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Exciting Times in Fly Tying
Back in the fall of 2007, I was the least interesting of five presenters hired by the Uptown Angler in New Orleans to speak at an event they were putting on down in the delta at the Woodland Plantation. It was a gathering of people from all over the country, there to celebrate the thing they loved most- saltwater fly-fishing. It was there that I first had the chance to meet Enrico Puglisi, who is not only one of the finest fly-tiers in the world, but also an innovator in tying technique, tying tools and materials. In a million years, I never would have imagined where that encounter would lead.
Following that meeting Puglisi and I exchanged phone calls but you could hardly say we stayed in touch. Then one day early last year he called asking about some of my fly patterns he had seen in various magazines. He then inquired about other ways I was using his materials and finally, which materials I liked best and why. The discussion lasted quite a while and at the end he asked me if I would be interested in helping him develop some new products. My answer was a very definitive- hell yeah. Are you kidding me?
As timed progressed we exchanged ideas frequently. Then, last December, we had the opportunity to share a skiff for a day. Joining us was one of the fly fishing gurus from Fishing Tackle Unlimited, Andy Packmore. It was a beautiful, yet frigid, morning with water temps in the 40s; not a day you would pick for making an impression. We spent the day experimenting with flies I had tied using some of his newer materials like the Foxy Brush, Tarantula Brush and the Wooly Critter Brush. It was ridiculously tough. There was an abundance of fish, most acted too cold to eat although we did manage to catch a few. All in and all done the day was somewhat of a success because we had the chance to look at some of my ideas and I had the opportunity to learn a little along the way.
Upon his departure, we agreed that we needed to get together and spend some time tying and to finalize some ideas. So, this spring, Mr. P boarded a plane and flew south to join me at the Guide Shack (the house I rent in Florida) and we sat down for an intense three day session of tying and brainstorming. We would get through with several versions of a fly and then we would go out to the test tank (swimming pool) and play with various retrieves and such and then go in and tweak the flies for more testing. It was fun and it was educational.
Throughout his stay we took notes and he left with a plan and informed me that it would be a couple of months before he would have some samples for my approval. As the months wore on, he would give me calls to ask me a question here and there and give me updates.
Then the moment of truth came in the form of a box. When I opened it up I found a couple of surprises. The first of which was I could not believe how incredible the dubbing brushes we collaborated on turned out. I was floored! The next surprise was that he was kind enough to include my name on the packaging. "Holy crap, this just keeps get better," I said out loud to my dog.
I quickly picked up the phone to give him a call to say thank you and how much I liked everything. He then asked if I had gone through everything. I assured him that I had, but he informed me that it did not sound like I had. "Call me when you have seen everything," he told me. I went through the stuff over and over for a couple of days and then eureka! He had managed to figure out a way to do something else that I had suggested that we were having a hard time figuring out how to do. The idea was to create some dumbbell eyes out of the plastic eyes he already uses to make tying flies even easier.
So enough about how all of this new stuff came about- let's talk about all of the new materials Enrico Puglisi is introducing for 2015.
The two products that bear my name are the Grizzly Foxy Brush and The U/V Foxy Brush. We created the Grizzly Brush, which is mostly artic fox with the exception of a very small amount of flash and a minimal amount of EP Fibers. These were created to make it easier to blend colors. Before, I would have to either wind two brushes together or insert small amounts of other colors as I wound forward. Both methods came with their own set of problems so we found a way to make it much simpler. As for the U/V Brush, well there is a reason why some crazy colors like chartreuse catch fish when others do not. It is because some colors reflect U/V light, making them more visible to fish in off-colored water. This particular brush is a blend of artic fox and EP Fibers.
Now for the eyes- they are called Game Changer Eyes. And, for good reason because, that is exactly what they do. One of the biggest hassles tying some flies is gluing on the eyes. To see Puglisi do it, it seems to be no big deal. He has it down to an art. No mess, no fuss. Well, many have problems with it and these eyes are the solution. Especially when they are used with a dubbing brush.
There are of course some other new products like the new Minnow Head Brush. Or, the Senyo's Chromatic Brushes that tier Greg Senyo, who is known for his incredible steelhead flies and articulated flies, helped develop. I have not had the chance to tie with any of these yet, but I see great promise and cannot wait to get my hands on some to experiment. In addition, there are some great new "shrimpy" colors in the Tarantula and Critter brushes coming out that will make for some awesome redfish flies.
All in and all done, this is an exciting time to be a fly-tier. And, if you are like me and like to support your local fly shop, Fishing Tackle Unlimited in Houston and Sportsman's Finest in Austin will be carrying these new products by the time this issue goes to print. If you can't find it there, you can browse and purchase these new products on Puglisi's website at www.epflies.com.
Also, for those of you who might be interested- I will be conducting fly tying classes in both Houston and Austin this November and December. I you are interested in attending, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] for more information.
Until next month... be good and stuff like that.
Following that meeting Puglisi and I exchanged phone calls but you could hardly say we stayed in touch. Then one day early last year he called asking about some of my fly patterns he had seen in various magazines. He then inquired about other ways I was using his materials and finally, which materials I liked best and why. The discussion lasted quite a while and at the end he asked me if I would be interested in helping him develop some new products. My answer was a very definitive- hell yeah. Are you kidding me?
As timed progressed we exchanged ideas frequently. Then, last December, we had the opportunity to share a skiff for a day. Joining us was one of the fly fishing gurus from Fishing Tackle Unlimited, Andy Packmore. It was a beautiful, yet frigid, morning with water temps in the 40s; not a day you would pick for making an impression. We spent the day experimenting with flies I had tied using some of his newer materials like the Foxy Brush, Tarantula Brush and the Wooly Critter Brush. It was ridiculously tough. There was an abundance of fish, most acted too cold to eat although we did manage to catch a few. All in and all done the day was somewhat of a success because we had the chance to look at some of my ideas and I had the opportunity to learn a little along the way.
Upon his departure, we agreed that we needed to get together and spend some time tying and to finalize some ideas. So, this spring, Mr. P boarded a plane and flew south to join me at the Guide Shack (the house I rent in Florida) and we sat down for an intense three day session of tying and brainstorming. We would get through with several versions of a fly and then we would go out to the test tank (swimming pool) and play with various retrieves and such and then go in and tweak the flies for more testing. It was fun and it was educational.
Throughout his stay we took notes and he left with a plan and informed me that it would be a couple of months before he would have some samples for my approval. As the months wore on, he would give me calls to ask me a question here and there and give me updates.
Then the moment of truth came in the form of a box. When I opened it up I found a couple of surprises. The first of which was I could not believe how incredible the dubbing brushes we collaborated on turned out. I was floored! The next surprise was that he was kind enough to include my name on the packaging. "Holy crap, this just keeps get better," I said out loud to my dog.
I quickly picked up the phone to give him a call to say thank you and how much I liked everything. He then asked if I had gone through everything. I assured him that I had, but he informed me that it did not sound like I had. "Call me when you have seen everything," he told me. I went through the stuff over and over for a couple of days and then eureka! He had managed to figure out a way to do something else that I had suggested that we were having a hard time figuring out how to do. The idea was to create some dumbbell eyes out of the plastic eyes he already uses to make tying flies even easier.
So enough about how all of this new stuff came about- let's talk about all of the new materials Enrico Puglisi is introducing for 2015.
The two products that bear my name are the Grizzly Foxy Brush and The U/V Foxy Brush. We created the Grizzly Brush, which is mostly artic fox with the exception of a very small amount of flash and a minimal amount of EP Fibers. These were created to make it easier to blend colors. Before, I would have to either wind two brushes together or insert small amounts of other colors as I wound forward. Both methods came with their own set of problems so we found a way to make it much simpler. As for the U/V Brush, well there is a reason why some crazy colors like chartreuse catch fish when others do not. It is because some colors reflect U/V light, making them more visible to fish in off-colored water. This particular brush is a blend of artic fox and EP Fibers.
Now for the eyes- they are called Game Changer Eyes. And, for good reason because, that is exactly what they do. One of the biggest hassles tying some flies is gluing on the eyes. To see Puglisi do it, it seems to be no big deal. He has it down to an art. No mess, no fuss. Well, many have problems with it and these eyes are the solution. Especially when they are used with a dubbing brush.
There are of course some other new products like the new Minnow Head Brush. Or, the Senyo's Chromatic Brushes that tier Greg Senyo, who is known for his incredible steelhead flies and articulated flies, helped develop. I have not had the chance to tie with any of these yet, but I see great promise and cannot wait to get my hands on some to experiment. In addition, there are some great new "shrimpy" colors in the Tarantula and Critter brushes coming out that will make for some awesome redfish flies.
All in and all done, this is an exciting time to be a fly-tier. And, if you are like me and like to support your local fly shop, Fishing Tackle Unlimited in Houston and Sportsman's Finest in Austin will be carrying these new products by the time this issue goes to print. If you can't find it there, you can browse and purchase these new products on Puglisi's website at www.epflies.com.
Also, for those of you who might be interested- I will be conducting fly tying classes in both Houston and Austin this November and December. I you are interested in attending, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] for more information.
Until next month... be good and stuff like that.