Hans tied his original flies on large curved hooks and improved the way the fly sat in the water by putting a slight bend in the front part of the shank behind the eye to allow the wing post to stand vertically while the body hung down at a 45 degree angle.

Since then everyone has come up with versions of the Klinkhamer and there are some awful examples around.

Here are a few points to ponder before you buy or tie some Klinkhamers.

1) This is not meant to be a small fly. It was originally tied in sizes 8 and 10 and is intended to represent a large emerging sedge or caddis. It is also designed for rough water.

2) The body is very sparsely dressed and tapered to allow it to sink beneath the film. A heavy dressed body will not sink to the correct angle and while the fly will probably still catch fish, it is not anywhere near as effective if the body is not fully sunk.

3) The dark thorax (usually peacock herl) is an integral part of the fly. Flies tied with lighter thoraxes again may catch fish but are missing the point.

4) The parachute hackle is tied on and whip finished around the wing post using cobweb thread (size 12/0 or finer)

Dressing