|
|
First published April 11th 2006 - More than 2 years ago
The Strange Christmas Tree
Minnow, sand eel, fry. This little fly will imitate most small, transparent fish
By Martin Joergensen
This fly is in essence a combination of the now classical Danish fly the Christmas Tree and a generic zonker.
Zonker love
I have always loved zonkers but never really enjoyed fishing with the Christmas Tree in its raw version. But after having added a seal's fur zonker strip to a slightly trimmed down Christmas Tree I have combined my way to a fly, which I'm quite happy with.
One reason for my happiness is the fact that the fly broke my cold spell of 19 fishless trips. The other reason is that it has kept on catching fish for me, which is always good.
Dirty and turbulent
A fly this bright would usually be considered best for dirty or turbulent water - or both. And sure enough, my best success with the fly was in slightly foggy water and waves. But I also used the fly a few times in clear water, and it seemed to work fine there too.
I tied a few flies where I exchanged the shiny mylar body with peacock herl to get a less visible and intrusive fly. I fished it a couple of times, but it still hasn't produced. I think I'll stick to the shiny version.
Unsealed
I know seal's fur can be hard - or even illegal - to obtain for tyers in some countries. Of course you can substitute it with another kind of fur like rabbit, mink or what you can find, but seal does have a very attractive structure with a lot fewer hairs than say rabbit. It also has fairly short hairs, which I usyually prefer over the very long hair on some rabbit strips.
Seal's fur is at the same time very shiny and almost transparent, which blends very nicely with the mylar body. As an added bonus the skin has a striped structure that gives it the look of something fishing. The stripes stand out even more clearly when the skin strip gets wet.
The result is a zonker wing that doesn't steal away attention like a wing made from far denser and longer fur such as rabbit or mink. The fly would not be the same with these types of hair.
But I will probably have to find an alternative material soon, because I only have little of this material left, and haven't been able to find new supplies. I think light gray mink will be my choice.
The Strange Christmas Tree
Materials
| Hook | Kamasan B800, size 6-2 | | Tying thread | Red 6/0 | | Underbody | Red yarn or dubbing | | Body/tail/hackle | Braided mylar tubing, clear or pearl | | Wing | Zonker strip, seal or light grey mink | | Head | Tying thread |
Tying instructions
- Tie in the thread over the hook bend
- Tie in red yarn at this point and tie it down the whole length of the shank
- Take the thread back to the bend
- Cover the hook shank with a layer of red wool yarn
- Tie it down over the bend and trim
- Prepare a piece of mylar tubing about 2 time the length of the shank
- Remove the thread core and fray the rear quarter of the tube
- Pass it over the yarn-covered shank and by the thread so far that you can catch the unfrayed tube with the thread just rear of the body
- Tie it down with a few wraps, whip finish and cut thread (you can also leave the thread and continue with a second bobbin)
- Pull the tube forwards to tighten it over the body
- Catch the tube right in front of the body with the thread and tie it down with a few, tight wraps
- Fray the front par of the tube
- Stroke it back and down to form a "false hackle" and tie that down with a few wraps
- Prepare a zonker strip about 1½-shank lengths
- Tie it down in front with very tight wraps and continue wrapping to form a head
- Whip finish and trim thread
- Lift the strip and start the thread over the rear tie in point again
- Split the fur just over this point and tie down the strip with some very tight turns
- Whip finish and trim thread
- Varnish both this point and the head
You may consider using dubbing instead of yarn under the body. The yarn has the advantage of being easy to get even and that it's quite durable.
The mylar tubing has a tendency to break when fish bite it. This could be remedied with a layer of epoxy, but honestly, I'd rather tie a few more flies. And the fly seems to catch equally well after it's been torn.
I have also expreimented with eyes on this fly. Since I like both the added weight and the appearance on the fly with eyes, I'm probably going to add eyes to some of the Strange Christmas Trees in my box.
Etymology
The "Christmas Tree" in the name comes from the original fly tied by Steen Ulnits.
The word "Strange" is a translation of the Danish word sælsom (saelsom), which just means strange, odd or weird. That word came about because seal is sæl (sael) in Danish. Sæl... sælsom... sælsomme... you see? No...? Well, blame it on us Danes.
So the fly is called Det Sælsomme Juletræ in Danish, which translates directly into The Strange Christmas Tree.
|
| User comments |  |
Did you find the above interesting? | People who looked at the above also looked at these pages:
Section: The best fly patterns from all over the globe
One day, while fishing my favourite water, Barnsfold in Lancashi...
Section: everything about NE streamers - and more
In an effort to entice larger striped muggers (stripers) during ...
During the warmer months of the year, they are just about anywhe...
|
This other story related to "zonkers" might also interest you:
Tooth & Nail |
| A few random articles for your entertainment |
|
Submitted December 10th 2006
Thank you for sharing this wonderful little patten. I will try it for Sea-Run Cutthroat Trout here in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Tight lines!
Jaysen Palangio