Enrico Puglisi EP Foxy & Sparkle Brushes Are Nice.

Enrico Puglisi EP Foxy & Sparkle Brushes are nice. The Game Winner SBS.

Daiichi 2557 Intruder Style Stinger Hook

D2557 to Flymen Articulated Fish Spine

Secure Enrico Puglisi Sparkle Brush (holographic silver) section for tail section

Wind and secure at the front and pick out fibers

Hit thread head with Deer Creek Diamond Fine

Cure UV Resin w/ Deer Creek Pro Torch

Chain gang second articulation w/ Flymen Fish Spine

Secure a 1.5"  EP Foxy Brush in place

EP Foxy Brush is in place

Wind EP Foxy Brush forward, tie off at the eye and secure with DC UV Resin

Cure Deer Creek UV Resin w/ Deer Creek Pro Torch

Chain gang the third articulation w/ a Flymen Fish Spine

Secure a Saddle Hackle feather in place at the rear of shank

Secure another EP Foxy Brush section in place

Wind to the eye and pick fibers out to clean things up

Hit thread head w/ Deer Creek UV Resin

Cure w/ DC UV Pro Torch

Chain gang the fourth articulation with Flymen Fish Spines

Build a thread base

Tie in another Saddle Hackle feather at the rear of the 4th articulation

Secure a strand of a 3" EP Foxy Brush in place

Wind 3" EP Foxy Brush to eye and secure in place

Hit thread head w/ Deer Creek Diamond UV Resin

Cure w/ Deer Creek Pro Torch

Front hook is a Gamakatsu SC15 (or similar)

Run Senyo's Intruder Wire thru the eye of the front articulation 

Create a loop in the wire and secure in place on front hook

Secure another 3" EP Foxy Brush strand at the rear of the hook

Wind 2/3rds of the way forward and secure in place

Check out my new lid

Secure another holographic silver EP Sparkle Brush strand in place

Wind to behind the hook eye leaving room for a thread head

Sexy

Whip finish

Super Glue a Deer Creek eye on each side

Build a nice UV Resin head w/ the only tack free UV Resin, Deer Creek

Cure UV Resin

Cheers!

Orvis Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide

Do you want to learn how to fly fish or just hone your skills? Fish with an Orvis Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide. Dave has access to nearly 11 miles of private water, where he guides for trophy rainbow trout in the mountain streams of southwestern Virginia and northwestern North Carolina. Experience fly fishing at its best. Dave was named finalists for the Orvis-Endorsed Guide of the Year in 2011, 2012 and 2013, 2015. He provides 33 years of fly-fishing experience and 26 years of guide/instructor experience.

Below is a video that was compiled from the Go Pro footage of 2 anglers and 1 guide during a 2 day excursion to southwest Virginia in January of 2015. Enjoy.

Stripped Polish Peacock Quills, Deer Creek UV Resin, Ludkin Reel Wings, VN Nymph Skin, Trout Line CDC vs. Bug Collars, Hedron Big Fly Fiber, EP Foxy Brushes, etc.

The most notable fly tying products found in the industry today can be easy or difficult to come by, dependent on where you're walking the streets. The US has many great offerings, like Bozeman Fly Goods Bug Collars, Hedrons Big Fly Musky Fiber Blends and Enrico Puglisis Foxy Brushes and on and on. That being said, there are many items that are hard to find on the US side of the Big Pond.

Chironomid- Bozeman Fly Goods Bug Collars

 

Hedrons Pink Bastard- Big Fly Fiber Blend

Hise's Bugs Bunny- EP Foxy Brushes 1.5" & 3"

Some of my favorite products come from the other side of the Pond. Is it because they were/are hard to find or is it because they're great products? Probably the latter. There are a multitude of products that I enjoy using on a frequent basis. To begin with, one of the only truly tack free UV resins available is from Deer Creek in the United Kingdom. Diamond Fine (thin version), dries TOTALLY TACK FREE, NON-YELLOWING and SOLID all the way through, in seconds. No need to coat the finished fly with other agents, like Sally Hansens or rubbing alcohol. 

Deer Creek UV Resins

Stripped Peacock Quills from Polish Quills are the finest quill bodies on the market today. Not only do you not have to strip your own peacock quills but you dont have to worry about messy dyes. They take the pain and inconsistency out of stripping and dyeing. These are little works of art that are superb for making abdomens on dries, larva and nymphs. Check out the abdomen on Markus Hoffman's unbelievable mosquito. The image above Markus' shows the masterful combination of Ludkin Reel Wings and Polish Stripped Quills. All Reel Wings are made using a unique manufacturing method. The process gives a super realistic, etched surface finish. The material used to manufacture these wings is extremely thin. This keeps the wings supple as not to hinder casting accuracy nor twist the leader. Reel wings may be left natural or can be colored to suit using ink washes or graphic marker pens.

Ricky Bassetts Reel Wing Quill Body Dun

Markus Hoffmans Quill Bodied Mosquito

Virtual Nymph Nymph Skin is another superb product from the United Kingdom. It is wonderful to work with and has qualities that so many other comparable materials dont have, including rubber bands. It wont degrade in your fly box like rubber typically does. Nymph Skin will allow you to tie the most realistic abdomens. You can also use it for wing cases and other applications. Virtual Nymph Nymph Skin is used by Bill Logan, Steve Thornton, Oliver Edwards, Markus Hoffman and many of the world’s best known fly tyers.

Markus Hoffmans Ryacophilia Caddis Larva

Lastly, there is tons of CDC (Cul de Canard) on the market and it covers the full spectrum from good quality to bad. The best Ive worked with is the Trout Line CDC from Romania. What makes these feathers so good? These CDC feathers come from all different types of ducks who happily eat grass and swim all day in lakes within small local Bio duck farms. This is one reason why Trout Line provides the best quality feathers. The other is they are all hand selected and hand dyed using the cold dye dyeing process (as to not destroy the beautiful structure of the CDC feathers). CDC feathers, known also as Cul de Canard, are collected around the oil (preen) gland of the duck (wild or domestic bird ). It does not mean that oily aspect is the main factor of floatability. One reason these feathers float so well is their special structure; the multitude of fibers and fiber density.

Trout Line Cul de Canard

That's my story and Im sticking to it.

Orvis Recon 9' 5 Weight Fly Rod Touching Her Toes on the Orvis Client Simulator

I just attended the Orvis Endorsed Guide Rendezvous in Asheville, North Carolina and witnessed something amazing. Check out the Orvis Recon 9 foot 5 weight Fly Rod on the Orvis Client Simulator. I witnessed the first of these tests some 4 years ago which resulted in shattered rods at some point or another. Orvis rod designers/engineers have come along way since then with the design and manufacturing of their fly rods. Helios 2, Superfine Glass and Recon rods now rarely break under the stresses of the Client Simulator. That's a 5 weight folks. I think its quite impressive what these rods can handle under pressure.

Check out the battle between the Orvis Recon 9' 5 Weight and the Orvis Client Simulator.

Purchase Your Orvis Recon Fly Rod Here

Orvis Mirage Fly Reel

The Orvis Mirage Fly Reel offers superb performance for a mid-high priced fly reel putting it in a class by itself. I've had the opportunity to use this reel in numerous sizes and circumstances; from Christmas Island for giant trevally to Michigan for chrome to Montana for big river trout. The environments were quite different during each occasion; varying from an 85 degree Central Pacific salt air to an 18 degree Great Lakes ice box to dry Montana summer tundra. No doubt, the reels were put to the test and under no circumstance did I feel under gunned or concerned about performance.

The drag system is completely sealed making it impervious to grit and grime, and saltwater and other corrosive elements. It uses the same principles utilized for brakes on fighter jets; the carbon to stainless disc drag (8 surfaces in the Mirage I and II, and 16 surfaces in the III thru VII) allows for a smooth and  consistent, infinitely adjustable drag that ranges from free spooling to a dead stop (and I mean dead stop). True large arbor performance for any condition and any fish that swims in fresh and saltwater.

Check out what Conway Bowman, the Mako Master, has to say about this workhorse of a reel. Honest words from a gentleman and steward who fishes all over the world for anything that swims.

Here are the benefits and features:

A completely sealed and maintenance-free drag surface, impervious to saltwater, dirt, grit and other corrosive elements to last longer and hold up to real world abuse.

A positive-click drag knob for accurate and repeatable drag settings.

True large arbor performance picks up line fast to give you the edge over all fresh and saltwater fish: from trout and panfish to bonefish, stripers, tarpon, tuna, marlin, and sails.

Crafted of strong yet lightweight anodized 6061 T6 aluminum with a heavily-ventilated spool to shed weight yet keep its strength.

Special handle shape reduces line from catching.

Aggressive diamond knurling on knob for easier grasp and adjustment mid-battle.

Quick release spool and easy conversion from left- to right-hand retrieve.

Here are the specs: 

Mirage LA I for line weights 1-3; 3.8 oz., 3" diameter.

Mirage LA II for line weights 3-5; 4.3 oz., 3¼" diameter.

Mirage LA III for line weights 5-7; 4.8 oz., 3½" diameter.

Mirage LA IV for line weights 7-9; 7.2 oz., 4" diameter.

Mirage LA V for line weights 9-11; 7.7 oz., 4¼" diameter.

Mirage LA VI for line weights 11-13; 10 oz., 4½" diameter.

Mirage LA VII Shallow for line weights 11-13; 11.7 oz., 5" diameter.

Mirage LA VII Deep for line weights 13-15; 11.5 oz., 5" diameter.