Fleye Foils - Bob Popovics isn\'t exactly known for his traditional way of doing things, and his new product just emphasizes this - Global FlyFisher

GFF logo



    

Fleye Foils

Wednesday May 16th 2012
Find in the blog:

 

Fleye Foils

Blog: Permalink | Comment | This day | Archive |
Published: Wednesday May 16th 2012 (1 year ago)
Updated: Wednesday May 16th 2012, 7:46PM
by Martin Joergensen

Bob Popovics isn't exactly known for his traditional way of doing things, and his new product just emphasizes this

Fleye Foil fly
David Edwards

Pop Fleyes... yes fleyes not flies. That's what Bob Popovics calls his flies, and that's the reason for the strangely sounding name of his new product, a fish shaped foil with printed eyes and adhesive on the back, all ready to stick on the side of your baitfish imitations and cover with epoxy or one of the new LCR's.

Already when pioneering saltwater fly tying with Surf Candies, Poplip Flies, Jiggies and Siliclone Fleyes, Bob Popovics showed that he was willing to experiment with different materials for his flies. He has used the more “traditional” epoxy, silicone sealant, Softex, all kinds of fancy flash and foils and shiny eyes and a wealth of colors.
His excellent book Pop Fleyes clearly demonstrates how innovative he is and shows how to tie a long row of his now-classic saltwater flies.

So it came as no surprise when the Fleye Foils popped up (no pun) as yet another Bob Popovics invention. The foils are pre-shaped fish sides with a shiny, iridescent surface and gills, mouth and not least eyes printed onto the foil. The idea is that you tie your fly using traditional materials like hair, feathers, synthetics and flash, and then add the Fleye Foil on the sides and secure them with epoxy or even better, the new Light Curing Resins.
The result can be a close-to-perfect imitation of a small silvery baitfish, and combining the foils with different colors of base materials, markers and maybe some color in or under the resin, will give you an endless degree of freedom regarding color combinations.

The foils come in three variations: Silverside, Sand Eel and Bay Anchovy all available in four sizes apart from the Silverside, which does not come in extra large. The main difference is the shape. The tying method is basically the same, although some tyers are already experimenting with different uses of these new foils.

More Fleye Foil flies
Fleye Foils


The foils are made by the Swedish company L2DM, whose selection of fly materials is no less than stunning, spanning from shrimp and crab shields, stonefly legs and dry fly wings to the new Fleye Foils. Their selection is huge, and hints that fly tiers with a wild fantasy and a slight stroke of madness are behind.

My own use for the classical style US baitfish patterns is limited, but I will under all circumstances try to get my hands on some of these foils to pay around with. They seem very useful and the resulting flies very life-like.




This video clearly shows how to use the new foils.





Add comment  Go to article start
User comments
GFF staff comment
From: Martin Joergensen · martin·at·globalflyfisher.com  Link
Submitted August 23rd 2012

George,

Being in Denmark doesn't put me in a good position to find bargains in the US, but a quick search should reveal several places for you to shop online. I found the Fleye Foils in the online shop White Water Flies.com which ships for free within the US.

Bear's Den has the foils too and uses USPS and has no extra charges as far as I can see.

Martin


From: George - Full name and email anonymized  Link
Submitted August 23rd 2012

George
Where can we buy fleye foil in the US without paying ups charges that are more than the product, What happened to US Mail?


From: Mike · sowbugger·at·suddenlink.net  Link
Submitted May 18th 2012

How can we get these in the US. Really need the preformed crab bodies for redfish in the gulf


From: Lutz Schepers · theflypeople·at·web.de  Link
Submitted May 16th 2012

Good news: Very very soon, FLEYE FOILS will be sold by: www.theflypeople.com (European market only). For further information, please write to theflypeople@web.de, dealer inqiries welcome!



Want to comment this page? Fill out the form below.
Comment
Only comments
in English
are accepted!

Comentarios en Ingles
solamente, por favor!
Your name Your email
Anonymize my information. Name and email will not be shown with comment.
Notify me on new comments to this article on the above email-address.
You don't have to comment to start or stop notifications.

All comments will be screened by the GFF staff before publication.
No HTML, images, ads or links, please - we do not publish such comments...
And only English language comments will be published.
Name and email is optional but recommended.
The email will be shown in a disguised form in the final comment to protect you against spam
You can see other public comments on this page