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This is the fly that made me look twice;
three times even, to see if it was the real thing. I was finally old
enough to drive, so I could fish such famed places as Island Beach. On a
trip to Seaside Park, I spyed a surf candy lying on the counter that
compared so perfect in profile and color to the rain bait that the
Stripers were gorging on earlier that morning. This is the burning memory
that stayed in my mind until I realized that not every fly fishermen wore
a funny hat strange cloths and I evolved into a fly angler . The “Surf
Candy” was one of the first of many groundbreaking designs of fly tier
extraordinaire, Bob Popovics. Most of Bob’s fly designs feature a
prominent eye in each of his patterns. Some years ago, the clever spelling
of “Pop Fleyes” was used to describe his works in a leading fly tying
magazine. This also helped he and his co author, Ed Jaworowski, easily
decide on a name for their modern day guide to fly construction. “Pop
Fleyes” is available from Stackpole Books and is an absolute “MUST
HAVE” for all fly tiers. My spelling of the word “fleye” is not a
misprint, but is used to describe the works of Bob Popovics.
Bob’s clever designs forever changed fly construction by
using materials such as epoxy and silicone to actually form the body, and
not simply coat thread. After working with the epoxy for some time, it
became manageable and predictable to actually form the body shape of the
spearing or bay anchovy he was trying to duplicate in size, shape, and
exact detail. So detailed is this fleye, that it actually revolutionized
fly fishing for the picky little tunas such as False Albacore and Bonito.
Encapsulating these details in durable epoxy makes this fleye tooth proof,
and after many bluefish the epoxy can be refinished with a coat of “Hard
as Nails” to good as new condition.
Body length can be adjusted by using a short,
standard, or a long shank hook and can immiatate all slender bait from a
tiny anchovy to a sand eel. Color is the choice of the tier, but a few of
my favorites are yellow, chartreuse, tan, olive, or wine over a white
belly. Other variations in design include a “Deep Candy”, where a
weighted bead added to the hooks eye causes the fleye to gain more depth
and swim in a jigging motion on the retrieve. The “Diet Candy” is a
lightweight version and features epoxy only on the bottom of the body and
exposed hair on its topsides.
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