Nice simple Pike fly tutorial.

This is a fly I have been using for a while now and is one of my "go to" flys when I first visit a water. I call it the firework bunny as it uses rabbit strip and Deer Creek firework braid. It can be dressed in many different colours and sizes and has a fantastic action when retrieved.

The hook is a new pattern I am testing, it is similar in style to the Varivas 2600V and is certainly strong and sharp! I am positive this hook will be a huge success with the Pike fly tyers so keep posted for more news on price and availability.

I want to talk a little about the UV resin I am using. This is Deer Creek's UV resin kit and unlike a lot of other resins this dries absolutely tack free in about 5 seconds! I used Bug Bond for a while but found the quality of the resin was not as good as the Diamond hard. For example, the adhesion properties of BB are not as good as DH, BB does not cure as quick as DH and if you drop some marabou or CDC onto cured BB it will stick to it where nothing sticks to cured DH!

I will do a side by side compariosn of the 2 resins as soon as I can

Materials used are as follows.

Thread. Danvilles flymaster plus
Hook. Size 2/0
Olive rabbit strip.
White marabou
White bucktail
Deer Creek firework braid
Deer Creek diamond hard UV resin kit (awesome)
Eyes. 6mm pearl mirage eyes

The new hook I am trying. Similar pattern to Varivas 2600V .

First tie in a length of rabbit strip at the back of the hook.

Run a bead of UV resin under the bunny strip where it meets the hook and cure it. This helps to kick out the strip and prevent tangles.




Advance your thread about 3mm and tie in some marabou all the way round the hook



Advance your thread again and tie in a bunch of bucktail spreading it evenly all around the hook. Carry on to the eye of the hook with the thread then wrap back to the bucktail tie in point. This ensures a nice even head.

Tie in a few strands of crystal flash and the firework braid. Palmer the braid to the fook eye and whip finish.

Add some eyes and build up a head using the UV resin.

Tight lines......Rich

Squid Skin. Pike pattern

The material I have sourced is now called squid skin as it is very soft and some colours are transparent just like a squid....:o)

This is one of my favourite squid skins as it actually looks like a pikes skin! Perfect for making small pike patterns and other baitfish.

Squid skin is 1mm thick which makes it thicker than sili skin and much easier to use. I have found squid skin stretches nicely so you can use a smaller amount and stretch it around the body tubing skeleton.
More pics to follow soon!

Its been a long time!

After a much needed time out with my family I decided to close my website as I could not devote the time needed and still have enough time left for work/family commitments.

I now have the time to concentrate on my ebay sales and this blog. I have had many people contact me asking to start posting again, and for this I am very grateful.

My first topic will be Sili Skin and its uses, alternatives, and cost!

Ever since Metz launched its range of Sili Skin I have been a huge fan. It lends itself especially well to Saltwater and Pike patterns and when used correctly can make some very realistic looking baitfish patterns. My main issue with the material is its cost! It is bloody expensive and can be difficult to use causing mistakes and wasteage.

After seeing a few baitfish patterns using this material I decided to have a go at creating a fairly easy to tie yet realistic looking perch pattern using my own version of Sili Skin (more about this later). My main problem was creating the "bulk" of the body as the skin material is basically flat. I did not want to use foam as this would create a boyount fly so after much messing about and trying different things I finally came up with using the range of body tubing I have recently sourced as a skeleton for the skin.

This tubing is similar to E-Z body as it retains its round shape when tied in and creates a perfect frame for the skin. The actual skin itself is basically the same base material as Sili Skin but I have had my own custom finishes to allow a variety of fish patterns to be tied. The skin will be available shortly so anyone who is interested please drop me a line to kustom.flyz@googlemail.com

I will try and do a step by step for the fly I designed but for now a few pics will have to do. Some of you may have seen these already as Nik from Deer Creek posted them on his facebook page.