Craven's Gonga

Craven's Gonga
Burk's Aggravator
Tying Instructions
Materials:

Notes:

Charlie CravenThis is one of Charlie Craven's great patterns that he has modified over many years and came up with a streamer that truly produces strikes. This is his version of the Woolly Bugger but mostly in the attributes of the pattern, not in the pattern itself.
For instance, this pattern has barbell eyes attached to the bottom of the hook shank so that the fly hook will still point down. The weight of the eyes gives the pattern the ability to jig and provide great movement with the marabou tail. Like a Woolly Bugger, the body is palmered with a Saddle hackle but using an oversized Schlappen feather. A Schlappen feather is a hackle from the base of a Rooster Saddle. Each saddle that you purchase has a number of Schlappen feathers within it. These are the webby, soft hackles found along the top sides of the saddle. The Schlappen hackles provides additional movement and gives a tapered appearance to the body.
Ice dubbing provides some flash similar to how Crystal Chenille is used with Crystal Buggers. Brushing this material out achieves some straggling fibers providing additional movement to the fly. Silicon legs such as Crazy Legs provide movement to the pattern and is often used with Wooly Buggers as well. It is the head that really differentiates this pattern from a Woolly Bugger with the head formed with either Polar Fiber or Psuedo Hair that is trimmed to a sculpin profile. This head will push the water ahead of it providing a great trigger mechanism for the streamer with sound waves transmitting through the water. The head will also sink readily within the water column yet shed water on the back cast.
The pattern has also been modified to smaller hook sizes (size #8) as the Baby Gonga, and with articulated shanks as the Double Gonga. Favorite colors are Olive, Tan/Yellow, and Rust.

Variations:

Gonga, Tan/Yellow
Burk's Aggravator, Black
Materials:
Gonga, Rusty

Materials:

 

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