zonker

also trying some "woven body tubing" from fishUSA.  Seems a little tough to tie one?  Does anyone use this or just mylar or chenelle bodies?

DJ  -.There is somewhat of a tute on zonkers here:

http://forums.fishusa.com/Covering_the_strip_of_hide_on_the_zonkers/m_236248/tm.htm

When tying these I like to use the thin cut strips and use the crosscut strips for leeches.
As far as the woven body tubing - I'm not sure what you mean - perhaps someone else does. If your talking about mylar tubing there is a description of that also in the above link. If your talking about the technique of weaving using tubing or some other material - try these links:

http://forums.fishusa.com/Woven_Body_Woolly_Bugger/m_237160/tm.htm

http://forums.fishusa.com/Woven_Body_Hex_Nymph/m_235482/tm.htm

Let us know if you need a more detailed tute on zonkers and we'll try and put one up for ya. Hope this helps ya out.

DJ - looks good. Zonkers can be a bit tricky to tie for the first time. A few tips that I learned are to tie in the mylar tubing first @ the bend of the hook. Use as few wraps as possible to secure the tubing and cover the wraps with head cement or super glue. Then take the zonker strip and seperate the fur where you want to tie it in. Make sure you do not trap any fur when you wrap the thread and only tie in the hide. Usually only 5 or 6 turns of thread are all you need. Then use a long reach whip finish tool to secure the thread and tie this off and clip the thread. It's kind of tricky to whip this without trapping the fur so you kind of have to be careful doing that. Restart the thread at the front and tie in the other end of the tubing. It looks like the reason you have some sticking out is it was cut too long. Then pull the rest of the strip front and tie this in. Some tiers who use some other material for the body other than tubing palmer the thread through the strip from the rear to the front. Although this would better secure the zonker strip - I've never really had any problem with it coming loose by tying it in the front and back only. Check out the tute on covering the hide - it kind of better describes it. 

Duh - why haven't I done it that way before Cold?  Good Point! Hah - I got your thing about the maturity and wisdom down but I gotta work on the common sense thing.

maybe its just the way i tie zonkers.. im not a fast tyer so this style doesnt bother me.. i prefer quality over quantity.. i tie in a heavy piece of wire tinsel in the proper shape of a body..its really quite simple. start the tinsel on the back underbody of the hook shank.. tie the tinsle in.. move the the fron of the hook.. then form the body and tie it off.. try to keep the wire on the underside of the hook..put some mylar on it.. tie it is.. and z-poxy it.. gives it a really sturdy body.. give it like 5 min to set.. then you can tie in the zonker strip and use a lil spey hackel after the zonker strip and voila .. perfect zonker everytime.if i had a camera id put a tutorial on this.. 

DT, are you familiar with the two? Zonkers lie straight across the top of the shank and the hair sweeps back. Cross-cuts are supposed to be wound around the shank for the hair to sweep back. If you tie a cross-cut across the top of the shank, all the hair will lean to the side. If you use a zonker in place of a cross-cut the hair will stand straight out, like the hackle on a dry fly (though not nearly as stiff).

While using a zonker wound as a collar might actually work for a big bulky fly (think pike, bass, musky, etc), using a cross-cut in place of a zonker will make for a truly ugly fly.

When I tie zonkers, I hate...HATE using the woven mylar tubing. I have a crapload of it too...

Instead, I dub a body of ice dub, spectrablend, or other bright synthetic, sometimes over-wrapped with a thick wire (I dont rib down the strip, I rib under it), more as a way to use up this heavy gauge wire I got that has few practical uses. I tie in the front of the zonker strip well behind the eye (stretch it!), and leave myself room for a collar made from 1 or 2 wraps of cross-cut, either in an identical or contrasting color to the zonker.

In a steelhead fly assorment I'm tying, I've included white zonkers w/ purple collars, 2-tone hot pink zonkers w/ purple tips that have a fluorescent chartreuse collar, and olive/black tipped zonkers w/ natural brown collars. I figure the white/purple is a good all purpose color scheme, the bright pink/chart ones will be good in stained water, and the olive/natural ones make a decent impressionistic sculpin/goby imitation.

zonker-straight cut rabbit strips, tailing and winging flies
cross cut-building bodies on leech style flies. Wound around the hook shank.
 
I like zonker style flies in all white or all white with a fl yellow hackle collar. Size medium bead chain eyes add a bit of weight and balance to this style fly.

thanx guys.

I hate tying with mylar, I rarely ever use it anymore.  I prefer dubbing or estaz.
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

P.S.  Thanks for all the help.  Hope to try soem of these out next week!

ORIGINAL: Ironhed

D,
The bottom pic of yours...

Killer color combo.  I add a gold or copper bead between the red dubbing and head.

It's an absolute deathwish for Lake Ontario browns!

Ironhed

 
It's actually a copy of a fly you tied for a swap years back.  Except yours had pink where mine is red, and yea, yours had a bead or maybe it was a bead chain, I think.  Good fly.
 
Should I have given you credit in the original post?  You're not going to delete it, are you? 
 
 

Do you guys think i need to hid the thread a little more.  I've taken my time and done few wraps of thread, but it still seems pronounced.  Any other tips beside the old threads?  thanks

Nice ties!  Got some fish yesterday on white/fl yellow zonkers.

Thanks Swinger - actually it's lady amherst, stripped on one side and two wraps.