I just got back from the The Fly Show in Somerset, NJ. Other than the -9 degree weather, it was a great time with an opportunity to spend a couple of days with some of our sports best, including Lou Tabory, Gene Quigley, Enrico Puglisi and Jim Freda. Perhaps the best time, however, was a private fly-tying audience with the father of modern epoxy fleyes, Bob Popovics. Bob put on a primer for me on a new material that could be a replacement for epoxy, Tuffleye. It is amazing stuff. It’s actually an acrylic gel used in the dental industry. it has unlimited working time, flows evenly and doesn’t drip. Bob even brewed a pot of coffee for us while leaving it, unset on the hook. After about 10 minutes, all it took was some minor correction with a bodkin, 30 seconds with the blue light, and he had a perfectly clear Surf Candy. It’s truly amazing stuff, and you can read Bob’s take on the new material in the Mar/Apr issue of FFSW. Give it a try and check it out at www.tuffleye.com. Here is a peak at Bob and his work…
