The Bloody Zonker

Bloody Zonker

Martin Joergensen

We recently covered a sea trout version of the classical Bloody Butcher. Here's a variation of the variation: the Bloody Butcher wet fly converted to sea trout fly converted to a zonker.

This variation of the variation was originally tied for sea run brown trout - sea trout - but will work equally well as a big trout streamer in running water and I would be surprised if salmon wouldn't like it, and I wouldn't mind casting it to large saltwater predators such as tarpon, tuna or trevally... but then I wouldn't mind casting any fly pattern to these quarries, but that's a whole other matter.

The flies you see have all been tied by our designated staff tyer Ken Bonde Larsen, and looking at the tying sequence you may want to take note of a few tying tips, which I will take this opportunity to point out.

Step 1 - weight	Step 2 - thread	Step 3 - start tail	Step 4 - double tail
Step 5 - pull	Step 6 - trim tail	Step 7 - thread forward	Step 8 - ribbing

Martin Joergensen

Durable tinsel body

Step 9 - tinsel	Step 10 - nail polish	Step 11 - wind the tinsel
Step 12 - finish body	Step 13 - trim tinsel	Step 14 - nail polish

Martin Joergensen

The body on this fly is tinsel, and tinsel is notoriously fragile if it's just wound on a hook shank. A rib will help, but once the tinsel breaks (can you say fish teeth?) it will magically unravel no matter how secure it seemed when the fly was done.
The cure is glue... or rather nail polish that not only glues the tinsel, but also seals it when it's been wrapped and tied down.
Spread a thin layer of clear nail polish on the foundation for the body, and wind the tinsel while the polish is still sticky. If you use two layers of tinsel, add nail polish in between. And when the body is done, coat it with a thin layer of nail polish and let it dry before continuing. The advantage of nail polish over fly varnish is that is dries quickly and dries up "thick" with a bit of volume, smoothing out any bumps on what it covers.

Securing a zonker wing with the rib

Step 15 - preapre the strip	Step 16 . trianglular	Step 17 - fit wing	Step 18 - tie in
Step 19 - wing in place	Step 20 - wet the hair	Step 21 - split hair	Step 22 - pull strip
Step 23 - first wrap	Step 25 - keep moving	Step 25 - next split	Step 26 - last turn

Martin Joergensen

On many zonker patterns you only tie in the zonker strip in the front and in the rear. This can lead to a loose and soggy wing because the skin base of the wing sucks up water and becomes slightly larger and much softer compared to the dry strip.
Avoid this by tying down the strip in its full length with a rib. Tie the wing down in front with the tying thread, moist the hairs of the wing to be able to separate them, and wind the rib in fairly close turns without squashing down any hairs. Start with a full turn of the ribbing material to secure the rear end, and then move forward in 5-7 turns depending on the length of the hook.

Making a neat front on a zonker wing

Step 27 - tie off	Step 28 - trim rib	Step 29 - flash	Step 30 - tie in
Step 31 - tighten	Step 32 - hair	Step 33 - tie in hair	Step 34 - trim butts

Martin Joergensen

When you tie down the zonker strip on the front of the fly, you often get a fairly large bump under the thread - and under the head or the front hackle. You can avoid this by leaving a little space in front of the wing, and finishing it with a small bunch of hair similar to that on the strip.
This will cover the ugly bump caused by the skin strip, and form a smooth foundation for a front hackle or make it much easier to form a small head.

Using a brush on a soft hackle

Step 35 - hackle	Step 36 - prepare hackle	Step 37 - tie in	Step 38 - wrap hackle
Step 39 - tie off	Step 40 - finish	Step 41 - grooming	Step 42 - varnish

Martin Joergensen

You know how some tyers are able to get the soft front hackles on their wet flies to sweep back over the body like they were glued in place? Well, there are techniques to make this happen by just tying the feather in in the right way. But not only can you do that, but when the hackle is done, and doesn't act exactly as you want, you can simply comb it in place!
Make yourself a hackle and fur comb by cutting down an old (or new) toothbrush, and stroke this firmly over the hackle from the flies' head and back, and you'll be surprised how even and nicely swept back it can become.

A meaty fly

Martin Joergensen