Yesterday's mail brought a nice surprise in the form of a new fly I'm eager to try. Actually the fly is not new at all -- only new to me. The Bill Bug, made by 81-year-old William L. Cook of Morgantown, Kentucky, apparently has been yielding big numbers of bluegills and other panfish for Kentucky anglers in the know for decades. It's a slow-sinking insect imitation that Cook likes to fish either beneath a popping bug or in front of a No. 12 or 14 gnat pattern fly. Each Bill Bug comes packaged with an instruction sheet that details those two techniques, plus two spinning rod applications.
The only bad part for me is that all Bill Bug sales appear to all be done through local retailers in Kentucky. I did a search for online sales outlets an didn't find anything. If I were to lose the two he sent for me to try I wouldn't know where to get more. I plan to write Mr. Cook to thank him for sharing his fly with me anyway, so I'll have to ask about stores where I can pick up more flies when I pass through Kentucky. In the meantime, I need to go catch some bream!
