I have two big saltwater trips coming up in the next few months. I think that the pre trip planning, anticipation and dreaming are as important as the trip itself, especially for fly tiers. There is nothing like thinking that I am re-inventing the wheel (fly) when at my tying desk looking at the newest fly posing for me from my vise. I am tying flies for deep water fishes and for Giant Trevally (known as GTs from now on), now, as my next trip is to Christmas Island in December, followed in March by a flight to the Indian Ocean to fish Providence Atoll in The Seychelles. This blog isn’t about the trip, but the flies and tying.
I have always hated putting eyes on flies. I don’t mind putting feathers of a contrasting or complimentary color in for eyes, but I haven’t liked adding stick-on flat and bulging eyes directly on to material tied in for the head. They just don’t look 
right to me. Plus they are hard for me to get even.
While tying for these trips I was adding feather eyes and they just didn’t Pop (take a look at the photo above of the 4 flies together). In fact I didn’t really notice the real difference until I studied the image and realized the fly with the stick on eyes really made a better impression. Before I took the photo, I was holding up a stick-on eye up against the feather eye on a finished pattern to see the difference. Then I took a dyed, church-window feather of a pheasant and stuck an eye on it after stripping it down to the size I wanted and held it up against a finished fly. What a difference! So then I tied the one you see above. I am now a convert. I am working up some variations, now. Tying flies is something like fishing a river. There is always a bend in it where you can’t see around it. You just have to go there and look around the corner to see wha’ sup. That is the way I tie. Rarely am I satisfied with a finished pattern. I may stop “improving” a pattern and move on to another. But I like to go back and keep at it until I just have to say “STOP!” When i carve (wood or some other material) I have to tell myself to quit and put it away. It is finished, but I don’t know it. I can always take another knife stroke. I have to force myself to stop. I don’t dislike this; it is just the way it is.
The pattern is mostly tied with craft fur. The markings are made with a Pantone pen. It is approximately 5 inches long on 5/0 hook. I am experimenting with a finish for the eye on the feather to make them durable. I think an epoxy finish will be the best, but I’ll look for others. I am now using a couple of finger nail products. Bondini and Hard as Nails. I coat the material behind the feather before I tie it on with the Bondini. Not the whole area, just from where the rear of the eye is positioned to the thread. Tie on both sides. Now coat the outer surface of the feather where the eye will be placed (this leaves the very tips of the feather free and easy, not glued together). take the eye (either flat or the bulging kind) off of its paper and press it to the feather. Be careful not to mess up the feather and/or get the super glue all over your fingers or the eye. I use a pair of big tweezers for this. It is easier to get the eye lined up because the feather has the stem running right down the middle of the feather. Now it is a matter of placing the eye on the feather with the stem dissecting the eye. Judge how much feather is in front of the eye on one side and place the second in the exact same position on the other side. You’ll see it is much easier. I coat the thread with a light application of the Bondini. Let this dry (about 10 – 15 minutes) or until the next fly is done. Then coat the eye, the feather immediately around the eye (leave the tips “free and easy), the feather just in front of the eye and the head with Hard as Nails. Let this dry completely and touch with a second coat if necessary. Wa La ! You’re done.
But Wait! What about a larger feather behind the eye-feather and………….
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