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

  • Fran Better’s Haystack

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Fran Better’s Haystack. This is another fly I found while reading Mike Valla’s book entitled The Founding Flies – 43 American Masters, Their Patterns and Influences. You might recognize this fly because it is very similar to the Sparkle Dun mayflies I tie and fish so much. But the Fran…

  • Ray Bergman Peacock

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Ray Bergman Peacock. The Peacock is a Ray Bergman wet fly listed in his book entitled Trout (1940 – fourth printing) on page 169, Plate No. 7. I enjoy highlighting a Bergman wet fly because it forces me to sit down and tie it. It looks simple,…

  • Dette Caddis

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Dette Caddis. The Dette Caddis is another fly I found in Eric Leiser’s book about Walt and Winnie Dette and their daughter Mary Dette Clark and their impact on classic Catskill flies. The book is entitled The Dettes – A Catskill Legend (1992). On the instruction page about how to…

  • Bergman’s Sanctuary

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Ray Bergman’s Sanctuary. It’s been a while since I featured a classic Ray Bergman fly. The Sanctuary is a very simple soft hackle fly that is listed on Plate No. 8, page 222 of Bergman’s Trout (1940 – fourth printing) As I’ve mentioned many times, I enjoy highlighting 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 *