Snake Flies

Snake Flies are the latest creation sweeping through the English stillwater scene, continuing the current trend of big flies for big fish. Not to be confused with the traditional hairwing patterns used by sea-trout anglers, or living snakeflies — a close relative of dobsonflies — these fish catchers essentially consist of a long rabbit Zonker strip, typically 10 to 12 cm in length, with a second hook at the rear.
Earning the name from their overall length and undulating action, they first appeared in the Midlands area of the UK for targeting fry feeders. Dubbed as a miracle fly early on, their notoriety was short lived, fading as the seasons changed and anglers focused on other prey items.
A few anglers continued with the idea, varying colours and techniques throughout the year. Successful patterns rarely stay quiet for long, and once picked up by the thriving competition scene, it wasn’t long before Snake Flies were again the pattern to have. Recent years have seen three quarters of the anglers in competitions using them. Perhaps inevitably, several events have outlawed their use, along with a permanent ban on some waters.
While stocked English stillwaters may seem very different from many lakes in Australia and New Zealand, Snake Flies still raise a response from our trout, often when other patterns are drawing a blank. This comes down to a combination of size and action. Large flies have more presence in the water — the trout cannot ignore them and in a way you are forcing a reaction from the fish. That may be turn and bolt, but more often it’s a favourable one and they come to investigate. At this point the fly’s action takes over, drawing the fish in and getting a take.
The attraction of the long rabbit Zonker is fundamental to the patterns success. The fur pulses with every movement while the long Zonker strip wiggles back and forth. This same action is present in many prey items. Mayfly and damsel nymphs all swim with the same undulating wiggle, along with many of our smaller native fish species — galaxiids in particular with their elongated bodies.
For a large pattern it is relatively easy to tie. A length of dacron backing is perfect for the connection between hooks, strong for its diameter and subtle so it doesn’t ruin the action of the finished fly. Start by pushing the point of the hook into the dacron around two centimetres from the end. Carefully thread a centimetre of dacron onto the hook — think worm on a hook — before pushing the point back out. Push this section up along the hook shank to sit behind the eye.
If using a down eyed hook, thread the other end of the dacron through the eye to keep everything sitting straight. Then measure 10 centimetres forward from the rear of the hook and make a mark on the dacron. A length of 20–25 lb braid will also suffice as the connection. Secure the rear hook with a neat snell knot and a drop of glue to stop it slipping.
Place in a vice and wrap a tight layer of thread down the shank covering the dacron to level with the hook point. Trim the excess dacron and tie in the end of your selected Zonker strip with a few tight turns. Wrap your thread forward and secure the Zonker strip again behind the eye of the hook. Then whip finish and trim your thread. Our aim here is just to secure the hook to the rear of the Zonker strip, not build up any sort of bulk.
Place another hook in the vice, and starting level with the hook point, wrap a layer of thread up to the eye. Place the dacron along the top of the hook shank. With the 10 cm mark at the hook eye, thread the end through the eye and back along the underside of the shank. Holding both tight, tie down securely with an even layer of thread and trim any excess dacron.
Keeping the rear hook out tight, bring the Zonker strip forward and secure to the front hook at the rear of the shank. Then dub up a neat tapered body over the rear two thirds of the shank. For a lightly weighted pattern secure a set of bead chain eyes under the hook shank with cross wraps — for more weight substitute dumbbell eyes in an appropriate size.
Next bring the Zonker strip forward and secure behind the bead chain. Trim any excess and add a drop of head cement to secure both the Zonker and the bead chain eyes. Finally build up a head around the eyes with dubbing and brush out to give the front of the fly some profile. Whip finish and trim the thread to complete. The front hook can be trimmed at the bend for personal preference or if regulations specify the use of only a single hook.
This pattern is open to a myriad of variations. Here I have gone with the standard black with a splash of colour — this is my first choice for a lot of larger patterns — although a dyed olive and black Zonker with a few red highlights comes a close second on several central Victorian lakes where young redfin perch are targeted by the trout. Create your own colour schemes and weights to suit local fishing conditions.
Straight retrieves highlight the Zonker strips wiggle, while pauses bring out the pulsing action of the fur — each has their day. Lightly weighted versions can produce in low light, while heavily weighted versions fished deep and slow often find success on bright days. Even add large foam eyes, and fish with a fast sinking line Boobie style on weedy lakes — the action as the fly darts for the bottom before wiggling back up can draw some savage hits.
For those daunted by such a large pattern, maybe a downsized version with squirrel Zonker might just trip up a few whitebait feeders to ease you in…