Craven’s Gonga

Craven’s Gonga

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Tying Instructions

1. Attach the lead eyes about three eye lengths behind the eye of the hook on the bottom of the hook shank with 3-4 X-wraps. Apply a drop of super glue to the wraps to secure the bond. Wrap the thread to the bend of the hook.

2. Measure a marabou feather against the shank so it is equal to about half a shank length and attach the marabou to the shank at the bend of the hook.

3. Attach a second Marabou feather at the same location to double the bulkiness of the tail.

4. Lift up the two marabou feathers and wrap the thread around the shank to the lead eyes.

5. Lat the marabou feathers down long the shank and secure behind the lead eyes.

6. Clip off the tag ends of the marabou and secure the marabou along the shank with tight wraps back to the tail tie-in position.

7. Attach a soft saddle hackle with a full webbing, a schlappen feather, by the tip just in front of the tail tie-position. Secure the tip along the shank with thread wraps and bring the thread back to the tail tie-in position.

8. Dub the thread with a heavy dose of ice dubbing. Loosely apply the dubbing and wrap around the whank towards the lead eyes.

9. Warp the dubbing forward for a tapered and shaggy body to just behind the eyes.

10. Fold the Schlappen feather back along it’s axis. This will help to sweep the fibers back along the shank.

11. Palmer the schlappen feather with spirol wraps up to the lead eyes. Use your fingers to stroke the fibers back on every turn. Secure the feather just behind the lead eyes and trim the tag.

12. Use a brush to stroke the fibers back and pull up some of the ice dubbing.

13. Lay three segments of Crazy Legs along the shank facing you just behind the lead eyes. Attach the legs at it’s midpoint with three tight wraps. Bring the front tag ends around the shank and attach along the backside of the shank for 6 equally long legs segments.

14. Cut a section from the hide of the polar fiber. Trim the hair from the backing and cut a segment of tips that are about the length of the shank.

15. Place the segment of tips across the top of the shank so the it fills the top half. The tips should not extend beyond the bend of the hook. Secure with a few tight wraps.

16. Clip off the butt ends of the fur and create a thread loop behind the lead eyes.Take the remaining segment of fur that was below the tips, the butt ends of the hide piece, and place it within a loop thread. Try to keep the material centered within the loop.

17. Spin the material on the loop with a dubbing loop tool to create a chenille. Stroke the materials downwards as you twist. Once you have the twisted chenille made, use a brush to align the fibers downwards.

18. Make 2 turns of the chenille in front of the body and behind the lead eyes. Stroke back on the material as youi wrap. Then, wrap the material in a figure eight method arouind the lead eyes, covering both top and bottom of the lead eyes. Finally two additional wraps in front of the lead eyes. Secure with thread wraps and trim off the remaining butt end of the thread loop.

19. Whip Finish. Use a wire brush to stroke back the fibers.

20. A black marker can give the material a banded effect. Use your wire brush to blend the marker ink into the material.

21.Finally, trim the legs so that they do not exceed the end of the tail.

Materials to Order Material, click the link
Hook	TMC 5263, #2
Thread	Danville 3/0 Black
Head	Olive Polar fiber
Eyes	Chartreuse Psuedo Eyes
Body	Olive Ice Dubbing
Tail	Sculpin Olive Marabou
Hackle	Metz Magnum Grizzly Olive Saddle
Legs	Chartreuse/Black Flake Crazy Legs
Coloration	Copic Sketch Markers

Charlie Craven

Craven’s Gonga

The Gonga 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.

Charlie’s Version

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.

Unique Head Style

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

Hook	TMC 5263, #2
Thread	Danville 3/0 Beige
Head	Shrimp Polar Fiber colored with Yellow and Sepia Copic Sketch Markers
Eyes	Yellow Psuedo Eyes
Body	Pale Yellow Ice Dubbing
Tail	Yellow over Tan Marabou
Hackle	Metz Magnum Saddle Tan
Legs	Yellow Gold/Black Flake Crazy Legs

Gonga, Rusty

Hook	TMC 5263, #2
Thread	Danville 3/0 Dark Brown
Head	Orangutan Rust Psuedo Hair
Eyes	Red Psuedo Eyes
Body	Rusty Brown Ice Dubbing
Tail	Rusty Brown Marabou
Hackle	Metz Magnum Saddle Grizzly Orange
Legs	Brown/Orange Flake Crazy Legs