Klinkhammer

Klinkhammer

The Klinkhammer is one of the most effective emerger patterns ever developed — a fly designed specifically to fish in the surface film where trout intercept hatching insects at their most vulnerable. Created by Dutch tier Hans van Klinken, the pattern's signature parachute hackle and curved hook position the abdomen below the surface while the wing post rides high and visible above it, perfectly imitating a struggling emerger trapped in the film. When trout are sipping quietly and refusing standard dry flies, the Klinkhammer is often the answer — a pattern that bridges the gap between nymph and dry fly with deadly precision.

Pattern Details

• Style: Emerger / parachute dry fly — fishes in the surface film
• Hook: Curved emerger hook — positions the abdomen below the surface for a natural, trapped-insect profile
• Hackle: Parachute-style — keeps the wing post visible above the film while the body hangs below
• Best water: Flat water, slow pools, spring creeks, and tailwaters — anywhere trout are selectively feeding on emerging insects
• Target species: Trout
• Techniques: Dead-drifted in the surface film during hatches; fished as a searching emerger between hatches; paired with a dry fly as a tandem rig
• Colors available: Adam's, Red, Purple, BWO, Sulphur, PMD
• Sizes available: 12, 14, 16, 18

When trout are locked onto emerging insects and refusing everything else, the Klinkhammer delivers — its film-hanging profile and parachute visibility make it one of the most versatile and reliable emerger patterns in any dry fly box.