using epoxy

epoxy is a great medium for fly tiers and once you've learnt how to use it it can be a fantastic way of finishing of you flies with some great looking heads . there is of course many kinds of epoxy our there but my personnel favorites are devcon (pictured below) and lure flash 5 min epoxy both these i have used for years and so far they have not yellowed or cracked and you cant get a better recommendation than a time tested epoxy head on a fly



that brings me to the subject of your first try of epoxy , well it ain't rocket science honestly , if your trying it for the first time id really recommend you start of by just mixing enough to stick a couple of eyes on and not make a head to start with , this means you can get the feel of epoxy and how to mix it. as a rule of thumb a lot of amature fly tiers will mix it completely the wrong way causing the fly to take on a white appearance , this is due to the fact that they are mixing air into the epoxy by using a whisking motion and really don't know how to mix it properly but if your an amature tier you have little experience of using it then that's a common mistake but don't worry you'll get better over time and get professional looking heads , i achieve this by using cocktail sticks and mixing the epoxy in slow circles this will mean no air will get into the head simple as that , having said that if you get the odd small air bubble in the head then don't worry because i can tell you the fish wont care . but if your getting massive whitening in the heads then your whisking it to much and putting air into it but that's a common mistake for a beginner so just keep practicing

Preparing Epoxy

1. The syringe style is self-contained. With a new container, you have a stir stick located between the tubes, and the package has a mixing area. If you bought bottles, just use a stick and mix it on a piece of cardboard. When opening the syringe style, use a pair of pliers because when you pop the caps off, the epoxy has a tendency to come out immediately and you don't want it all over your hands. If you are using the bottles, the caps come off and you actually have to cut the tubes open with a razor blade knife. Use equal parts of each--the resin and the hardener--and mix them thoroughly. The syringe type automatically administers equal proportions. Squeeze out only as much as you think you can use in 5 minutes because once you mix the two parts, it will be hard in five minutes. The manufacturer recommends mixing the two parts for one minute. Before it gets hard, the mixture will become tacky, and that's your clue to hurry up and use what you have mixed up.
   
   If the surfaces that you are planning to glue together are oily or dirty in any way, you need to clean them. Deacon--the company that makes 5 Minute Epoxy--recommends using cleaning solvents or decreases. Just know that the cleaner the surface is, the tighter the bond will be.

2 another great tip is to use a pad of postage notes to mix it once you finished just rip the used piece off and you ready to go again

applying epoxy



a cocktail stick or a dubbing needle is ideal for applying small amounts and easy to control , remember not to use to much you can always add more if you need to rather than try and take it off

old epoxy flies



the fly above is a good few years old and has seen a lot of action as you can see there is no yellowing of the head still as good as the day it came of the dryer



this fly spent the day catching bucket loads of small aggressive jacks (they were just on pink that day) despite the attention of loads of fish it still is good to fish



as you see this fly has been over the top, attacked by fish pulled through rocky bottoms and it still is as good as the day i tied it a real testament to the 5 min epoxy



although the fly above hasn't been fished it has sat on my board next to a window for quite a few months and there is zero sign of yellowing and i have every confidence of the head .

epoxy tips (with thanks to whisky creek)

• The 5-minute epoxy goes on thicker and is easier to control than the 30 minute variety
• The syringe makes it drop-dead easy to measure the proper mix
• These are available everywhere (tackle shops , craft shop, online, etc.)

• Tie all your flies first, then add the epoxy in batches.
• Work in small batches, 3-4 flies each for each batch of epoxy.
• Use junk post it notes to mix the epoxy, they have a smooth surface and are disposable
• Use toothpicks to mix and apply the epoxy. They are expendable and very cheap for a lot i picked up 1000 for £1.00
  
• After the epoxy cures, add a light coat of glossy head cement for a little more sparkle
• If you do use 30 minute epoxy, let your flies cure on a drying wheel. You can make your own or by one for about £25.00

so enjoy playing with epoxy

tight lines
mcfluffchucker

follow the leader

our sport of pike fly fishing is going through a revolution or being divided which either way you look at it I'm talking leaders here and the hard mono / fluorocarbon over wire revolt, its kinda strange as not to long ago i was a firm wire leader guy but that has now changed forever as a result of research and the catches of other people ,

quite a few years ago i was fishing an event with the pffa and the day was dire to say the least with pretty much nobody catching any fish except for one guy who was catching fish up to 20lb so the guy came over to our boat and we shared in a cup of tea and a chat i noticed that his leader was very thick and looked like mono so i questioned him about it and he told me it was 120lb seaguar fluorocarbon , having seen how many fish he had been catching i looked at his leader and there wasn't a mark on it , mmmmmm interesting and needs to be looked into

so after this i went and purchased some although i could only source 90 lb i thought ill give it a go as i was due a trip up to the highlands to one of my fav fly waters and well it would be a great time to put this to the test , which i did and was amazed at the amount of fish i caught and the leader itself wasn't even nicked or damaged i was a convert and started to look towards hard mono as well as i was hearing about guides up in Canada using 200lb masons hard mono for jerk baiting to great effect

there is many kinds of fluro out there but what id say is go for a name like the ones above or even rio , then you know your getting the best quality available to you as an angler

so fluro the myths busted by seaguar

MYTH: All 100% fluorocarbons are created equal.

FACT: No. Just because the product says 100% fluorocarbon does not mean it is just like any other on the market. Only Seaguar makes fluorocarbon lines and leaders from beginning to end without any outside companies involved. The difference of quality varies from brand to brand.

MYTH: All fluorocarbons have weak knots

FACT: Originally, knot strength was the weakest part of fluorocarbon. With our technology, Seaguar’s knot strength is not a factor

MYTH: Fluorocarbon is completely invisible and matches the refractive index of water

FACT: No. It is as close as any form of line or leader can get to the refractive index of water, thus making it virtually invisible, but not completely. Some brands do state that, but it is not true.

knotting fluro

for attaching to the leader i only ever use 8 to 10 inch's of leader material with the albright knot , if I'm using over 100 lb i loop to loop instead as i tend to crimp the leader as its far easier than tying knots in it especially hard mono

there will always be critics of using fluro or hard mono for predator fishing but what i say is really don't knock it till you've tried it unfortunately some anglers are quite set in there ways in this country and will never change or try something new (even fly fishing for pike)sure if your happy with your method then good luck to you but don't have a go just because people do something different , and how the hell can you argue about it if you've never tried it ........

down to the wire

of course there will be times when the rules on a water will say that wire traces must be used when pike fishing rules are rules and if you have to you have to so here's what i was using to start with and what i found to be better after trying new stuff

fox soft steel was great very flexible and easy to make up traces was my preferred wire , the only downside with it was i found that after a couple of fish it would start to un strand but other than that it was fine

tyger leader

at one point this stuff was all the rage and no doubt it was bloody good except for a couple of things

1- the price in the UK for this stuff was horrendous

2- the bloody silver colour , i found when first using it in clear water you could see it shimmering away in the water from quite some distance and i believed that may have put fish of striking at the fly

the solution to this is just to colour it with permanent marker so still a viable alternative if you need to use it and off course its very easy to knot which is a bonus

pro leader

again another great product but bloody pricey and a nice dark colour which is the one advantage over tyger you don't need to colour it although i think tyger is easier to knot

accu flex beading wire

this is what i know us when i have to use wire an amazing product that a Friend seb shelton put me onto basically its made for the craft market making bead necklaces but it also is the best wire i have yet found for pike fly fishing cheap (you get 10 times as much on a spool than tyger or pro) I'm talking a fiver for 31 mtrs how can you go wrong with that , doesn't kink easy to tie flys onto and freely available in craft shops or the Internet and comes in a range of breaking strains to suite anything your doing really check it out you cant go wrong , so when you need to use wire that's what i recommend

tight lines flingers

clouser minnows

just waiting for my local water to thaw out and when it does these are the flies that catch the pike , the pike in my local venue are not massive but that doesn't really matter when you can go out and catch 15 , 20 fish in a session on the fly and clousers are the flies that just keep on catching so always worth me stockin up on them so here's a few of my favs tied up and ready to fish when all this feckin ice vanishes








added a few new blogs to the blog roll so be sure to check em out

tight lines from the frozen north
dave mcfluffchucker
(a very feckin cold feckin frozen scotland)

the tuesday tie off

so this weeks choice by ken capsey over at pike adventures http://pikeadventures.blogspot.com was tarpon style flies with a pike twist

no usually we talk about what we are going to use material or style wise on a Sunday night and get materials ready etc for tying on a Monday unfortunately i was struck down on Monday with man flu and ended up in my bed all day Monday and the fact i was working on Tuesday didn't give me a lot of time to prepare .

so tarpon ties well they can have some advantages in pike fly fishing

1 free flow movement of material behind the hook
2 easy to get forceps around the hook shank for fly removal
3 forward hooking of the fish when they inhale the fly




but to be quite honest its not a fly i have a lot of in my boxes as there are far better designs out there but still they will catch fish if you want to have a bash

the fly above is just ties with schulpin feathers buck tail to give maximum movement in the water



this fly is a pretty basic 5 min tie with ep fibre and a DNA flash

i think its always good to experiment with flies and sometimes get out of your comfort zone so these have been enjoyable to tie and when the occasion arises i will fish them and be confident that what I've tied will catch fish , its unfortunate that i just didn't have the time due to illness to do what i wanted to do but maybe another day eh

thanks again to ken for the challenge and to Richard for the eyes

tight lines flingers
Dave mcfluffchucker
(a cave in Scotland)

first ties of the year

so the first ties of the year and i wanted to ease myself back in gently after festive season , so i had some ideas that i wanted to play around with so i thought id get em down on the vice before i forget .

so with my trip to the USA getting ever closer i thought id better stock up on some old favorites for the trip , its quite amazing when i think about the amount of flies ill be taking , at first i was just taking one great big roller bag with all my clothes and gear for the trip but as I'm thinking about it I'm now taking a second smaller bag for my clothes well as i see it i can always turn my underpants inside out and that will give me an extra 3 or 4 days wear same with socks so i should be OK with a small bag for those and the rest of the space can be taken up with flies sorted

so first out the vice is the humble and oh so productive for loads of species the clouser minnow (anybody got bobs book ill swap for flies) ill be having at least one box of various sizes for everything from small mouths to walleyes in the bigger sizes as below and with various eye weights to cover any situation that capsey my fishing partner and guide for the week decides to throw me into (no rednecks getting the better of me )

on the same trip we will hopefully get into some musky territory so i need big musky sized snacks to throw at them the flies below are loosely based on brad bohens musky flies (see earlier post) and he seems to do more than OK on them so big mobile garish monster flies were created , this flies have pretty much the whole deal when it comes to movement and flash and tied on 6/0 orvis pike and musky hooks so ill probably give them a field test before i take them with me just to see how they work but i think they will be fine

another musky snack this time completely in black with black marbled flash running through it , this is just layered schulpin and buck tail to create a wide profile and mobile effect fly which should do the job

of course it wouldn't be complete without a chartreuse yellow and orange fly in the pack and well , the slightly raised buck tail will lie flat on the back when wet allowing the feathers behind it to wave seductively behind , this is a big big profile fly and cant wait to see it in action

another bait fish pattern pretty much a standard deceiver type bait fish except the eye is right at the front on the nose allowing maximum wounded bait fish movement



a big DNA bait fish tied on a 6/0 gama big game hook and tied pretty much like a high tie were all the material is tied withing the top few millimetres behind the eye allowing maximum free movement in the water these flies really do feel and look like fish in the water DNA is quite an amazing material especially when you mix it with other synthetics some stunning looking flies can be produced

so to end last night before i cracked open my favorite £2.99 bottle of red wine i just had to tie my first sub bug of the year I'm still crazy about these flies and if you see them in action then you'd know why such a versatile fly and it really does drive fish absolutely nuts

the bug below is big but still you'd be able to cast it on a 9 wgt I'm starting to realise that these flies really do offer the angler something quite different in a fly and ill be working on more as the year goes on



so till tomorrow i hope you all have lost your new year hangovers and are starting to get that familiar twitch that has you sitting behind the for hours i know i have and well with most of my local waters frozen its a great excuse to top up your boxes

have a great year fellow tiers around the world and thanks for great Friends and new ideas

dave mcfluffchucker

(a cave in scotland)

been shopping

well i kinda fell into orvis on the way to work oh dear

see ya on the otherside fellas

happy new year

had a really nice mail from (fly guide)brad bohen over at http://muskycountryoutfitters.com/ check out the site if your a Wisconsin resident or your planning to fish the area this guy is really on the ball and knows his stuff and theres a pretty cool website as well just check out those musky pics in the gallery mouth full of bucktail love it



cant wait to see what kinda flies he puts up in the fly section come on brad no excuse now with all that snow outside .

heres a few links from brad the guy is a fellow serious fly nut

http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/record/bradbohen.html

http://hatchesmagazine.com/magazine/pdf/HangTime.pdf


brad thats hardcore buddy



tight lines all (it will thaw soon don't worry)

dave mcfluffchucker
(a cave in scotland)

the tuesday tie off with ken capsey

this week it was my choice to choose the tuesday tie in with ken over at

http://pikeadventures.blogspot.com

so my choice this week was dna fibre in any form but you could mix it up with other materials and the finished product must be a baitfish for pike



ok so pattern 1 above is an all dna holofusion tie on a 4/0 sakuma stainless hook and comes in at 6 inchs long, by starting thin at the tail end and increasing thickness of the material up to the eye you get a really great profile when wet which is where dna really comes into its own as a material when wet it even feels like a fish



pattern 2 is based on rainbow trout colours and uses not only dna holo fusion but also uses dna frosty fish fibre, colours in this one are pearl , pink , lavender lateral line , red , and an olive back , this fly ive only slightly wetted so you can see the big back profile using the combination of the 2 give you not only flashs of sparkle but a great shean with the dna frosty fish fibres




pattern 3 is made up with dna holo fusion pink body with a lavender frosty fish fibre head , surprisingly the colours are not something you see widly used in the uk for predators but ive had some great days sport on them so give those colours a try if your going through a dry tie period

tight lines till tommorow and hope you enjoyed the tuesday tie in with ken capsey his flies from today can be found here http://pikeadventures.blogspot.com go check out the rednecks work

dave mcfluffchucker
(a cave in scotland)

tube fly tutorial

as I've said before tube flys really have no purpose in pike fly fishing except for trolling flies but if you are so inclined to use them for pike then here is a fantastic tutorial from pete gray note the perfectly formed head and neat whippings and perfectly aliened eyes great looking fly

happy new year

merry christmas for tomorrow

merry chritmas for tomorrow heres a few monster muskie bugs (12 inchs) to keep you going till boxing day , hope you all have a great time and santa brings you lots of fly fishing goodies

ho ho ho

well the view outside the cave is grim with around 6 or 7 inch's of snow outside so my promise to her indoors to cut the grass cant be fulfilled so theres only one thing left to do.




TIE MONSTER FECKIN MUSKIE BUGS

yup huge massive sub bugs with the pulling power of a cold pint on hot day



these monsters are 11.5 inch's long sub surface sub bugs with enough action and size to get even the most lethargic toothy predator to get a chubby and attack it



built entirely for no reason whatsoever except that ken capsey dared me to do it last night well red rag to a bull hey capsey stick that in your redneck pipe and smoke it dude i wanna see what your going to come up with theres a challenge .

so will they catch fish well hell yea I'm even thinking of doing some in blue and white for bill fish doesn't matter they are 11.5 inch's long as for bill fish you tease em up to the back of the boat then toss a fly at them i know been there done it mind blowing stuff must did the pictures out .

THAT'S HANDY



OK so they look massive well yes they are , but they are very very light due to the make up of the materials even when wet they wont be that bad on a 9wgt the eyes have a layer of epoxy behind them critically balanced to give that all important sub bug action that toothys find hard to resist , remember think about what your tying and how it will act in the water



so as we come near the end of the year and tomorrow will be my last post till after Christmas I'm going to in January be concentrating on monster sub bugs as I'm in artist free fall just now i have millions of ideas in my head for not only monster bugs but monster bullheads can you feckin imagine a 13 inch bullhead made entirely of ep fibre oh the new year is going to be good and I've got my u.s.a trip where ill be fishing for pike muskie and largemouths and generally raising hell with ken capsey

2010 yeeeehaaaaaaaa gonna be a blast

tight lines fluffchuckers
dave mcfluffchucker
(a cave in Scotland)

tuesday tie off

this week it was ken capsey over at pike adventures choice for the material for the Tuesday tie off so this week he picked a staple of fly tying Mylar tubing now Mylar is pretty much in every fly tiers box as it has so many uses so your bound to have some if you want to try these patterns

my choice of fly for the tie off is a simple little shinner type bait fish at 2 inch's long not only will this be great for fish like large and small mouths in the u.s.a but it also chub and perch in the UK









all the flys have a Mylar tubing body which shows through once wet , the hooks are a 1/0 fulling mill scorpion hook very very sharp .

if you want to see what ken got up to on the tie off here's the link

http://pikeadventures.blogspot.com

enjoy the ties and see ya all tomorrow

Dave mcfluffchucker
a cave in Scotland