Zonker Flies
Dan Blayford, an American fly fishermen created the Zonker fly, this is a minnow shaped imitation of a small baitfish. Today this is one of the classic patterns used by fly fishermen to imitate small baitfish. Created and publicized in the 1970's this fly was new, streamers typically were tied using feathers and bucktail. However seeing the furs natural movement it became key to the Zonker pattern. With a shiny body representing the body of the baitfish these are deadly flies if used correctly. The zonker does not represent a particular baitfish like an epoxy minnow but are a generic pattern. These should be fished across the predator and then retrieved quickly away, imitating a small baitfish dashing away from the predator. Fish across the current, small baitfish do not often swim against the current to avoid a fast moving and strong predator.
