Just Klink it!

    by Mike S. Ropter

Some days Herr Salmo Trutta will not begin to contemplate even the best-laid dun unless it dances into his Ronald circle perfectly upstanding.  After experiencing several drifts with fly lying on its side, a parachute tie becomes the order of the day, its graceful flutter touching down consistently wings upright.  Although more resembling a helicopter, parachute is more aptly descriptive of the descent, which can only be rivaled by ephemeral ascent of the Mayfly itself.

The traditional parachute tie can be a chore, especially anchoring the hackle tip while deflecting all those barbs at the hook eye.  A very delicate hackle tip is then left very vulnerable to all those vomerine teeth.  The parachute, however, can become infinitely more durable by following Hans van Klinken's method of dressing his Klinkhamer Special.  The hackle must be tied off on the wing post instead at the hook eye.

Here's how to do it:  First the wing post of soft wing material, such as turkey flats or calf hair, must be buttressed with thread windings up at least 20% post height.  Begin with loose wraps, gradually increasing tension as the thread spirals up the wing post.  The post is better positioned as a thorax fly. Tail and then body are next tied conventionally.  The body, whether dubbed, quill, or biot, should be brought to back of the wing post.  The hackle can now be initially mounted horizontally in front of the post but must be then mounted to the wing post at the height of the previous windings.  The hackle should be prepped in the traditional way to allow the first wind tight to the post without barbules being splayed by the post. 

Here's the departure from the traditional method:  The thread is now taken to the eye, which is then closed.  Now apply dubbing to the thread and wind back to the post, having covered the thread at the eye.  A little practice will school you in just how much dubbing will be required to build a thorax tapered back more heavily as the wing post is reached.  The last winding of the dubbing should finish thickly under the wing post.  The thread is then brought behind the wing post away from you, then around the front of the post, letting the bobbin hang on your side in front of the post.  The hackle, shiny side up, is wound down the post, 4 or 5 turns, trapped by a single turn of thread again 'round the post and finally whip finished also 'round the post.  This is where Matarelli can really earn his money, applying a tight whip just where it's needed.  When winding two Hackles (e.g. Adams), trap the first with a thread turn, wind second hackle down through first hackle, trap the second hackle 'round the post and then whip finish again 'round the post.  Five winds total for both hackles are plenty, lest you end with a Carp catching hay seed.  Both tips can then be clipped or broken off.  When viewed from above, the turns and windings are clockwise around the post.

Rather than dab the wing post with a big glob of head cement,  spread a little of that cement on that first inch of your thread between the wing post and the hook of the Matarelli orbiting whip finisher before you begin to whip. The whipping wraps will then be laid over the cement moistened thread, neatly finishing the fly without saturating the entire wing post and hackle base with hard cement. This would be tough indeed to accomplish with a whip-finish by hand or even a rotating whip-finishing tool.  Another good reason to own the Matarelli tool!!  (The same technique can also be used to hide finishing wraps with dubbing, giving a thread-less appearing fly.)

Take the van Kinken lead: whip around the post and good things happen.  When viewed from below, the fly has a robust thorax, with no thread windings visible, which rides low in the meniscus.  There is no fragile stem to sever and the wing post is further reinforced by the hackle stem.  This all makes for a very durable fly, hopefully with some of the Klinkhamer magic fisk producing properties.  When tying paras, remember yust Klink it!