Alder Fly

This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Alder Fly.

Alder Fly | www.johnkreft.com

This fly is an old English fly pattern that is hundreds of years old. In fact, some quick Internet research suggests it may have been developed around 1496 when it was included in Dame Juliana Berners first fly fishing book Fysshe and Fysshynge.

I wonder if there is a similar fly in one of my Antique Fly Wallets. Other old fly wallets can be found at Antique Fly Wallets Revisited. I’ll have to check.

I have to be honest. I’ve never fished this fly. Found it and if I were to fish if, I’d do so during a caddis hatch.

I think it would catch fish!

Similar Posts

  • Gordon Quill Fly Package

     This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is a Gordon Quill fly package. This is a package of flies a friend recently gave me because he knew of my love for fly fishing and tying history. He told me they were at least 100 years old! Needless to say, I was shocked at his generous gift. Perhaps because…

  • Carrie Stevens Pink Beauty Streamer

    Time for another Throw Back Thursday fly…the Carrie Stevens Pink Beauty Streamer. Some of you may have seen the Carrie Stevens Pink Beauty Streamer before, but this is the first time as a TBT fly. There is a certain beauty about Carrie Stevens streamers. The sleekness of lines, combination of colors…I’ve only tied two of them,…

  • Parachute Chernobyl and Joe Cantrell

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is about the Parachute Chernobyl and Joe Cantrell. The Parachute Chernobyl is another variant of the original Chernobyl Ant. I highlighted the fly in an earlier TBT post.  “Larry Tullis of Orem, Utah relays the fly’s development in Tying Flies with Foam, Fur, and Feathers by Harrison Steeves. Larry tied up…

  • George Grant Style Fly

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is a George Grant style fly. Obviously, this fly was tied by James V. Flaherty. I’ve watched him tie this style of flies at several Fly Fishing Fairs and Expos. I think he gave me this fly at the 50th anniversary of the Federation of Fly Fishers (now called…

  • Dette Yellow Stonefly Nymph

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Dette Yellow Stonefly Nymph. I pulled out Mike Valla’s The Founding Flies and paged through to locate an interesting fly for this week’s post. The Dette Yellow Stonefly Nymph spoke to me. Walt and Winnie Dette are known for their beautiful Catskill dry flies. At least that’s…

  • Polly’s Little Yellow Stonefly

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Polly’s Little Yellow Stonefly. I found this fly created by Polly Rosborough in John Shewey’s newest book, Favorite Flies for Oregon – 50 Essential Patterns from Local Experts. John sent me his book a few months ago and I thought I might find a good candidate for a…

2 Comments

  1. Hi John,

    The Alder Fly tied as a wet fly and also as a streamer has long been a favorite. Al’s largest river trout (in his life) was taken on an Alder Fly wet-style pattern from the Clark Fork River in north Idaho in 1988. We like to tie the streamer version with a brown or white calf tail wing. Take care & …
    Tight Lines – (Gretchen &) Al Beatty

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the comment Al!

      Your comment is EXACTLY why I enjoy posting older flies. It seems to strike chords/memories in fly fishers and I’m the recipient of their stories! I really enjoy them.

      Thanks again.

      John

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *