Drew Chicone of Salty Fly Tying Joins the Puglisi Professional Fly Tying Team

GLEN COVE, N.Y. - April 14, 2014 - PRLog -- MEDIA CONTACT:

Enrico Puglisi
Enrico Puglisi Ltd.
40-A Sea Cliff Ave.
Glen Cove, NY 11542
(707) 894-5566
enrico@epflies.com

“I am very pleased to welcome Drew Chicone into the EP Flies family” said Enrico Puglisi, Owner and Founder at Enrico Puglisi Flies, Ltd. “There is little I can say about Drew that everyone in the fly-fishing world doesn't already know about him. He is a young and motivated fly tier especially when it comes to dealing with today's new and intriguing synthetic materials. Drew always finds a way to easily incorporate these materials into a fly to attract predator fish. Not only do I like Drew for his work on modern flies, but more importantly, for the time he gives to teach much needed young fly tiers what the fly fishing sport is all about.

I have no doubt that Drew will be an excellent ambassador for EP Flies. When it comes to the new generation of fly tying materials we are a perfect match, and everyone will benefit by his contributions for years to come.

About Drew Chicone
Drew Chicone is a Fly Designer, Photographer, Author, Instructor, Lecturer and Materials Expert whose passion for the sport has led him all over the planet in pursuit of saltwater species.   He has lived and breathed the sport since he was tall enough to sit at the vise and his fly creations are both well known and in high demand among guides and saltwater anglers a like.  Drew’s has been a FFF Certified Casting Instructor, and commercial fly tier for many years.  His patterns are sold in numerous fly shops and have appeared in several publications and online articles including:

•   Fly Fishing in Saltwater Magazine
•   Fly Fisherman Magazine
•   This is Fly Magazine
•   Hatches Magazine
•   Midcurrent Magazine
•   Fly & Light Tackle Angler Magazine
•   Front Range Angler Magazine
•   Florida Sportsman Magazine
•   Saltwater Flies of the Southeast & Gulf Coast- Angelo Peluso

Drew partnered with Stackpole books to publish his third book; Feather Brain - Developing, Testing & Improving Saltwater Fly Patterns. His other titles include Essential Bonefish Flies, Andros & Essential Permit Patterns. He is the creator of SaltyFlyTying.com (mailto:www.saltyflytying.com), a member of the Dyna-King Pro Tyer Team (http://www.dyna-king.com/home/drew-chicone/), Daiichi Pro Staff (http://www.anglersportgroup.com/daiichi_pros_details.asp?...), Clear Cure Goo Pro Tyer Team (http://www.clearcuregoo.com/page13/page13.html), an Ambassador for Nucanoe (http://www.nucanoe.com/), as well as a Royalty Tyer for the Orvis Company (http://www.orvis.com/store/product_search_tnail.aspx?dir_id=1236&group_id=1267&cat_id=5454&subcat_id=6527).

Drew is the past Vice President of Sanibel Fly Fishers, as well as a member of the Tarpon and Bonefish Trust, and plays an active role in the preservation of local fisheries by donating his time to Mote Marine’s Snook and Tarpon research programs.  He enjoys instructing in person and on camera and has made several instructional videos.  He is known for his willingness to help fly tiers young and old improve their skills at the vise. Drew is an entertaining and knowledgeable presenter, with an animated sense of humor and a high-energy personality that draws in the audience.

For more info on Drew or his latest works, please visit his website and blog at http://www.saltyflyting.com.  For product reviews, tip, tricks and more, feel free to subscribe to the Monthly Newsletter The Salty Fly Tying Chronicle (http://www.saltyflytying.com/newsletter-opt-in.html) or join Salty Fly Tying on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SaltyFlyTying?ref=hl).

About Enrico Puglisi Flies, Ltd.
Surrounded by the saltwater of the Mediterranean, Enrico learned about fishing in his native Sicily before he could walk while watching his father and uncles catching dinner. Gaudy chicken feathers that seemed to attract some of the largest fish especially intrigued him.

But his passion for fishing remained latent while he was urged to pursue a career in the culinary arts. He worked as a chef in a hotel in Sicily where he eventually met his American wife, Karen. He continued to work as a chef when he arrived with his bride in the United States in 1980.

Even though he was bound to the kitchen, he still found time to explore fishing opportunities here. With Karen's help he learned about fly fishing at the Connetquot River State Park Preserve on Long Island, and other New York State streams. That summer, Enrico hooked his first trout and that instilled in him an insatiable thirst to understand why fish "eat" artificial flies.

"Daddy, that looks like the fish in our fish tank."
"Yes, I know," said the father. "That's why it catches fish!"

Over the winter, Enrico forces himself to read English by subscribing to fishing magazines and reading books on fly fishing. He also discovered Orvis and fly tying. It was, he says, a watershed experience, and incidentally, quite different from the creation of the crude artificial flies he has constructed from his mother's chicken feathers on snelled hooks.

Since that year, Enrico has expanded his knowledge of fish and the reasons they are attracted to artificial. But something kept drawing him back to the sea. So he took the knowledge he had recently accumulated about fresh water fishing and added it to his earliest memories about catching saltwater species. He then took to fishing several local Long Island beaches.

He opened The Practical Fly Shop in Little Neck, NY in 1992, where his customers encouraged him to create many of his innovative flies. That led him to experiment with more durable synthetic and natural materials to create flies that eventually became part of the catalog of offerings that are now marketed through Enrico Puglisi Ltd. as EP Flies and EP Fibers.

Today, Enrico no longer maintains The Practical Fly Shop, but through Enrico Publish Ltd., his innovative products are making a major impact on the future direction of saltwater fly fishing. His unique hand-tied flies are recognized around the world, and he has been invited to demonstrate his meticulous tying techniques across the United States and Europe. All of his patterns are designed to match specific baitfish and to be eminently fishable.

Recently, while appearing as a featured guest tier at a major fishing show, a youngster standing with his father pointed to one of Enrico's creations and said, "Daddy, that looks like the fish in our fish tank." "Yes, I know," said the father. "That's why it catches fish!" That was a proud moment for Enrico because that's what he wants to create for his customers -- flies that catch fish!