The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning

The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning

Emerger

Quill Body Klinkhamer

Insect Species Icon Quill Gordon, Hendrickson, March Brown and 7 others
Difficulty Icon Medium - 3-5 Min
Water Category Icon Coldwater

Tying Video

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Tying Recipe
  • Hook: Czech nymph hook size #16
  • Thread: UTC 70 denier brown olive
  • Body: Stripped peacock quill covered in clear UV resin
  • Thorax: Hares ear dubbing
  • Post: Polypropylene white
  • Hackle: Dry fly hackle grizzly white
  • Hook: Klinkhamer hooks work well with this.
  • Thread: Any thin diameter thread will work great for this pattern. Try not to go thicker than 8/0 or 70 denier, as this will make the body unproportionate to the fly.
  • Body: Turkey quill biots make a great natural substitute with great ribbing.
  • Thorax: Use any dry fly dubbing that you like! Since this and the hackle is the only thing keeping this fly up on the surface, try to use a thin and light dubbing like superfine dubbing.
  • Post: McFlyon parachute post and antron yarn are great substitutes.
  • Hackle: Use any dry fly hackle that you like. For darker patterns, try using darker colors like coachman brown and black. For lighter patterns grizzly white and dun are great colors.

Since this is a fairly simple dry fly as far as the materials list goes, try not to go overboard on adding materials. This may make the fly become unbalanced or unproportionate, which can mess with the way the fly floats on the water. For a more distinct ribbing, try to add some extra small wire for a bit of shine. This also might help the fly float upright with the body in the water. For even more of a realistic mayfly pattern, try adding some tails, like Coq-de-Leon or pheasant tail. Tie this fly up in any color to match your favorite hatch!

This is a great mayfly emerger pattern that is super realistic with the quill body. This is one pattern that is sure to fool selective trout during hatches. The way the body hangs in the water, while the thorax and post are on the surface represents a mayfly struggling to wiggle out of it’s nymph shuck, which makes it an easy meal for any trout. You can also size this down for a very effective midge emeger!

Fish this as either a single dry fly, or the second dry on a double dry rig. If this fly starts to sink a little bit, don’t rush and float up the whole thing, as the body is supposed to hang in the film of the water. Consider just applying floatant to just the hackle and post for the best imitation.

Blue Wing Olive

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24
Region: Northwest
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24
Region: East
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24
Region: Southeast
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24
Region: Midwest
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24

Brown Drake

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West
Brown Drake
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: Northwest
Brown Drake
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: East
Brown Drake
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: Midwest
Brown Drake
Sizes: #10 - #14

Green Drake

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest, Midwest
Green Drake
Sizes: #8 - #14
Region: East
Green Drake
Sizes: #8 - #14

Hendrickson

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: East, Midwest
Hendrickson
Sizes: #10 - #16

Isonychia

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: East
Isonychia
Sizes: #12 - #18
Region: Southeast
Isonychia
Sizes: #12 - #18
Region: Midwest
Isonychia
Sizes: #12 - #18

Light Cahill

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: East
Light Cahill
Sizes: #12 - #20
Region: Midwest
Light Cahill
Sizes: #12 - #20
Region: Northwest
Light Cahill
Sizes: #12 - #20

Mahogany Dun

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest
Mahogany Dun
Sizes: #14 - #20
Region: East, Midwest
Mahogany Dun
Sizes: #14 - #20

March Brown

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, East
March Brown
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: Northwest
March Brown
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: Midwest
March Brown
Sizes: #10 - #14

PMD

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest, East, Southeast, Midwest
PMD
Sizes: #14 - #20

Quill Gordon

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: East, Southeast
Quill Gordon
Sizes: #12 - #16

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