Aussie fish and Aussie flies! OR What's the plural of Jono?

Sitting here surrounded by flies from the aftermath of my Cuban trip I decided to catch up on what my friends have been up to. One of those friends is Jono Shales in Exmouth, Western Australia… I’ve featured this guy before he’s been described as the “Human FAD” and folk aren't wrong.  Ace guide and owner of Exmouth Fly Fishing, Jono posts a continual stream of photographic images of fish caught in this virgin territory of Australia.

Jono and I became friends through a buddy of mine Pete Gray and we regularly converse… beer over the internet discussions take place as well as latest fly tying or fishing news.  My aim next year is to fish with the guy as well!

Now the internet is a funny place and through Jono and a couple of other mates I came across a commercial tyer from Australia… another Jono… this time Jono Makim.  Now this could get confusing writing the rest of this blog… but bear with me!

Jono Makim is an Aussie currently living in Germany. I asked Jono for a bio and was given… 35 years old, fly tyer and tying flies for 15 years… I’ll add to that sparse bio that he is probably one of the most talented commercial tyers I have seen… if you look at his flies they are all crafted with exquisite consistency.

Now link the two guys… I have yet to work out the plural of Jono!  Bring the flies to the FAD and what do you get… well, ace photos of fish with lip piercings that any high end jeweller would be proud of!

I had a conversation with Aussie Jono (as opposed to German Jono) about bonefish flies and a great photo he posted on Facebook. The fly in question was in fact German Jono’s ‘Ultimate Shrimp’ and the question arose as to what it was made from. Now I knew that Jono Makim (German Jono) had been using BUG-BOND but wasn't sure whether it had yet hit is mainstream flies. So I asked  and was blown away to find out that not only the ‘Ultimate Shrimp’ was built with BUG-BOND but also Jono’s  ‘Bay Candy’… I remembered seeing a great photo of a pink version of this fly impaled on the lip of a tuna from Exmouth… Magic!

I then chatted to Jono in Exmouth who was over the moon that as a member of the BUG-BOND team with perhaps limited time to tie… such is his popularity as a guide, that flies he is getting from an Aussie abroad are constructed with BUG-BOND.

What happened then was the email Inbox bleeped at me and out rolled not only the Bonefish photo but also photos of Goldens and also the Tuna caught on BUG-BOND flies…

If you want to fish with a Fish Attracting Device and want to go to Australia then Jono in Exmouth is your man. If you can’t tie a fly but love to fly fish with exquisite fly fishing jewellery on the end of your leader then Jono Makin is the man to look up… he’ll do stock flies that he knows are tried and tested and I guess he’ll custom tie as well if a different colour is required. A word to the wise – these guys are in demand so book and order early!

You can find Jono Shales here at http://www.exmouthflyfishing.com.au/ whilst the photos of the flies link to 'Jon Makim Flies' website… thanks for making my day guys!

PS... I referred to Jono Shales as Aussie Jono... but he's actually South African, whilst Jono Makim that I referred to as German Jono is in fact Australian... Confused?

Barracuda v BUG-BOND

This is the fly from the jaws of the barracuda... well actually this was the fifth barracuda that had chewed the fly. Tied on a 3/0 Mustad saltwater streamer hook with chartreuse and white H20  slinky fibre, this reinforced fly did its job and would have continued to do so had I not decided to save it for the studio. The monofilament braid body that was constructed separately on a mandrel with BUG-BOND and then placed over the tied fly is marked superficially and is good to go again... and again!

Out of all the flies suitable for barracuda in my fly box last week this is the one the guide chose, based on its lightness to fish in skinny water and its strength.

Great barracuda fly!!

BUG-BOND e Cuba Libre

A very image heavy blog post today having just flown in from Cuba after a week R&R... the day before I left on May 30 I re-built my Harrison 9' 8/9 weight Lohric rod... conventionally with thread but again using BUG-BOND.

The rod performed beautifully taking all fish in its stride linked with my MAKO Jack Charlton 9500 reel. Immense stopping power... I'd go as far as to say this combination is all that you would need as the travelling fisherman... Some of the flies were made or reinforced with BUG-BOND and the chartruese bait fish pattern took a hammering from no less than 5 barracuda and is still in great shape to fight again... I'll re-photograph that fly in close-up to show the tooth damage over the next day or so and give a brief synopsis of the gear used and the guide I employed whilst I was in Cuba...

But for now it is a game of catch-up on the sleep I've lost... Enjoy the photos! 

UK BASS at the Sportfish Open Weekend

BUG-BOND has been stocked by Sportfish for quite some time now and I am grateful for their support. At the recent Open Day at the Sportfish, Reading store, UK BASS were attending with their fantastic stand...

The Field Sports Channel TV filmed the event and filmed BUG-BOND team member Jo Stephenson tie a bass fly using BUG-BOND... Its a great video and a nice little fly as well!

Well done Jo!

The River Test 'One Fly' - BUG-BOND on film!

A few weeks ago I wrote that Chris Sandford and 'The Dream Team' retained their winners' title on the River Test. Chris' wife Gelly has put together a rather nice short film covering the day... plenty of fish action!

Enjoy...



If you would like to find out more about Chris and his STUFF... do visit www.chrissandford.com

Fly Fishing in Salt Waters - Exmouth 2

Photos of Gary Jennings courtesy of Jono Shales

So what do we get when we add saltwater, tuna, Jono Shales and a client with a fly rod and place them in Exmouth, Western Australia? Well I think the answer is a pretty stoked and happy client. Don't you think?

This is another of those great opportunities that I am fortunate to get. I had a call from my pal Jono Shales who runs Exmouth Fly Fishing a couple of weeks back to say that he'd been guiding Gary Jennings from Fly Fishing in Salt Waters magazine and that they'd been whirling up some BUG-BOND candies for the tuna... well day 1 for tuna was a no show... it happens. Day 2 on the tuna, well... I got a message from Jono with some photos... if you think Gary Jennings is happy in that photo, believe me I was doing cartwheels in the UK... that BUG-BOND fly is just where it should be!

I am really pleased for Jono who has worked hard on his guiding service... and I'm pleased also for Gary Jennings... great fish! Thanks for sharing...

For more information on Exmouth Fly Fishing... Just hit the link!

A rising star joins Team BUG-BOND!

 

I'd like to welcome a rising star to the BUG-BOND team... his name is Ilan Evans, he's 18 and aside from tying flies he works in the family business "Y Gywniad" which is a fishing tackle shop in the town of Bala, not far from the shores of Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake) in North Wales. 

Ilan Evans is a young professional fly tyer and has been tying  flies and fishing since his primary school days.

In 2011, Ilan represented his country as a member of the Welsh Youth Fly Fishing team at Loch Menteith in Scotland. The Welsh Team came 2nd out of the 4 Nations.

Ilan has tied flies at the Welsh Fly Fair, North Wales Fly Fair, the Irish Fly Fair in Galway at the Angling Expo in Dublin. He also demonstrated his skills on the UK Fly Dressers Stand at the British Fly Fair International 2012, and will be tying again this year at the BFFI on the fly tiers row.

Ilan is an active member of the Fly Dressers Guild and attends weekly sessions, he also teaches fly tying to members of Bala Angling Association.

His specialty flies are – competition and river flies, and ties micro flies (size 32).

Welcome to the team Ilan...
 

 A team of Ilan's Bug-Bond Beetles ready for action!