sport of game angling on this island such as Peter O'Reilly, Stevie Munn, Paddy McDonnell, Joe Stitt and Jim Hoy. The Youth Fly Tying competition will be run by APGAI- IRELAND fly-dressers with some fabulous prizes for the kids.


There will be much more to keep you, the angling public, fascinated over the two days. This show is a must for the angling enthusiast. Why not encourage your local angling club to make it a club outing? Come along with your friends. You can take advantage of our new Two-Day Ticket at a special, cheaper rate and make a great weekend of it. There are special room rates at the event hotel for those staying the weekend, details under ‘Accommodation’ on the fly fair website.

 

Free Trout & Salmon and Trout Fisherman Magazines.

Make sure to come along and give this event your support; this is perhaps the greatest game angler’s show in Europe and is the one event not to miss in Ireland this year.

The International Fly Dressers Row includes:

Paul Little – England, Hans Weilenmann – Netherlands, Kat Rollin –USA, Stoyan Filipov – Bulgaria, Anders Ståhl – Sweden, Brian Burnett – Scotland, Chris Sandford – England, Hendrik Wiegand– Germany, Alice Conba – Ireland, Arthur Greenwood – Ireland, Rockwell Hammond – USA, Caroline Emmet – England, David Edwards – England, Dean Armstrong – Ireland, Declan Tuffy – Ireland, Dougie Loughridge – Scotland, Emyr Breese – Wales, Frankie McPhillips – Ireland, Frank Moors – England, Gary Bell – Ireland, Glyn Davies – Wales, Harald Larsen – Norway, Ian McKenzie– England, Jim Lees –Scotland, Joe McDonald – Ireland,Mike Keady – Ireland, Pat Mulholland – Ireland, Lawrence Finney - Ireland, Riny Sluiter – Holland, Robert Reilly – Ireland, Roger Salomonsson – Sweden, Ryan Houston – Ireland, Skuli Kristinsson – Iceland, Trevor Jones – Wales, Vytas Markevicius – Lithuania, Walter Bayer – Germany, Wilco Steenbergen – Netherlands, and many more.

For full details, see :

www.irishflyfair.com

Stevie Munn
Game Angling Consultant
APGAI- IRE .Fly Casting & Fly Tying.

Hardy Greys Fly Casting Instructor
Professional Angling Guide

www.irishflyfair.com

Fishing is a sport for all!

Fishing could be seen as a somewhat solitary past-time... think of the days you have spent on your own just listening to the deafening quiet as nature surrounds you. Magical! 

Now think of the days that you have shared on the water with a friend, a guide or a loved one... the ability to share that moment is perhaps all the sweeter as you both have an empathy to being at one with nature and pitting your wits against the fish. With the other angler you have become a team and together you work to catch the fish. 

Does it matter whether the team players are male or female, does it matter whether the fly employed to catch the fish was tied by a man or a woman and who’s to say what gender the person was who built the fishing rod or reel? 

Irrespective of race, creed/religion, ability/disability, age or gender; all sports should be inclusive... fishing and fly tying should cross all divides and make us a common people. 

I’m not usually one for petitions but based on my longstanding association with womankind I think this one is worth nailing your flag to the mast for. http://www.change.org/petitions/sport-angling-community-let-s-start-talking-about-the-issue

 

Mutual respect!

Two more for the BUG-BOND team!

It gives me great pleasure to announce two new members of the BUG-BOND team, Jo Stephenson and Hendrik Wiegand.

I first met Jo at the BFFI in October 2010... I perhaps rather unfairly had Jo take my place on tyers row and had her tie a Thunder Creek pattern using BUG-BOND for the first time... I still have the fly and may photograph it and post it here with some of Jo's other flies.

Hendrik is a long term user of BUG-BOND and he approached me at the Dutch Fly Fair this year to show me some of his flies that he fishes deep from his bellyboat for large trout on Alpine lakes... an amazing combination of squirrel and foam feature in his flies. Again I'll be featuring Hendrik's flies over the coming weeks.

Both of these fly tyers bring much to the team.

Welcome Jo & Hendrik.

Jo Stephenson

I live in a small country village in Suffolk with my husband Jonny and our little labrador “Eider”, 6 Ferrets and a guinea fowl called “Quentin” and I work as head of nursing at a veterinary hospital.

I first discovered fly tying about 7 years ago, when we were on our year away travelling. We were in a sports shop in New Zealand and I was intrigued by all these packets of feathers and furs, Jonny explained to me they were for tying fishing flies. I was fascinated how they (fly tying materials) could be used on hooks to create such pretty works of art that would then catch a fish. When we got home to the UK Jonny bought me a book and a few fly tying tools and a vice and that was me “hooked”.

Jonny is now teaching me the art of fly casting and actually using the flies I tie. I tie a lot of Bass and Pike flies but also enjoy tying Salmon and Sea Trout flies. I have recently had good success with a fly I named the Voshmied Killer which caught all of our Salmon on a trip to the Hebrides. Over the last couple of years I have been involved with the BASS society and have attended different shows and have demonstrated tying on their stand. 

Hendrik Wiegand

I was born 1964 in Hamburg. As I was first walking, I was about three years old, I was starting with fishing. In summer 1978 (it's now the 34th year) I tried first time fly-fishing with my Dad on a little river in Austria.

It makes a "Bang!" to me and it was the beginning of a great passion. In Summer 79 I met Frank de la Porte, at first he was my instructor, then as a friend; even now he is acts as my adviser and I’m proud about it. A few years later it made my holiday at the legendary Gmundener Traun-Austria, there I met Hans Gebetsroither. Since many many years I like to fishing and tying.

In the year 2009 I was fishing about 200 days in Stillwater, 100 days of them on a “Belly boat”. It was very successfully with many trout up to 8kg (16 pounds). On July 2010 I made a trip to Tirol-Austria to the Pillersee. With some information I tried my luck and the success was amazing. So I was still summer to autumn about 1.5 month over there. Till this time my very best Stillwater fishing. Thus 2009-2010-2011 I have learned much more about fishing, new patterns and about myself. Many of them I have refined. In the season 2010-2011, I co-organized several “Belly boat” events, that’s huge fun. I have tied flies in five countries (Denmark, England, Austria, Holland and Germany).

I like/love to move in the nature, on the water, to make a good cast, take the right fly and meet nice people. In almost the same manner I like to row on a "my" little river, take a seat and watching all around me. That's how I learnt much more. I call it 'wood and water is speaking to me' *smile*. What about the right fly? At the moment I have the best ideas if I’m sitting at the tying table and listening Chaka Khan or B.B. King during the day and Pavarotti in the evening. I also like to cook for friends.