A couple of weeks ago I posted about the Jelly Bean Zonker designed by Holger Lachmann. Well, recently Svend Diesel has dived into tying these and made a fly tying video on the way he does it. So check it out!
From Erik Svendsen:
“About 6 Months back, I saw Holger Lachmann of theonefly.com, start posting these awesome Zonker type flies utilizing UV resin in many colors and adding glitter and other awesome attributes to a fly making it so unique I had to attempt it.
After my first several attempts, shaping the body and adding glitter, I saw this E Z body material in a fly shop and after consulting with Helixguides, decided that I would try using the Body material to shape the minnow and then cover it in the UV resin to increase the durability and show the unique properties of the body. It is nothing new to use the minnow body material for these type of bait fish flies, but by adding the rabbit material i think it makes it a wicked awesome treat for any fish eyeing a nice protein meal.
The color of all these materials can make any combination or pattern that one is trying to imitate. I tend to keep the body more tubular, which using the E Z body material makes it easy, or you can get more fancy and create segment sections and more detailed profile or simply bypass the body material and do them as Holger does. I find that the tungsten beads placed towards the eyes on the underside of the shank to be very important in one helping to keel the hook properly and secondly to allow it to sort of dive on the strip rests like a wounded minnow.
Tie some up and fish them and have some fun at the vise with it.”
Materials list:
Hook: #ahrexhooks TP610 size 2/0 to 6
Thread: #semperfliflytying nano silk 12/0
Rabbit: Magnum cut strips for 2/0 to 2 size hooks, regular Strips fro size 2 – 6 size hooks
Underbody: E Z body Tubing, Mylar Tubing, Minnow Body etc.
Body: #semperfliflytying UV no Tack Resin
Eyes: Fit to preference and color
Beads: 2-3 tungsten beads on underside of shank to help keel the hook and cause it to dive down
Mono: 30lb mono to hold beads and also prevent fouling on the tail
