“Can you show me how to tie a Klinkhåmer”? Is up in the top 5 requests from people when I am doing tying demos, along with, “Whats the correct way to tie a parachute hackle without a gallows tool”? I normally tie the Klinkhamer to demonstrate both. Preparation and material choice is important to achieve the correct body shape and hackle, both of which, determine the desired emerger presentation of the fly when fished.
Firstly, the correct hook should be used. This should have a curved shank, wide gape, slightly heavy wire and a straight eye. The post has several functions, its an up-right wing that, in combination with the slightly heavy wire hook, keeps the pattern on an even keel when fished, it’s a quick sight indicator, that helps immensely for locating the fly at a distance, in low light and in rough water conditions and it’s also the anchor point for our parachute hackle.
The rear of the post, if trimmed correctly, will also be the foundation for our slender tapered dubbed body. When wrapping the base of the post, in preparation to accommodate the hackle, this needs to be nice and firm, a drop of varnish or head cement will help with this.
A problem with the ‘traditional parachute hackle’ is finishing it neatly, you always have to wind your tying thread forward through the thorax and hold the hackle fibres out of the way when you whip finish. This method avoids all that and results in a para-perfect hackle.
Your saddle hackle should be prepared by stripping off 10 mm of the fibres from one side and 60-70 mm of the fibres from the other (step 13). This will ensure that when wrapped the hackle fibres will have maximum surface contact when fished, keeping the body and thorax of the fly, just under the water where they belong.
Before you begin wrapping the hackle, re-position your hook in the vice, from it’s original horizontal position to vertical. This makes wrapping a parachute hackle as easy as wrapping a traditional collar hackle!
Re-attach your tying thread at the base of the post, and wind it down, close into the thorax. If you have a material clip on your vice, once your thread is secure, hang it out of the way (step 19). Now wrap your hackle as you would a traditional dry fly collar hackle, taking care that each turn of hackle is close to the previous, all the way down into the thorax.
When you reach the thorax, release your tying thread from the material clip and make one wrap over the hackle and one wrap under to secure it. Trim away the surplus hackle. Now trim your post to the required length, take your whip finish tool and make one whip finish, between the hackle and the thorax. Taking care not to trap any hackle fibres.
Before you make the second and last whip finish place a small drop of varnish on the tying thread close to the thorax. This varnish will be drawn into the whip finish as you tighten, and secure it.
The result should be a perfect parachute hackle.
Material List//
Hook: Mustad C49S # 6-14Thread: OlivePost: Para-post or Aero dry wingBody: Olive super fine dubbingThorax: Peacock herlHackle: Whiting silver badger saddle
1. Secure your emerger hook in the vice, as shown, with the hook shank and eye horizontal.
2. Use a fine tying thread, preferably, the same colour as the dubbing for the body.
3. Attach your tying thread a little behind the hook eye and cover approximately, the first third of the hook shank with a foundation of tying thread.
4. Select the colour of post material to be used. For most of my parachute patterns I prefer white.
5. Cut a short length of post material. You may have to increase the thickness of your post material by doubling it or reduce the thickness of it by removing a few strands depending on the hook size and your material of choice for the post.
6. Tie the length in as shown. A little behind the hook eye, at the correct position for the post. Make sure that you have enough para-post material at the rear of the post to hold.
7. Now lift the front of the material so it stands 90 degrees to the hook shank and make a few wraps of tying thread close into its base to hold it in position.
8. While holding the rear Para-post material in one hand, trim off the ends at a slight angle, so when covered with tying thread they will make a tapered body.
9. Now wrap tying thread over the rear post material and give the whole body a foundation of tying thread that has a slight taper. Take care not to over do this, the body should be slim.
10. Spin some dubbing on to your tying thread and make a neat tapered dubbing noodle. You can now wrap the noodle in tight touching turns up-over the body. Continue with the dubbing until you have reached the wing post and have a neat tapered body as shown.
11.Now wrap your tying thread around the base of the wing post, first up and then back down to strengthen it. This will make wrapping the hackle later much easier. Finish with your tying thread in front of the wing post.
12. If you would like to give the post an even better foundation to wind on your hackle, place a tiny drop of varnish on to the wrappings.
13. Select and prepare a hackle of the correct size by stripping off the fibres on both sides at the base of the hackle stem.
14. Now tie in your hackle with the bare stripped stem end only! Make sure the hackle is vertical up the wing post base.
15. Now trim and tie down the surplus end of the hackle stem at the base of the post. Wrap your tying thread back to the rear of the thorax. Now you can tie in the peacock herl, tight into the dubbed body at the rear of the wing post. Return your tying thread to just behind the hook eye.
16. Wrap the peacock herl forward in nice tight even turns to form the thorax. Tie off just behind the hook eye.
17. Trim away any remaining surplus herl. In order not to damage the herl, apply just a little varnish to the first centimeter of tying thread as shown. You can now make a whip finish or two, and cut away your tying thread.
18. Remove the hook from the vice and replace as shown. Now re-attach your tying thread to the posts base and wind down close to the thorax.
19. Hang your tying thread to one side of your vice so as to keep it out of the way when wrapping the hackle.
20. Attach a hackle plier to your hackle tip and start wrapping your hackle down the post base. Make sure that you wrap your hackle with each turn under but tight into the previous turn. All the way down into the thorax.
21. Using a pair of tweezers, pull off a few fibres from each side of the hackle stem as shown. This will give you a clean finish when whip finishing. Secure the hackle between the thorax and the last turn of hackle with a couple of turns of tying thread. Remove the surplus hackle, and trim down the wing post to the desired length.
22. Using a whip finish tool make a whip finish or two just below the hackle. Take care not to trap any of the hackle fibres. Just before you tighten your whip finish knot, place a drop of varnish on your tying thread again close to the thorax and the tighten. Remove your tying thread.
23. The finished Klinkhamer side view. The fly will float on the hackle with the body hanging in the water and the wing above the surface.
