Klinkhamer Dry Fly
In 1984, Hans Van Klinken (a Dutch fly tier) developed this fly about 15 years ago in an attempt to mimmic the caddis larva he found in the grayling he fished for in Norway. The result of the 4 months of development he invested to perfect it is the fly below, the Klinkhamer Special.
While the hook and materials are the same, I tie this fly with a slightly different method. The result is, in my estimation, the same. Three things worth mentioning before we start; #1 HOOK The Partridge hook used is made specifically for the Klinkhamer Special, but may be hard to find or too expensive. Alternative hooks are scud style, the TMC 200R or simply put a 30 degree bend (down) in a standard dry fly hook about 1/8" back from the eye. #2 The slim, tapered abdomen. Hans believes that the thinner, the better. Since it is designed to hang below the surface, the slimmer abdomen will cut through the water’s surface and absorb water quickly. #3 When using poly yarn as a wing post on "parachute" style flies, leave it long until the fly is complete. The oversized wing present when preparing to wind the hackle will give you something to hold onto while you’re wrapping it.
Tying The Klinkhamer Special Dry Fly
Hook: Partridge GRS15ST (size#18 used on this fly)
Thread: 8/0 black or dark brown (you may want a more pale color while tying the abdomen)
Body: Tan Fly-Rite poly dubbing #19 or #20 (#19 shown here)
Wing: White poly yarn
Thorax: Peacock herl
Hackle: Medium dun
Wind a small base of thread down where wing post will be. Cut poly yarn to create a tapered tie-in point. (for keeping abdomen skinny)
Tie in poly yarn and bind down as shown. Pull poly yarn up and secure with a few wraps of thread in front. Make several wraps of thread around the base of the post, up about 1/8.
Tie in hackle so that it faces up, and almost away from you. Add a drop of head cement to the tie-in point.
Begin to dub a thin, tapered body. When you have almost reached the wing post, tie in
3 pcs. of peacock herl. (note:I select 3 pcs., align the tips and cut the first 3/4" fragile part off and tie in by the even tip
Begin winding all 3 pcs. of herl forward, approx. 3 wraps behind, and make one wrap in front of the wing post. Tie-off, but do not trim herl. Wind hackle, parachute style, from top to bottom at least 5 turns. The hackle is all that supports the fly. Larger sizes than #14 can have several more turns of hackle.
Stroke the wound hackle up, and back and continue wrapping 3 strands of herl to complete the thorax. Tie off, and create a small thread head. Grab the wing post and gently pull it forward until the hackle is perpendicular to it. Trim wing post to length, add a bit of head cement to your thread head. I also add a small drop of diluted head cement to the base od the hackle wraps on the wing post for added strength.
I have seen variations of this fly that have been very productive. Feel free to experiment, substitute abdomen colors, hackle colors etc. The herl could even be substituted for darker dubbing, ostrich herl or kept
the same color as the abdomen to look like a crippled dun.
Good Luck!
Rob O’Reilly
