HOT WIZARD SBS

This is a basic zonker streamer that I tied to catch some of our larger freshwater predatory fish. The colour combo is based on other effective streamers, especially tigerfish streamers, used across Africa (I took a page from Malcolm Meintjes’ zonker tiger flies as displayed in the FOSAF Favoured Flies series). I’ve only been fishing it in 2018 and it has already proven to be effective for catching spotted and smallmouth bass, yellowfish and tigerfish.

Recipe:

Thread – Gordon Griffiths Sheer 14/0 black

Hook – Gamakatsu B10S #4 – #2

Bead – Large hot orange tungsten bead

Undertail (‘anti wrap guard’) – Stripped black zonker, short piece (this is glued to the top zonker strip with GemKem contact at the end)

Body – Root beer cactus chenille

Wing/tail – Black zonker strip

Rib – 12 lb monofilament

Collar – EP™ SPARKLE BRUSH 1″ WIDE BLACK/PURPLE

1 Squash the barb on a 2 B10S and place a large hot orange bead on the hook.

2 Wrap thread onto the hook shank and tie in the stripped zonker piece that will serve as the *undertail*.

3 Tie in a piece of copper wire (best when fishing for tigerfish).

4 Tie in the root beer cactus chenille and a piece of olive wool.

5 Wrap the wool forward to form a uniform body.

6 Wrap the cactus chenille over the wool.

7 Tie in the zonker wing behind the bead.

8 Secure the zonker strip with the copper wire.

9 Tie the brush in right in front of the zonker strip.

10 Wrap the brush forward and tie off onto the bead – I specifically tie it off onto the bead to make the hot orange more subtle in this fly.

11 Cover the two opposing zonker surfaces at the tail in a thin layer of contact glue.

12 The finished product after the tail zonker strips have been glued together – this is quite an effective way to prevent the tail from wrapping when casting, a trick I learned from Edward Truter.

Tips:

This fly works well for good size Clanwilliam yellowfish, which was my aim with it initially, but I subsequently also caught tigerfish on it in South Africa. For a more durable fly to catch multiple tigerfish, for instance, the mono rib should be replaced with copper wire. I fish the fly with long slow strips on a clear intermediate line with 12 – 15 lb fluorocarbon tippet. Smallmouth and spotted bass also ate it while fishing for yellows in rivers. Takes on this fly have been very aggressive so keep that stripping hand ready to give line when something hits and runs!

2 thoughts on “HOT WIZARD SBS”

Looking good there Leonard! Just a short comment, the anti-wrap under-tail strip need only be as long as to extend just beyond the bend of the hook, usually, just stiffening up that portion of the Zonker strip tail is enough, and then that doesn’t curtail the rest of the Zonker’s movement (see what I did there?). ;-))

Thanks Ed, I’ve found that the longer under-tail strip definitely works better on longer zonker tails, preventing them from wrapping – the fly then still has great action due to the overall length of the zonker tail. I agree that the shorter the tail the shorter the under-tail and that’s also what I do with smaller zonkers and like you say extending it just beyond the bend of the hook;) I am actually aiming to post another more elaborate article on my favourite zonker patterns where I will discuss your trick in more detail as well. Lekker