Tying The Zonker Minnow Fly Pattern
Hook:Tiemco #300 size 4 (any long shank streamer hook, sizes #2-#8)
Thread:Olive&White 6/0
Weight:Large lead wire
Underbody:White antron dubbing
Body:Pearl mylar piping
Wing/back:Olive Zonker strip
Hackle:Dyed olive grizzly marabou
How to tie the Zonker:
Many tiers omit the hackle, or use red to suggest the swollen gills of an injured bait fish. Some use marabou as a beard, instead of a hackle. A strip leech is a Zonker tied with a marabou tail (like a wooly bugger), gold or silver sparkle chenille wound as a body, and copper or brass wire to bind down a zonker strip on top. As you can see, there are many flies that owe their fundamental design to the Zonker…and for good reason. The rabbit strip pulses, breathes as it is stripped. It undulates, and seems to never stop moving. Once you see rabbit fur under water, any doubt you may have in it quickly disappears.
In the original pattern, adhesive lead tape is used over the top of the hook shank and taped to itself on the underside. It is then trimmed to the body shape of a minnow before the mylar piping. I tie some this way, but have found that once a good-sized fish (trout or bass) gets a grip on that tape underbody, it deforms it. The problem is that the mylar piping fibers often get pulled apart to some degree. In the pattern below, lead wire is used (strong, tight) with a smooth, dubbed body over it. This "holds" the shape of the mylar and gives a bit when the fish takes. I believe that the fish holds on just a bit longer when it bites a soft body.
In the original pattern, adhesive lead tape is used over the top of the hook shank and taped to itself on the underside. It is then trimmed to the body shape of a minnow before the mylar piping. I tie some this way, but have found that once a good-sized fish (trout or bass) gets a grip on that tape underbody, it deforms it. The problem is that the mylar piping fibers often get pulled apart to some degree. In the pattern below, lead wire is used (strong, tight) with a smooth, dubbed body over it. This "holds" the shape of the mylar and gives a bit when the fish takes. I believe that the fish holds on just a bit longer when it bites a soft body.
Happy Fishing!
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