Klinkhammer
Hans van Klinken's curved hook design is a stroke of genius — the abdomen hangs below the surface film while the wing and hackle stay afloat above it, perfectly mimicking an insect stuck in the shuck mid-emergence. Highly effective during any mayfly or caddis hatch when trout are visibly rising but ignoring standard dry flies. Works in both stillwaters and rivers.
- Type
- emerger (Mayfly)
- Hook sizes
- #12–18
- Target species
- trout
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Best seasons
- spring, summer, fall
Materials
- hook: Curved emerger hook #12–18 (Partridge Klinkhammer or equivalent)
- thread: Match body color, 8/0
- body: Dubbing to match hatch (olive, yellow, tan), slim
- thorax: Peacock herl or darker dubbing
- post: White or orange poly yarn, upright
- hackle: Dry fly hackle wound parachute-style around post
Tying steps
- Mount a curved emerger hook (Partridge Klinkhammer or similar) with the bend hanging down; start thread at the bend.
- Dub a slim tapered abdomen in the appropriate hatch color on the curved part of the hook, stopping as the hook straightens.
- Tie in a poly yarn post at the elbow point of the hook, standing upright.
- Dub a fuller peacock or contrasting thorax dubbing forward to behind the eye.
- Tie in a dry fly hackle at the base of the post.
- Wind 5–6 turns of hackle parachute-style around the post, working downward.
- Capture hackle tips with thread wraps and build a small, neat head.
- Whip finish and apply head cement to the thread wraps at the post base.