Bodkin / Patterns

Alder Wet Fly

Wet Fly · Trout · Advanced · 2 versions

As tied by Savage Flies (Bloody Alder)

  • Hook Standard length barbless dry fly hook (as tied), 12 (as tied; description gives #10-20)
  • Thread Red 70 denier UTC

Materials

  • Tag Red thread, 2-3 mm of wraps around the bend
  • Rib Thread (red)
  • Body Peacock herl
  • Hackle Dark hen soft hackle
  • Wing Pheasant tail fibers

How to tie it

  1. Cut about a six inch piece of the red thread to use later as the rib, then lay a thread base down to the start of the bend.
  2. Take several wraps around the bend, two or three millimetres, to make the red tag, then bring the thread up to where the bend starts.
  3. Catch in the spare piece of red thread for the rib.
  4. Catch in one strand of peacock herl, then take the thread back up to about an eye length behind the eye, leaving room for hackle and wing.
  5. Wrap the peacock herl all the way forward (preen it back every couple of wraps if it mats), secure it with a couple of thread wraps and trim the excess.
  6. Counter-wrap the red thread rib forward through the body, zigzagging it, and secure it with a couple of wraps.
  7. Tie in a dark hen soft hackle feather, wrap about two to two and a half turns, tie it off with two thread wraps and trim the excess.
  8. Sweep stray hackle fibres back and wrap over them to give the swept-back wet fly look, then smooth the head area.
  9. Tie in eight or ten pheasant tail centre fibres as the wing, extending to about the hook bend, using a pinch wrap and then more wraps to lock them in.
  10. Fold the pheasant tail over as a wing case, building a small ramp of thread first, and take two wraps over it, keeping the head small so the red shows.
  11. Pull up the excess pheasant tail and cut it off about halfway along the body, then add a drop of head cement.

Other versions

1 more in the app: Consensus of hughs fly tying and fishing, Jim Misiura (classic black Alder).

Tying videos

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