All examples are tied with
Tuffleye!
Phil Brna below
Bio: Phil
Brna
I originally came to Alaska in 1977 as an Army 2LT, and when I
stepped out of the airport into the Anchorage sunshine and saw the
mountains, I knew I was home. When I left the Army,
worked for the ADF&G for over 20 years. The first 10 years
I worked in south central Alaska, Bristol Bay, Kodiak, the
Alaska Peninsula and Prince William Sound, and the second ten years
I was the ADF&G pipeline supervisor working from Prudhoe Bay to
Valdez. I have seen lots of Alaska and I can't imagine
calling anywhere else home. I retired in 2000 when I was 45.
People ask me why I retired when I was so young and my answer
is "because I could." I presently work as a biologist for the
US Fish and Wildlife Service. I fish a lot for salmon,
steelhead, and rainbow trout and in recent years I have been
traveling to warmer places to fish for bonefish, tarpon,
rooster-fish etc... I am really enjoying teaching my 12 year old
son to fish. I love tying flies almost as much as fishing and I tie
a lot of flies just because it relaxes me. I have been tying a lot
with Tuffleye and it is so much better than epoxy because it is
fast and less messy. I am also involved with a new business venture
started by Steve Haber who founded Bolle. We have started a
company called HaberVision and we offer high quality polarized
sunglasses and ski goggles at half the cost of the competition
because we have no dealers-internet sales only. We can be found at
habervision.com (use affinity code FISHEYE).
The Boom Creek has a
Tuffleye head over bead chain eyes with a frame of 25 pound hard
mono. This is a nasty fly to make with epoxy but incredibly
easy to do with Tuffleye.
The flies above were
tied by Phil
Brna with
TuffleyeTM
The following tied by
Al
Quattrocchi
Anchovy Candy by Al
Quattrocchi
Hook: Tiemco 800s size 2
Belly Flash: silver flashabou
Body: super hair, smoke
Wing: Olive over light blue crystal hair
Head: Tuffleye ( two stage )
Eyes: #3 Silver Self-Stick
Tying instructions, refer to Bob Popovics book "POPFLEYES" under surf
candy!
BIO: Al
Quattrocchi
Fisherman / Art Director
Al Quattrocchi ( aka Al Q ) was born in Brooklyn and was schooled
fishing the bridges, beaches and jetties of Breezy Point and
Jamaica Bay chasing stripers, weakfish and bluefish. After
graduating High School, Al moved to
California in 1978 to attend college. He attended Loyola Marymount
University and graduated Art Center College of Design with a BA in
Advertising Design. Al Q is a grammy award winning creative
director for his company, Tornado Design in Los Angeles. His love
for design and art are translated directly into his fly tying
skills, many of which have been taught to him his mentors and
friends, Bob Popovics, Lefty Kreh, and Nick Curcione. Al Q is an
avid saltwater fly fisherman who specializes in fly fishing the
surf and tying beautiful saltwater patterns that catch
fish.
"Deceiver" with a Tuffleye head and
"Red Jiggy" with a Tuffleye head
by Al Quattrocchi
David Witham
(Australia)
Above and flies tied
below
I started fishing when I
was about 5 and could hold and manage a handline. This grew into
serious bait fishing, onto lure fishing and then about 8 years ago
in fly fishing and fly tying. Being based on the New South Wales
Central Coast (Australia), there are plenty of options available
for year-round fresh and salt water fly fishing which has proven to
be an ideal testing ground for new patterns.
Personally I have caught almost 60 species on fly and that list
grows every year. Most of these fish have been caught in flies I
have tied myself and that is the thing that satisfies me the most
with this sport.
As I was staring out in fly fishing I found it difficult to find
others that shared my passion for the sport on the Central Coast,
so I decided to start a fly fishing club.
The Central Coast Fly Rodders was founded back in 2001 and rapidly
grew in membership to around forty. Fishing for new species and
developing the flies and techniques required to catch them is
actively encouraged. And it has been interesting to see new
patterns and variations of old patterns come out of our members
that suit the fish we target and the way we fish.
Here are a few fly patterns, using Tuffleye, that we use for
chasing pelagics in the salt and the Australian Bass in the
fresh.
Polar Fiber Minnow –
Target species – Tailor, Kingfish, Bonito
UV Pearl Candy –
Target species - Frigate Mackerel, Australian
Salmon
PolarFlash
Baitfish - Target species – Tailor, Salmon, Kingfish,
Mackerel, Barramundi
Bendback Bass
Vampire - Target species – Australian Bass, Golden
Perch
Joe Pheifer
(New Jersey)
Above and flies tied
below
I
am a passionate salt water fly fisherman and fly tyer. I grew
up at the Jersey shore, but now live in Hoboken and work in New
York City. Most of the time, I cast my flies into
the surf between between Sandy Hook and Island Beach
State Park, NJ for striped bass, bluefish, weakfish, false
albacore, fluke and hickory shad. I've also fished along most
of the East Coast, Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela and the
Bahamas. My ambition to fish foreign seas is limited only by
vacation time and funding--but I love my home waters just as
much.
I
was drawn to fly fishing because of the flies. I had
fished the surf and jetties with spinning gear
since I as a kid, and had already been tying simple flies
to use as teasers in tandem with plugs and jigs. Not only did I
enjoy the tying aspect, but catching fish on something I made
myself appealed to me--as well as not having to deal with treble
hooks! Since I knew nothing about fly fishing, in 1997 I took
advantage of a class organized by Joe Keegan of the
Ramsey Outdoor Store. Little did I realize that the
class instructors were an All-Star team: Bob Popovics, Ed Mitchell,
Tom Gilmore, and Ken and Lori Vanderlaske. Most of
the class took place over a weekend on Martha's
Vineyard, a fly fishing Mecca and one of my favorite
destinations ever since that first visit. Several years ago, I
joined the Coastal Flyrodders, a fly fishing club, which
has led to wonderful friendships and greatly enhanced my
enjoyment of the sport.
Surf
Candy
An example of the Popovics classic, featuring a mixed wing of super
hair and unique hair.
Hook: Mustad S71S SS, size 2
Belly: silver or pearl Gudebrod HT braid, or similar
Top wing: Tan super hair mixed with goldenrod unique hair
Bottom wing: white or polar white super and unique hair mixed
Flash: pearl and holographic silver flashabou (added after 1st coat
of core)
Lateral line: pearl, silver or holograhic silver flash of
appropriate width
Eye: 2.0 prismatic stick-on (added after 1st coat of core)
Body: 2 coats of Tuffleye Core, or 1 coat of Core and 1 coat of
Finish
DNA
Deceiver
This is a flashy version of Lefty's Deceiver that is very durable
due to the synthetic wing and Tuffleye head.
Hook: Mustad C68S SS size 1/0
Tail: 2 or 4 white saddle or neck hackles
Top wing: DNA holo-fusion, yellow, neon lime, or other; apply two
layers, each folded over
Bottom wing: DNA holo-fusion, polar white or white; apply two
layers, each folded over
Lateral line: flashabou mirage opal or lt. blue
Throat: red DNA powder fish fiber, or red flourofibre
Eyes: 2.5 or 3.0 prismatic stick-on (added after 1st coat of
core)
Head: 2 coats of Tuffleye Core
Joe
Pheifer’s
two Sand Eels and a Tinker
Mackerel tied with Tuffleye Flex.
“Sockeye
Bug” below by Mark Papazian
“Sockeye Bug” by Mark Papazian
Hook:
Size 6 Gamakatsu #2307 or Mustad #92553R
Body:
Krystal Flash
Tail:
Krystal Flash
Thread:
Clear 2lb Monofilament
Instructions:by
Bob Papazian
Start
by selecting 15-20 Krystal Flash fibers (the longer the better).
Tie on the tail but don’t trim the excess Krystal Flash. Wind
mono up near the hook eye. Wrap excess Krystal Flash forward to
eye. Tie off trim excess (save for the next fly). You should be
able to do 2-3 flies with a 6” long section of Krystal Flash
fibers. Coat Tuffleye core material liberally on the body. You
don’t need to brush or scrape it on. Just squeeze it right
out of the syringe straight on to the body. Stick the
“bug” on a drying wheel for 1-2 minutes & let
Tuffleye self level & shape the body. Hit it with the Tuffleye
light for 15-20 seconds. The body will be set but slightly tacky. A
thin coat of the finish material (optional) can be brushed over the
core material to bring out more shine & remove the tackiness.
Lacquer thinner will work too, in a pinch.
This is a quick & easy fly to make with Tuffleye because you
can make the “bugs” in batches (as many as your wheel
will hold). Then cure them all at once with the Tuffleye light. The
old method using epoxy was laborious, as you could only coat 1 or 2
flies at a time before the epoxy set. With Tuffleye you can tie 20
“Sockeye Bugs” in the time it took to do 8 with
epoxy.
“Sockeye Bug” assortment by Mark
Papazian
During
the summer months Mark Papazian is a Fishing Guide at
Alaska’s Boardwalk Lodge- an “Orvis-Endorsed”
ocean front lodge located on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast
Alaska. When summer ends, it’s back to classes in Fresno,
California where he’s an Ag-Business Major. Mark came up with
the design for the “Sockeye Bug” while fishing the
small clear streams on Prince of Wales Island. It’s his go-to
Sockeye Salmon fly and also works well on the Island’s Dolly
Varden & Cutthroat Trout when used as a dropper fly trailing a
streamer.
Bio:
Bill Hamilton
Born
in 1951; fished, hunted and golfed with my Dad until college (1969
– ROLL TIDE) in ponds in south Alabama (he had a fly rod and
I had a Zebco); Daddy died in 1986 – my brother got the golf
clubs – I got the 16 gauge and the fly rods (I won). I
have been tying, building rods and fishing since – Western
NC, North GA, South AL. As a side hobby I finished Dental
School in 1977 at UAB;wonderful gorgeous wife, 4 MARRIED children,
1 grand daughter. The Tuffleye material is great and easy to
use. So much easier than epoxy – mix, apply, rotate,
clean-up, touch-up,etc.
Squirrel
Tail Crawfish (by
Bill Hamilton): colors to match water conditions – light,
medium or dark.
Thread: Black or Brown – 6/0
Hook: Steamer, 6 – 14, 1X, 2X
Claw: Red or grey squirrel tale hair
Abdomen: Dubbing to match (plain or sparkle)
Legs: Primarily brown or grizzly
Back: Turkey – light, dark, mottled – coated with
Tuffleye finish
This
is for bass and bream – just get them excited:=)
Copper John #20
gauge hook by Bill Hamilton:=)
I
used the recipe from FlyFisherman.com. Substitute Tuffleye
Finish for the wing case. Direct link to the
article:
www.Flyfisherman.com/ftb/jbbarrflies/index5.html
– the whole article on John Barr’s “Hopper,
Copper, Dropper” is a great read. I tied 8 or 10 Copper Johns
and coated the wing cases with Tuffleye Finish. Applied it with a
bodkin to the desired shape and cured. Great material - no mixing
or rotation device needed, so easy to use and no mess when you are
through.
Tied
by Hunter
Granstaff
Other examples with
Tuffleye
Two matching Guinea hen feathers with
Tuffleye Flex
Glow Powder in the
Tuffleye eyes to make them glow.
2 Dry Flies on #12 and
26 gauge hooks with Tuffleye
Bumble Bee #14 hook
Large Surf Candy 9
inches long
Deep Sea Squid =
Guinea Hen feather overlaid with Tuffleye Finish over a line
through bell weight. Eyes encircled with Glow powder inlayed in
Tuffleye Finish and Grizzly hackles inlayed in Tuffleye Flex for
tentacles (see video)