Squirrel Zonker

Thick-skinned

Martin Joergensen

This is an update to one of the first patterns ever featured on one of the forefathers of the Global FlyFisher - Fishing Denmark. The old article about this fly is more than 16 years old at the present time, and has been out there with its scanned B/W fly picture since then.

Now I have retied the fly in connection with an upcoming article series on zonkers and zonker strips, and done a step-by-step series of photos. I've tied the fly many times during the many years that have passed, but just never photographed it.

The fly is an excellent, small and generic baitfish imitation, which has caught numerous seatrout in its time, and is bound to be able to work on brownies, stripers, bass, snook and many other predatory fish. I fish it on a floating line and simply retrieve it in small jerks to make it act like a swimming fish. I tie small flies like this onto my tippet using a loop knot, allowing them to move more freely.

Step 1 - thread	Step 2 - rib	Step 3 - to the rear
Step 4 - to the front	Step 5 - tinsel	Step 6 - first layer
Step 7 - body done	Step 8 - trim tinsel	Step 9 - zonker strip
Step 10 - rib	Step 11 - ribbing	Step 12 - rib done
Step 13 - trim rib	Step 14 - dubbing loop	Step 15 - hackle strip
Step 16 - spin hackle	Step 17 - wind hackle	Step 18 - trim zonker strip

Martin Joergensen

Done

Martin Joergensen

Sea run brown trout

Martin Joergensen