FLYMPH FORUM

My thanks to ronr for the inspiration and coaching, here is my first Micro Zonker...

RIMG2637 by William Lovelace, on Flickr

Hook-Mustad 9671 #10 with 1/8" black bead
Thread- Brown 3/0 Monocord
Wing- Natural Pine Squirrel Micro Zonker strip
Body-rear, Gold Holographic Tinsel
Body- front,-4 colors of Aunt Lydia's Rug Yarn spun in a dubbing loop and trimmed

After I tie the olive sculpins, next come the heavier ones on a #10 Jig hook...

Get jiggy with it!

The bass around here will love these.

I think I need to extend my tails. I am having mixed results. Beaded and non beaded.

Yours looks like a better producer.

longer tails equal short strikes.....sometimes....

I really like the rug head...Bill...

and to add to the fun... here's another jigged streamer that is producing on the Crooked...

one has double hackle, partridge and pine squirrel, the other just partridge... produced largest fish of the day last week...

You guys are awesome! Each one of your offerings is screaming, Smallmouth come and get me! Such wonderful patterns! Each one an inspiration! Thanks fellows! I dream about beauty such as these!
Doug

Here are two sculpin patterns that I use made of pine squirrel. Sometimes they want rubber legs and sometimes they don't. Simple but they work well for me.

I tye an unweighted rabbit zonker version that is deadly in small creeks. The unweighted version sinks slowly and fishes very well in shallow sections. It’s amazing how often big fish will cruze the shallows along the edges.

That “spider leech” is wicked!

Otto... are those inverting beads on your patterns, and what size hooks and beads do you prefer?
I'm trying various sizes depending on the section of water I'm in, but color doesn't seem to matter much to the fish.

As much as I love swinging a soft hackle...there are times when I just have to go to the dark side!

Ron,

Yes, those are both inverting patterns and I use a #8 orientsun streamer hook and a 4.0 mm tungsten inverting bead. When mountain stream fishing, I often go to the dark side.

Otto

Here is the heavier WFC #10 Jig Hook version of the fly...

RIMG2653 by William Lovelace, on Flickr

It also has 6 wraps of lead free wire behind the Tungsten Bead!