AUGUST 14, 2022
Installment 151
If you're a regular visitor to Palmetto Fly n Fish, you might remember my grandkids recently got me some goodies for my birthday.
They took a family vacation to Myrtle Beach, and while there, they went to the Orvis store in town.
Installment 151
If you're a regular visitor to Palmetto Fly n Fish, you might remember my grandkids recently got me some goodies for my birthday.
They took a family vacation to Myrtle Beach, and while there, they went to the Orvis store in town.
Yes, believe it or not, there is an Orvis store in Myrtle Beach, SC.
You see, the kids know my fly tying, and they have tried it enough to understand the process. So, they wanted to get some "fly stuff" as a gift.
Here's the booty they scored:
You see, the kids know my fly tying, and they have tried it enough to understand the process. So, they wanted to get some "fly stuff" as a gift.
Here's the booty they scored:
Hareline Zonker strip, Tiger Barred, Fuschia and Purple
Danville thread , 210 denier Flymaster Fluorescent Pink
UTC Ultra Wire, Gold
Orvis, Hot Tipped Sili-legs, Black/Red
What Next?
Of course, at this point, the pressure is on - I must now tie a fly using these materials.
Tying Requirements
1. The fly must use all the material they chose, and it has to be obvious.
Of course, at this point, the pressure is on - I must now tie a fly using these materials.
Tying Requirements
1. The fly must use all the material they chose, and it has to be obvious.
2. The fly can use other things, but not in such excess as to detract from #1.
To say these material colors are not exactly in my usual palette, is an understatement. I tend to go for more somber, natural tones.
But they are kids, and one of them is a young girl... bright colors were bound to be selected.
Hey, I love them and it's a challenge, and I can work with that.
The Game Plan
I'm not really a zonker guy, and have little practical experience with the stuff, so I felt no need to rush into it. I let it percolate in my mind for a while, as I knew an idea would eventually present itself.
The decision for what to tie was made thanks to a video from one of my favorite anglers and fly tyers, Dietrich Bohnhorst in Donegal, Ireland.
There it was - a pattern he calls, "The Rainbow Slayer."
Dietrich is humble, and he allows, in his usual German accent, that it is... "relatively easy to tie, and is more or less, just another zonker pattern, or variant thereof.."
But it has proven to be a reliable catcher for the big predatory rainbow trout in his region. (Link provided at the end)
If the Rainbow Slayer is good enough for Dietrich B., it is good enough for me.
To say these material colors are not exactly in my usual palette, is an understatement. I tend to go for more somber, natural tones.
But they are kids, and one of them is a young girl... bright colors were bound to be selected.
Hey, I love them and it's a challenge, and I can work with that.
The Game Plan
I'm not really a zonker guy, and have little practical experience with the stuff, so I felt no need to rush into it. I let it percolate in my mind for a while, as I knew an idea would eventually present itself.
The decision for what to tie was made thanks to a video from one of my favorite anglers and fly tyers, Dietrich Bohnhorst in Donegal, Ireland.
There it was - a pattern he calls, "The Rainbow Slayer."
Dietrich is humble, and he allows, in his usual German accent, that it is... "relatively easy to tie, and is more or less, just another zonker pattern, or variant thereof.."
But it has proven to be a reliable catcher for the big predatory rainbow trout in his region. (Link provided at the end)
If the Rainbow Slayer is good enough for Dietrich B., it is good enough for me.
I adapted it for the materials the kids selected, and the game was afoot.
Materials
Hook: Aberdeen #6
Tying thread: black
Tail: Hareline zonker strip
Body: Long section of Danville fluorescent pink thread, doubled in a loop.
Ribbing: UTC ultra wire, gold
Head: Black ostrich herl
Tying
There is not a lot to the pattern. It follows the usual build progression from back to front.
1. Run a base of thread from front to rear - stop at the hook bend.
2. Tie in the wire.
3. Tie in a doubled loop of the thread for the body.
4. Tie in the zonker strip, so the tail end hangs over the hook bend about a hook shank in length
5. Move thread to front.
6. Wrap the fluorescent thread back and forth along the hook shank, to achieve a smooth body; end at front and tie off behind the head.
7. Wrap the rear end of the zonker strip with the wire to bind it down - then spiral wrap the body with the wire ribbing and tie that off at the front, behind the head.
8. Tie in the legs just behind the head, evenly spaced to either side.
9. Pull the zonker strip over the top, and pull it down tight to the hook, just behind the head. Secure it with several wraps of thread and a tiny dot of super glue.
Alternatively you could use the tag end of the wire to secure the zonker.
10, Tie in a couple of ostrich herls, and wrap them to form a rounded head. This covers up all the materials tied in at that point, and gives a finished appearance.
Tie off the herls behind the eye.
11. Clean up any errant hairs, fibers, and thread, and add a drop of varnish to he thread head to end the job.
Notes
- This will also work on a #4 hook, and I'll probably tie a couple in that size.
- I suppose you could also go down in size, to say, a 10?
You could... but I probably won't.
- Obviously, this can be tied using any combination of colors and similar materials as you may have available.
- The zonker strip was tapered to a point at the very end of the tail.
- Use as much thread as you like to make the body; I wrapped on two layers to make a smooth, low profile body.
You could also put in an underbody of yarn to bulk it up, if you like.
- The legs were all pulled up evenly, and cut off at about a full hooks length measure.
The Naming
Every fly deserves a name. It may not be an original, but it still needs that special something, its own, "j'e ne sais qua,*" ... by which it can be recognized.
So what about the name, "The Jerannah Fly?"
Simple; it's an anagram that combines the names of my grand kids.
That just seemed the way to go.
* "Je ne sais qua" is French. It means, "an intangible quality that makes something distinctive or attractive" ...and is my small attempt to class up this blog.
Materials
Hook: Aberdeen #6
Tying thread: black
Tail: Hareline zonker strip
Body: Long section of Danville fluorescent pink thread, doubled in a loop.
Ribbing: UTC ultra wire, gold
Head: Black ostrich herl
Tying
There is not a lot to the pattern. It follows the usual build progression from back to front.
1. Run a base of thread from front to rear - stop at the hook bend.
2. Tie in the wire.
3. Tie in a doubled loop of the thread for the body.
4. Tie in the zonker strip, so the tail end hangs over the hook bend about a hook shank in length
5. Move thread to front.
6. Wrap the fluorescent thread back and forth along the hook shank, to achieve a smooth body; end at front and tie off behind the head.
7. Wrap the rear end of the zonker strip with the wire to bind it down - then spiral wrap the body with the wire ribbing and tie that off at the front, behind the head.
8. Tie in the legs just behind the head, evenly spaced to either side.
9. Pull the zonker strip over the top, and pull it down tight to the hook, just behind the head. Secure it with several wraps of thread and a tiny dot of super glue.
Alternatively you could use the tag end of the wire to secure the zonker.
10, Tie in a couple of ostrich herls, and wrap them to form a rounded head. This covers up all the materials tied in at that point, and gives a finished appearance.
Tie off the herls behind the eye.
11. Clean up any errant hairs, fibers, and thread, and add a drop of varnish to he thread head to end the job.
Notes
- This will also work on a #4 hook, and I'll probably tie a couple in that size.
- I suppose you could also go down in size, to say, a 10?
You could... but I probably won't.
- Obviously, this can be tied using any combination of colors and similar materials as you may have available.
- The zonker strip was tapered to a point at the very end of the tail.
- Use as much thread as you like to make the body; I wrapped on two layers to make a smooth, low profile body.
You could also put in an underbody of yarn to bulk it up, if you like.
- The legs were all pulled up evenly, and cut off at about a full hooks length measure.
The Naming
Every fly deserves a name. It may not be an original, but it still needs that special something, its own, "j'e ne sais qua,*" ... by which it can be recognized.
So what about the name, "The Jerannah Fly?"
Simple; it's an anagram that combines the names of my grand kids.
That just seemed the way to go.
* "Je ne sais qua" is French. It means, "an intangible quality that makes something distinctive or attractive" ...and is my small attempt to class up this blog.
Here is how the Jerannah Fly ended up:
The Jerannah Fly
...and, for the video from Dietrich Bohnhorst that provided the basic pattern, go here:
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Thanks for following along. I hope you learned something, and that you'll share it with your friends.
If you didn't like it, forget you ever saw it. LOL
Tight Lines,
David
Palmetto Fly N Fish
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© David Hutton, Palmetto Fly n Fish, et al, Aug 2022.
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