Published Jan 13. 2016 - 8 years ago
Updated or edited Nov 30. 2023

The Fair Fly

The Fair Fly is in many ways a perfect zonker: large, very fishy looking, simple to tie. It's a very good sculpin imitation and an excellent large streamer.

The Fair Fly
The Fair Fly
Martin Joergensen

Back in 1996 I was tying at the Fly Fair in the Netherlands. As always I simply tied my usual day-to-day sea trout flies. They generally stir some interest - in Europe because many anglers know and practice sea trout fishing, and in the US because our kind of fishing and the flies we use are sufficiently exotic and different from the US saltwater flies to be interesting. My flies are by no means spectacular. More like the opposite, actually, and that might be what people like.

The first Fair Fly

During one of my tying sessions a spectator asked me to show how to tie a zonker. I have tied and used zonkers quite a bit, so that was no challenge. But not having a pattern prepared, I quickly improvised one. I dug out a skin of my favorite furry animal, the nutria. A long streamer hook, some tinsel. Bead chain was already on my table, and I had a razor blade too.
So I cut a couple of zonker strips, made a tinsel body, added a nutria zonker wing, eyes, a hair hackle and a bulky, dubbed head, and viola! A new fly was born. It didn't have a name by then, but it sure looked very fishable and very good.

I'm almost sure I gave this first fly to the gentleman who inspired it, but since the fly wound up quite good looking, I tied several, and started fishing them as soon as I came home. Tied at the Fly Fair first, I soon named the fly The Fair Fly.

A large fish fly

A year later I was in New Jersey for another show, and also whipped out a few Fair Flies while demoing fly tying. We were to fish the Connetquot, a trip arranged by local Bob Perry, who had noticed the fly during one of my tying sessions. When we approached a bend in the river with some overhanging trees and an undercut bank, Bob pointed to a spot under the trees and said: "Tie on one of those large furry flies from the show, and cast it as close as you can to the bank over there. Let it sink a bit and then strip!"
Just my kind of fishing. I had been fishing minute nymphs, trying to entice the overwhelming number of fish in the gin clear stream, but had very little luck.
I did as he suggested.
The fly almost hit the bank and sunk a foot into the water before I stripped. A large fish immediately ambushed the fly and got hooked. It put up a very good fight and disturbed the whole pool with a good run and several jumps... and spit the hook and escaped.

Kamasan B800
Kamasan B800
Martin Joergensen

The hook

I tie this fly on one of my favorite hooks, the long shank B800 from Kamasan. Together with its sibling the straight eye B840 they are my stable streamer hooks for large muddlers, zonkers, Thunder Creeks and such. They are good looking, as sharp as they should be and stand my local saltwater quite well.
The body is a simple tinsel body and the rib holds the zonker strip. If you can't find nutria look for mink and in a tight spot maybe rabbit, but preferably a little frizzy and not too long haired. For smaller sizes a well cured squirrel skin can also be good, but don't go too small.
For the fun of it I have also tied some of these on tubes. The large zonkers lend themselves well to tubes, and the tinsel body looks brilliant tied on a tube. I do like the fly better with a cone rather than eyes when tied on a tube. This of course removes it a bit from the very baitfish-looking to a more traditional tube fly like the ones you see used for salmon. But the added weight of a cone will at the same time help the fly go down and add that sexy, jigging motion.

Big fly beach
Martin Joergensen

Weight and size

The fly isn't large by the measure used by large streamer fans, but compared to my normal coastal flies it's pretty big, and for use in a stream when targeting brown trout it's well above average. When fishing it in a current you might want to add some weight to the fly. Due to its fluffy nature it tends to be unwilling to dive. You can fish it on a sinking line or leader or you can add some weight.
Use dumbbell eyes in stead of the fairly light bead chain eyes or add some weight to the fly. Weight under the body will ruin the nice, smooth tinsel surface, but if you replace the tinsel with some kind of silver braid, you can cover up the bulk of the weight.
If you tie the fly on a tube, consider using a metal tube like brass, copper or even steel. Aluminum is very light and so close to plastic that it makes little difference.

Fair Fly
Pattern type: 
Streamer
Originator: 
Martin Joergensen
Materials: 
Hook
Kamasan B800 size 2-4
Thread
Brown 8/0
Rib
Oval silver tinsel
Body
Flat mylar silver tinsel
Wing
Zonker strip, nutria (mink, rabbit, squirrel)
Eyes
Bead chain (or dumbbell)
Collar
Nutria hair hackle
Head
Nutria dubbing
Skill level/difficulty: 
Medium
Instruction: 

Tied on a hook - step by step

Step 1: start the thread

Step 2: oval tinsel

Step 3: tie in tinsel

Step 4: cover tinsel

Step 5: tinsel covered

Step 6: return thread

Step 7: smoothen thread

Step 8: flat tinsel

Step 9: tie in tinsel

Step 10: start wrapping

Step 11: return tinsel

Step 12: tie down

Step 13: trim tinsel

Step 14: zonker strip

Step 15: tie in strip

Step 16: catch strip

Step 17: separate hairs

Step 18: wrap rib

Step 19: secure rib

Step 20: foundation

Step 21: bead chain

Step 22: Tie in eyes

Step 23: cut chain

Step 24: dubbin loop

Step 25: dubbing twister

Step 26: hair hackle

Step 27: wrap hackle

Step 28: tie down

Step 29: dub thread

Step 30: cover head

Step 31: whip finish

Step 32: cut thread

Step 33: brush

Step 34: trim tail

The Fair Fly - A medium to large zonker baitfish imitation
Finished fly on a hook
Martin Joergensen

Fishing the fly

I fish the fly on a floating or neutral line when using it for sea trout. It's not bad to cast in spite of size and materials, but does of course require a calm and steady casting rhythm.
The fly is fished like most sea trout flies: cast, let sink a bit, strip back almost as you please. The fly sinks slowly and isn't prone to going to the bottom or snagging, so you can pause now and then, allowing the fly to sink a bit. It dives head first and jigs a bit when you pull again.
When used in streams either weigh the fly or use a sinking line or leader. Cast down and across and mend a bit upstream to let the fly sink. Let it move across the current, maybe retrieving slowly or inducing a bit of movement in the fly by tipping the rod up and down or tugging slightly on the line. Don't be afraid to cast close to the bank or under overhanging bushes and trees, and if you are fishing from the bank, don't forget to fish the fly all the way to your own bank, and maybe even "mending in" to get it even closer. Fish may very well attack the fly as you retrieve it along your own bank. Large fish like the shelter and stay close to undercut or steep banks during the daylight, but can still be tempted by a large fly.
The Fair Fly is an excellent fly for fishing in the dark. Its prominent profile and dark color makes it a good imitation of a small fish hiding in the shelter of the low light, fleeing the large and hungry fish out to get a protein rich meal.

I have shown the fly on GFF before, but that was back in 2001. It has also been featured in a variation called the Twospotted Fair Fly. This time there is a detailed tying sequence and step-by-step photos for the original as well as nice new color photos of the fly - and the tube version of course.

Tied on a tube - step by step

Exchange the hook with a plastic tube in the materials list. Remember that the tube requires quite a lot more tinsel, so don't cut that short.

Step 1: the tube

Step 2: melt a collar

Step 3: mount tube

Step 4: start thread

Step 5: tinsel

Step 6: start covering tinsel

Step 7: cover tube

Step 8: smooth thread

Step 9: return thread

Step 10: thread base

Step 11: start flat tinsel

Step 12: start wrapping

Step 13: return

Step 14: tie down

Step 15: cut tinsel

Step 16: tie in zonker strip

Step 17: pull zonker strip back

Step 18: wrap rib

Step 19: tie down

Step 20: trim tinsel

Step 21: eyes

Step 22: tie in eyes

Step 23: dubbing loop

Step 24: dubbing twister

Step 25: dub in the loop

Step 26: wrap the dubbing

Step 27: Velcro collar

Step 28: varnish

Done - The finished Fair Fly on a tube
Tube fly done
Martin Joergensen
Tough wading
Martin Joergensen

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