Welcome to Just Old Flies

Welcome to 'just old flies,' a section of methods and flies that used-to-be. These flies were tied with the only materials available. Long before the advent of 'modern' tying materials, they were created and improved upon at a far slower pace than todays modern counterparts; limited by materials available and the tiers imagination.

Once long gone, there existed a 'fraternity' of anglers who felt an obligation to use only the 'standard' patterns of the day. We hope to bring a bit of nostalgia to these pages and to you. And sometimes what you find here will not always be about fishing. Perhaps you will enjoy them. Perhaps you will fish the flies. Perhaps?

Hofland's Fancy



Compiled by Deanna Birkholm
This fly was named after Thomas Christopher Hofland, 1777-1842, an Englishman, and dates about 1830.

He was the author of British Anglers Manual, 1839, which contains some exquisite engravings of flies.

The Holberton as described by Mr. Hofland in Fly Patterns and Their Origins:

    Body - Reddish dark brown silk.

    Legs - Red hackle.

    Wings - Woodcock's tail.

    Tail - two or three strands of red hackle.

Credits: Text from Fly Patterns and Their Origins, By Harold Hinsdill Smedley, photo from Forgotten Flies.

Archive of Old Flies