THE HAMMERHEAD JERKBAIT

THE HAMMERHEAD JERKBAIT (HJB)
A fly that Big Snook cannot resist!
By Capt. Roan Zumfelde       Black/Purple     Chartreuse/White     Gray/White     Tan/White

Let me start on giving you a little about the back ground of this fly.  The HJB started evolving about two years ago.  I wanted a fly that would act similar to a soft plastic jerkbait, which is a very successful lure used by spin fishermen.  Any fly used for Snook has to be designed so an accurate caster can skip under the mangroves, without getting hung in the branches or on the oysters.  For years I fished my favorite deer hair pattern, the RZ Mangrove Slider, which has accounted for many beautiful Snook. It worked very well in our environment, but I wanted a little

more. The next step was working with sheet foam to develop a fly that would resist becoming waterlogged and wiggle just a little more when stripped.  Foam heads proved to be an improvement over spun deer hair heads. The new head gave several advantages to the new fly.

If stripped at moderate speed, it would make a wake across the surface, or if stripped hard it would dive down and suspend and then slowly rise to the top.  The only down side to the first generation was that the foam could become damaged and waterlogged after the first couple of fish or errant casts into the roots.  This prompted me to add a thin coat of epoxy and to expand the head a little. The more durable surface allowed the addition of eyes and the current version of the HJB was born.  This fly is now available in 6 colors for all types of

water. Honestly if I had to pick one color, it would be difficult. My clients and I have caught nice fish on all the colors.  I took it to the lakes in Highlands County last spring and in one day fishing it through heavy cover caught and released over 70 Largemouth bass ranging in size from a pound to a 9-pounder that ate it under some Lilly pads in a cypress stand on Lake Istokpoga. 

Once or twice a month I take a busman’s holiday and fish with a great friend out of Chokoloskee in the Glades, George Varnadoe. George and I trade off handling the boat and fishing. He knows the water and the fish as well or better than anyone I know. We fish an area that we keep to ourselves. It is an area I have fished with my family my whole life. It is a hidden place where I go to unwind. I had told George that Troy at FLYH20 requested a couple of pics of fish with the HJB fly for his marketing plan.  George in is grumbling way half heartedly agreed

to help me.Taking pictures can be kind of distracting and time consuming especially when you are into a hot bite.  Another problem was that at the time, the fish had been feeding on small stuff.  Snook were being caught on flies about an inch long and he really didn’t think the fly was going to

 turn them on. I had never actually fished HJB with him before, so he hadn’t seen it in action. We started out looking for some redfish on the outside but the conditions weren’t right for them.  He said he knew of a pocket in a bay that had a lot of Snook in the 5 to 10 pound range feeding on Gambusia.  When I tied on HJB, he started the grumbling that was too big.  Of course after the first cast and a nice 7-pounder almost jumped completely out of the water to get to it, I think he started to change his mind.  At least he said he wanted to

fly up-close. I was reluctant, as he has been known to snip them off and lose them in a pocket for later observation. I said, "Okay your turn!" He said, "No way! Let's see what that thing will do. Was that just a fluke?"  I proceeded to skip it into the bank and pulled one Snook after another out, all the time asking about taking a picture or two which again met with more grumbling.  I said, "The next fish is it. We are taking a picture and you are going to fish!"  He agreed and said, "This next little cove usually has a Tarpon or two laid up in it. Lets see if that fly works on them like it works on Snook?"  I agreed and stopped casting the shore line turned my attention to the open water and scanned for the silver of a tarpon in the mud.  About 60 feet away I saw a fish that looked like a nice 40 or 50 pound Tarpon with its side to us and I took the shot.  I twitched the fly once and wiggled it past her.  She rose up and sucked it in. We both saw the fish and let out an, "Oh My God, it’s a Snook."  The hook did not sink home and came out on the strike.  Now of course we are both about to crap our pants and even though the fish didn’t go anywhere, I new I probably blew the one and only real shot I had.  A fish of this size rarely makes the same mistake twice.  Finally after what seemed like an eternity I spotted her again this time about 20 foot off the bow.  I flipped a cast to her head. To our surprise the mouth opened and we heard the concussion and the fly was gone and we were off to the races.  George did a masterful job turning the boat and getting us into a larger part of the bay where the fish would have a tougher time getting to cover.  I put as much pressure as I could on a new rod.  I was fishing a new TFO Axiom 8-weight for the first time.  It performed beautifully I might add.  After a couple of tense minutes I had her boat-side, slipped a BogaGrip into her mouth and landed her.  Well of course, neither George nor I could breathe real well but he seemed a lot more agreeable about taking pictures of this fish.  Snap, snap a couple of measurements and back into the water for a good long reviving and off she went.  We took a break for a few minutes, drank a couple of bottles of cold water, and I said well that will be enough fishing for me today, you have the front from now on.  He agreed.  We finished up the day a short time later after he caught his fill of Snook, but nothing like the nearly 45-incher I was fortunate enough to fool with my new favorite fly the Hammerhead fly.  Oh, I had to leave a couple with George. I think he was going to tie up a few for his next adventure. 
Roan's Web Site  see the

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