The Klinkhmer Special is probably the most popular fishing fly in the world today. It floats on the end of fly lines on salmon, trout or grayling rivers, from Britain to USA, and Scandinavia to Mongolia. This year marks the flys 40th anniversary and to celebrate the occasion, its creator Hans van Klinken has at last written his long-awaited first book.Flyfishers for salmon, trout, grayling and coarse species will for the first time learn from Hans himself the secrets behind his miracle Klinkhmer Special which has caught its fans hundreds and hundreds of fish: the thinking behind the design, the testing, the variations, the reasons for its remarkable success.Full instructions for tying Hans most important flies are included in his engaging and revealing account of his life in flytying and fishing.
I want, through this written record, to articulate what a rich blessing it is to be a fisherman. And I sense that there may somewhere be a mystery that has yet to be uncovered: a great and hidden truth lying at the heart of the anglers experience, a truth both simple and profound, the power and the importance of which are felt only by fishermen, because it is the irresistible summons of this shy and beautiful truth that takes hold of them, driving them to fish-filled waters in search of their happiness. Laurence Catlow, July 2001Once a Flyfisher is a sporting diary which follows the events of a season on the beautiful rivers of Yorkshire, Cumbria, Shropshire and Scotland.As he fishes through the summer months, the authors views unfold: forthright, at times extremely funny, unexpectedly moving and always thought-provoking.