I did better in the Fall 2009 season swinging an olive zonker pattern than black, which has been the best color for swinging for me most of the time. Heres the recipe for the fly that worked in erie and oak orchard for us:
Hook: Alec Jackson spey sz 6, Tiemco 200R sz. 6
Thread: Dark olive or black 6/0
tip: oval silver tinsel
tag: canary yellow uni-stretch or floss
tail: 4-6 strands of krystal flash, pearlescent
wing: olive barred zonker strip tied zonker style, ie. tied down just forward of the tail and also at the head of the fly, you guys know what I mean.
rib: medium copper wire. tie in the rib right after you tie down the tail, and cover the rear thread wraps attaching the zonker strip with the ribiing wire when you wrap the rib forward. The weak link in zonker style flies is the rear thread wraps getting cut by fish's teeth, by covering them with the ribbing wire you avoid this.
body rear half: pearlescent mylar
body front half: Peacock ice dub
palmer hackle (optional): over front half of body palmer a whiting olive grizzly bugger hackle. the other option is simply to pick out the ice dub a little after you rib the body.
collar: After you attach the zonket strip in the front add a palmered collar of white saddle hackle or bugger pack hackle.
This can be tied as a tube as well, simply tie the fly on a 2 inch or so piece of tube. I order the long pieces of tubing and cut them to length, so I rarely measure them, just cut to whatever length looks right.
edit: photos
white and black GP's, the way I tie them
purple
early version of above fly, after a few steelhead
Lady A. I used guinnea for the throat and the tail is too long, but its not terrible
post edited by SonofZ3 - 2010/08/04 18:26:16