I had only been fly fishing a few years and was doing my best to learn all the different flies
when I found myself at the Williamsport Trout Kick Off watching Don Bastian tying some of the
old classic wet flies. I already had some experience with your basic nymphs, streamers and dry
flies, but this was the first I had seen the old wet flies. After watching Don apply a whip
finish and pulled his hands away from a completed fly, I was hooked. Since then, wet flies have
had a prominent place in my fly box, and if I'm not trying to match the hatch you can be sure
I'm swinging these winged beauties. The addition of the classic wet flies to my fly box arsenal
has made my fishing more successful and if possible more enjoyable. I believe fishing wet flies,
especially the classics will also add to your fly fishing experience. With hundreds of wet flies
available, I am always searching for and fishing with a few new ones, but like most fishermen I
have some favorites that I would put on a short list. One of the flies on my short list would be
the Alder.
The Alder is a very old fly that has been tied in England for hundreds of years.
Writing in his book History of Fly Fishing For Trout author
Major Hills suggest the Alder may go back to the year 1496 and was included
in one of the earliest fly fishing books Fysshe and Fysshynge
by Dame Juliana Berners. Most of the Alder patterns we see today are reflective of
those early English flies, and according to Preston Jennings, the lack of success with copies of
the English flies might be explained because the English insect has a slight different color then
the American alder. Jennings takes it one step farther and even separates the American Alder found
in the East from the Western version and offers flies to match. Other authors and tiers have noticed
this difference and have made small adjustments to copy the insect found on this side of the Pond.
In his book Flies J. Edson Leonard list eight different versions of the alder.
I have had good success with the two versions I have tied here. The first version is what I use for a
dark fly early in the year. Later in the season the trout seem to prefer a lighter fly which is when
I use this Alder-Gray No 2 version from Leonard's Flies. I have
had considerable more success with this gray pattern since using mottled turkey for
the wing in place of a solid gray wing and I like to use yellow or chartreuse floss
in place of the gold tag. I have been using this lighter version quite
a bit the last few years and if fact the Alder tied on a heavy size 10
hook has been my most productive fly for King salmon on New York's Salmon River.
The Alder spends most of it's life buried underground
and has a very short winged stage which is why fishermen are not as familiar it as they are with the
caddis or mayflies. The Alder has never been a very successful dry fly, but in England and to a few
of us Americans, the Alder has a undisputed reputation for catching fish and I believe this simple
fly is worth giving it a try.
Alder
Tip: Gold tinsel (variations are done with red or chartreuse wool or floss)
Tail: Typically none, brown turkey on some
Body: Peacock herl
Hackle: Black
Wing: Brown turkey
Head: Black
Credits: History of Fly Fishing For Trout by Major Hills;
Flies by J. Edson Leonard;
The Book of Trout Flies by Preston J. Jennings ~ LB
About Larry:
My mother always said that I got my love of the outdoors
from my grandfather and it was this love of the outdoor life
and to be near the great hunting and fishing that led me to
relocate to Lycoming County of northern Pennsylvania.
While I have been a fisherman since I was six, I have only
been fly fishing and tying for the past 15 years and consider
myself at best only an average fly tier and fisherman. I started
teaching myself fly fishing and to tie flies by reading books and
talking to other fly fishermen and as I learned about the nuts
and bolts of fly fishing, such as casting, drag and matching the
hatch, I slowly developed an appreciation of the history and
great tradition of the sport. While learning about the history
and tying these old wet flies has given me hours of enjoyment,
my real enjoyment and memories comes from fishing with and
sharing with others information about these historic flies. ~ LB
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