It is about that time of year where much of what we are throwing is constructed from foam. Terrestrial season is upon us, in the last 15-20 years, the commercial fly scene has seen a major shift in the materials used to construct flies. Foam has been widely adopted as a staple material not only to float big stoneflies and terrestrials high, but also to construct flies buoyant enough to run heavy tungsten droppers below.
Believe it or not, foam as a material can wet out much like out dry dubs, parachutes, elk hair wings, CDC, etc. Tying a fly sparsely always helps with how quickly it sheds water, but being able to coat foam in durable resin really aids in a flies long term buoyancy by creating a waterproof barrier that doesn’t ever let water touch the foam. It also aids in its durability, we all have had great terrestrial days where by the end of it, your foam beetle or hopper is absolutely thrashed.
The new Solarez Top Coat 77 Gloss solves a few long standing issues of using adhesives on foam. For one, using traditional resins on foam will often create a hard shell that will mold around the foam body, but not adhere to it. When foam is put under pressure and coated with the wrong UV Resin, it simply will peel away. The other issue is that certain strong adhesives, like superglues, will melt foam away in a hot chemical reaction. The new Solarez Top Coat 77 Gloss provides a foam- safe, durable resin that keeps your terrestrials floating high, and in one piece. It also bends and flexes with the foam while staying adhered to it. It can be used on flies you tie at home, or used to protect flies bought in store.
If you missed it, we did a tutorial on a fantastic cricket that uses this resin to create a more durable, realistic body. The link to the full article is here, and the video is embedded below.
There may also be some use for this resin in saltwater foam flies, however with terrestrial season ramping up, we really had terrestrials on the mind when we first heard this was coming out. We also have not had a chance to test this resin on toothier saltwater fish to see its ability to protect salt foam flies. Swing by the shop to pick some up, or shop online for it here.
-Simon
