Bread fly with a difference

[richardnw]

I'm going to Kuala Lumpur in 2 weeks. I'll be fishing a commercial fishery for Pacu, a strain of Piranha. I'll be using a bread fly.

The local version is simply an inch and a half of white zonker strip for a tail, and a white foam body. The body is trimmed to achieve the desired presentation, which is a very slow fall through the water.

I was thinking of substituting the zonker with white Marabou. Partly because I think this might give a better representation of bread, and partly because I have a supply of this! Any thoughts on this, or anything else that may be suitable?

I'm also on the lookout for suitable foam, any ideas where I can source some?

Thanks

[Fishing Junkie]

Would egg yarn work?

something like this:

http://www.fastmailtackle.co.uk/prod...oducts_id=1843

[uhhulu]

I saw a "fly" ages ago in a mag, made of natural sponge whipped to a hook, looked very bread like and would sink slowly. Think you could get the sponge from the chemist or apparently tesco does them i've just been informed by the missus. I just happen to know Pacu are the veggie equivalent to pirahna and grow much larger, (4 fish tanks)!. Hope this helps.

[SharkeyP]

I bought some 'artificial bread' off eBay, from a company called First4Leisure to target Mullet in the Med. It's a sort of rubbery foam, quite buoyant, that can be nipped to shape. Depending on the weight of your hook it has a tendency to float. You can just thread it on to the hook. A dab of superglue for belt and braces if you like.

You could also try a Deer Hair Blob, the Fly Factory sell em.

Good luck,

SharkeyP

[arkle]

You will probably find that the locals use rabbit as it's much more durable when wet than marabou, especially with "toothy" species such as piranha.

If you want to try something different then, arctic fox, arctic runner will probably be better, but obviously not as cheap as rabbit or marabou. There are various other materials such as white deer hair, which if tied with kevlar, not G.S.P. will give you the "bread" effect, if you don't mind trimming it.

[Dovebob]

I've used the stuff that Sharky P refers to for mullet flies. The stuff I got was made by Partridge of Redditch. It looks exactly like bread. I "tied" up some flies as Sharky describes. I used Mustad saltwater hooks and put a dab of super glue on to hold them in place. They are very effective. I caught some mullet in Ireland on them. I've also heard that they can work on reservoirs in areas where people feed ducks regularly !!!.

I've given some of these "flies" to friends who fish for carp. They use them instead of real bread when free lining for carp that are feeding off the surface. One of them has added that scent stuff that carp anglers use. This works well apparently.

All this talk of glueing fake bread onto monster stainless hooks is perhaps not for the purist and its made me think I ought to tie some barbless dries tonight. Brilliant fun through.

Dovebob

[clhr9]

Originally Posted by richardnw

I'm also on the lookout for suitable foam, any ideas where I can source some?

Boots the chemist do a Ramer shower sponge, comes in a sealed bag for a couple of quid.
You can just rip bits off which looks like bread, once it's been out of the bag it goes hard though, but can be softened again by wetting.

Cheers