AUG 28 2022
David Hutton
Installment 152
"I don't know jack about zonkers!"
Installment 152
"I don't know jack about zonkers!"
There I said it.
One of the more fashionable tying materials to come along in recent years, and I've never used it for much of anything.
Being a "hair and feather" man myself, I guess I've always been kinda suspicious of the stuff, what with the skin still on it and all.
But, that changed recently, when I received some rabbit zonker as a birthday gift from my grandkids.
They picked it out - nice bright colors - and I'm gonna use that stuff!
For more on the story of The Zonker Strip Gift, go here: The Jerannah Fly
Now What?
So here I sit with some zonker material, and no real experience with the stuff.
I know it came from a rabbit, and it is basically just a long strip of rabbit hide, with the hair still attached.
Oh... and I know it is used for many different fly styles.
Which is about all I know,,, but that's a start
What to do, what to do?
Well, we live in the digital age, don't we? When in doubt - go for the internet!
I didn't want to make this into a lifetime project, however, so I was looking for something entry level here.
Some people make a presentation out of the zonker flies they tie.
Carolina Zapata (Moscas Yungay), from Chile, she comes to mind in this regard.*
* Isn't the internet cool, that we can even KNOW of someone like Carolina?
To check out her Moscas Yungay, here is the QR code:
Simply Zonkers
Then, there is yours truly. I want to keep this down to a simple operation. Fortunately, as with all fly patterns, there are simple versions to get started with. These are what Martin Joergensen, of the excellent, "GlobalFlyfisher.com" calls, "mundane zonkers."
Just as I didn't want to make these things into a career, I also didn't intend to spend hours searching the internet for zonker inspiration.
A few minutes with the web browser, however, and I had enough ideas to get me going.
I settled on the sort of thing seen below....
Foto credit: David Humphries, and "Guide Recommended"
What's In It?
This is the most basic sort of zonker fly - a streamer of no great purport.
I suppose Martin would call it, "mundane," and I like that.
It is comprised of these things:
Hook - I have hooks galore in my stash. But for trying out something new like this, I went with Ol' Reliable... a basic Aberdeen.
Its about a 3x or 4x long, and I chose a size #4.
In fact, I should admit that I use Aberdeens a lot.
I have a fly shop about 30 miles away, where I could get hooks. And I could get any sort of hook I want, online.
But I get these at my local Walmart, and they catch fish as well as I need.
=================================
On a side note, I once tested these Aberdeens, to see if they could cut it - and found they are surprisingly robust.
Here's the link to that test, including some surprises about cats...
The Great Aberdeen Hook Test
=================================
Body - this part of the fly can be anything, from dubbing to tinsel, and pretty much whatever else you might want to use.
I wanted a bright sparkly body, to simulate the lower portion of a bait fish.
Rooting around in my bin labeled (what else), "tubing and ribbon," I found some corsair tubing, and some fancy trim ribbon from the sewing section of the craft store.
These form the bodies you see in the videos and pics
This is the most basic sort of zonker fly - a streamer of no great purport.
I suppose Martin would call it, "mundane," and I like that.
It is comprised of these things:
- A hook
- A body
- A zonker strip
- A head
Hook - I have hooks galore in my stash. But for trying out something new like this, I went with Ol' Reliable... a basic Aberdeen.
Its about a 3x or 4x long, and I chose a size #4.
In fact, I should admit that I use Aberdeens a lot.
I have a fly shop about 30 miles away, where I could get hooks. And I could get any sort of hook I want, online.
But I get these at my local Walmart, and they catch fish as well as I need.
=================================
On a side note, I once tested these Aberdeens, to see if they could cut it - and found they are surprisingly robust.
Here's the link to that test, including some surprises about cats...
The Great Aberdeen Hook Test
=================================
Body - this part of the fly can be anything, from dubbing to tinsel, and pretty much whatever else you might want to use.
I wanted a bright sparkly body, to simulate the lower portion of a bait fish.
Rooting around in my bin labeled (what else), "tubing and ribbon," I found some corsair tubing, and some fancy trim ribbon from the sewing section of the craft store.
These form the bodies you see in the videos and pics
The zonker strip - this is the stuff my grandkids picked out.
It is from Hairline and is labeled as,... drumroll please...
"Tiger Barred Rabbit Strips Blacked Barred Purple Fuschia”
Not only is it a mouthful, but this is unlike any fish found in Nature, at least not in South Carolina.
Maybe some poisonous Brazilian tree frog might sport such colors.
But no Dixie bass has ever seen anything like THAT.
Keep in mind that color is actually pretty far down the list of what triggers fish to strike. If they only took natural colored baits and flies, then Firetiger and all the Fluorescent colors would be done for. Ditto the classic white and red head lures.
So the color is probably the least important part of this,... and it has kinda of grown on me.
Head - At the front end is the head. It is made from black thread wrapped on in the usual way. This finishes the fly, and gives it that "complete look."
The head is well coated with cement, and then eyes are added using the paint dot method.
No head is complete without eyes, after all.
Tying Notes
Don't be afraid to use a little super glue when tying these. The zonker strip wants to slip around a little under the kind of thread tension needed for this job.
Use 6/0, or 210 denier thread for tying these. The zonker strip can take it, and you'll need it.
The Nymph
I had a little piece of the zonker left over, so I cut the fur off of it, and tied up a Polly Rosborough, "fuzzy nymph," following the general method for the "Casual Dress " pattern.
Its not a hard tie, and it has a neat little dubbing loop trick for making the hackle collar from the rabbit fur. This is a technique you need to learn. It allows any soft dubbing or fur to become a hackle collar!
The silky rabbit fur works nicely for this style of nymph, too.
In fact, this is one of the best nymph-type patterns I use - great for panfish and bass. It is durable and has good inherent movement in the water.
This nymph is tied on a #6 hook, so its not some teensy little mayfly thing.
But don't be put off....I've learned that these larger nymphs work quite well in my warm water fisheries. Larger panfish go for them, as do bass, both of which are okay by me!
I highly recommend it for those that want a rugged pattern for panfish that uses common materials, and is also easy to tie.
I've done THREE articles that include the 'Casual Dress', in fact, so that will tell you how much I value the pattern.
For one of them that leads you into tying techniques for the fly, you'll find that here:
Casual Dress - Variation On A Theme
I had a little piece of the zonker left over, so I cut the fur off of it, and tied up a Polly Rosborough, "fuzzy nymph," following the general method for the "Casual Dress " pattern.
Its not a hard tie, and it has a neat little dubbing loop trick for making the hackle collar from the rabbit fur. This is a technique you need to learn. It allows any soft dubbing or fur to become a hackle collar!
The silky rabbit fur works nicely for this style of nymph, too.
In fact, this is one of the best nymph-type patterns I use - great for panfish and bass. It is durable and has good inherent movement in the water.
This nymph is tied on a #6 hook, so its not some teensy little mayfly thing.
But don't be put off....I've learned that these larger nymphs work quite well in my warm water fisheries. Larger panfish go for them, as do bass, both of which are okay by me!
I highly recommend it for those that want a rugged pattern for panfish that uses common materials, and is also easy to tie.
I've done THREE articles that include the 'Casual Dress', in fact, so that will tell you how much I value the pattern.
For one of them that leads you into tying techniques for the fly, you'll find that here:
Casual Dress - Variation On A Theme
Zonker Strip Casual Dress
So that's that. I hope you liked this article that you learned something, and will share it with your friends.
Tight Lines
David
Palmetto Fly N Fish
© 2022 david hutton, Palmetto Fly N Fish. All rights reserved.
....By the way...come visit our group on Facebook, "Palmetto Fly n Fish." We wont bombard you with merchandise hustles, or the internet craziness you find on so many other pages.
Palmetto Fly n Fish
References
https://globalflyfisher.com/patterns-tie-better/zonker-patterns
https://guiderecommended.com/zonker-flies-fishing/
http://flyandlure.org/articles/fly_tying/9_zonker_fly_patterns_to_tie
Tight Lines
David
Palmetto Fly N Fish
© 2022 david hutton, Palmetto Fly N Fish. All rights reserved.
....By the way...come visit our group on Facebook, "Palmetto Fly n Fish." We wont bombard you with merchandise hustles, or the internet craziness you find on so many other pages.
Palmetto Fly n Fish
References
https://globalflyfisher.com/patterns-tie-better/zonker-patterns
https://guiderecommended.com/zonker-flies-fishing/
http://flyandlure.org/articles/fly_tying/9_zonker_fly_patterns_to_tie
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