Jonny King's Kinky Bunker

There is a whole class of baitfish that have deep bellies but are nearly flat as a pancake when viewed from the front. Peanut bunker, alewives, sardinas, herring, shad, pilchards, butterfish, and many others share this cartoonish shape, but predatory fresh and saltwater fish seek them out with a vengeance, often to the exclusion of other baits. A striper fixated on peanuts will simply ignore any fly that doesn’t replicate this profile. But it’s hard to find a fly that imitates this oddball shape and swims the pumping tail of the real thing. This pattern was designed to capture this exact shape and swimming action, and has time-and-again cracked the code for big fish seeking one of these protein rich widebodies. And because this baitfish profile is so prevalent, it’s a great fly to throw from a beach or a boat when you’re just not sure what to show a striper or bluefish.