Fly Tying a Bloody Alder - Classic American Soft Hackle Wet Fly Pattern

One of the oldest trout fly patterns in existence, the Alder wet fly is at least as old as Dame Juliana Berners historic book "A Treatyse of Fysshynge Wyth an Angle" published in 1496. This version called the Bloody Alder is similar in profile but with a red tag and head.
Hook: #10-20 standard wet fly
Thread: Red
Rib: Thread
Body: Peacock herl
Hackle: Dark hen soft hackle
Wing: Pheasant tail fibers
This fly can be found in The Federation of Fly Fishers,
Fly Pattern Encyclopedia: amzn.to/34U0rUe
Savage Flies is a project with the mission of encouraging and teaching fly tying to as many people as possible. The channel is named after one of my western Maryland homewaters, the Savage River. I've been uploading at least three new videos a week (usually Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday).
Thanks for stopping by. Please let me know in the comments if you have any tying tips you would like to share or if you have any patterns you would like to see tied here.

[@kennyb214]

Great tie Matt. When I use the tying thread as a rib I like to use the tag end and just pull off a little extra.

[@SavageFlies]

You know, that is a much better idea. Thank you Ken! The first couple I did I pulled a dubbing loop down, and twisted the two strands together for the rib-- but it ended up being a bit thicker than I liked. I like your way much better! I think I'll pin your comment in case anyone else might be considering doing that...

[@kennyb214]

@@SavageFlies you can do it loop style and cut one end of the loop leaving a long tag

[@kennyb214]

@@SavageFlies I’m starting my own KZbin channel so I’ve been watching a ton of tutorials to learn as many tricks and tips as possible. I really enjoy your tutorials.

[@SavageFlies]

@@kennyb214 -Fly Tying with Kenny B... I love it! I'm certainly no KZbin expert but I'll be happy to help you any way I can. I think the more fly tying channels we have out there, the better it will be for our community! And I have learned a lot about YT (and tying) since I started my channel about 7-8 months ago. Drop me an email at matt at savageflies.com if you ever want to chat.

[@TERRYBIGGENDEN]

Yes. that's the easiest way I think. :-)

[@jeffreystone7327]

Wow what a history rich fly. Still going strong 600 years later. That is so cool. Great job of tying on this one. I was surprised by the thread rib. Very impressive. Thank you Sir.

[@mikeney5113]

Another great tie.you keep on tying some great flies.thanks matt.love them!!👍

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Mike! I always appreciate the support. Cheers. -Matt

[@PreppingWithSarge]

Oh wow! This has some great history!! I bet that nun was one heck of a fly fisher!

[@SavageFlies]

No kidding! I can't imagine the equipment they had to use 500 years ago. Was probably some pretty basic stuff. :-)

[@TERRYBIGGENDEN]

I love the old patterns. I tie some and variants. They are lovely to look at and are as good as anything i the last 100y ears. :-)

[@SavageFlies]

I agree Terry! Thanks for the note. :-)

[@TheAlex0026]

Love soft hackles!! A good series to run! Looking forward to seeing more from this series!!

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks! I think I'll end up with about a dozen in this series. It could go much longer but I've got some other ideas I want to get started with. :-)

[@TheAlex0026]

@@SavageFlies lol looking forward to the new ideas!!

[@edwardchavez5627]

Sir that is awesome. It's an easy beginner fly like for me thank you so much and keep it up I love this channel my favorite...😃 have a great day Matt.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Edward! I really appreciate the support and the positive comments. It keeps me motivated to keep going. Cheers. -Matt

[@ConnecticutAngler]

Nice, straightforward tie with a great looking result. Definitely going to whip some up and give em a go out on the river soon!

[@SavageFlies]

Outstanding! Let us know how it does for you. :-)

[@shakeyjake4634]

Awesome tie and the history along with it too. Just discovered your channel and absolutely love it! Very informative with alot of patterns I've never heard of. I also like the organization of your videos as well. Thank you!

[@SavageFlies]

Thank you Jake! I really appreciate the nice comment. I just finished tying Friday's fly (an October Caddis) which you've probably heard of but I do like tying some of the old mountain classics... that very few people have heard of! I hope you stick around. :-) Also, I plan to do some fun giveaways here every month or so. If you'd be interested in a Peak rotary vise, check out the review from a week or so ago. I'll be doing the drawing for that tomorrow and announcing the winner in Friday's video so you've still got a day to enter. Thanks again. Cheers. -Matt

[@alexanderlanham372]

Really love this tie

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Alexander. This is a pretty fun one to tie!

[@peteyarrington582]

I have not heard of this particular wet fly pattern or its historical roots before, but it sure is interesting. Thanks for featuring it! A simple variation on historic and very successful peacock-bodied soft hackles. Sometimes a simple variation can make a big difference! Its fun to note that two very different insects have the fisherman's name Alder Fly, and thats just on this side of the Atlantic. If you live in Maryland, an Alder Fly is a very common smaller relative of a Helgrammite/Dobson fly, family Sialidae, genus Sialis. To fly anglers in the northeast, Alder Fly likely means a largish tan-and-brown caddis fly with very long active antennae that hatch in droves - caddis family Hydropsychidae, genus Macrostemum. Here in the Mid-Atlantic, we call that caddisfly a Zebra Caddis. Fly fishing can take you down so many interesting sidestreets!

[@SavageFlies]

Pete- outstanding background, and very interesting! I also hear there is a riverside bush called the Alder that at least one of the insects are named after. I do wonder since the original is such an old fly that it was probably named after something in old England. I'll have to break out my copy of Mary Orvis Marbury's book and see if she says anything about it. Thanks again for watching and the great info. Cheers. -Matt

[@davehall2160]

Great looking fly Matt Can't wait to try them out

[@SavageFlies]

Thank you Dave! Your comments and watching are always appreciated. 😁

[@flyrodhiker8326]

Great tie, thanks again for sharing

[@SavageFlies]

Thank you! Much appreciated. :-)

[@marshallbaldwin8960]

This looks great.

[@huntingmissouri5420]

Never heard of this fly, i will be tying me up some!! Thanks for sharing!!

[@SavageFlies]

You got it my friend! Thanks for watching. (And BTW, I'd never heard of it either until flipping through the FFI Pattern Encyclopedia.)

[@huntingmissouri5420]

@@SavageFlies i think its pretty cool what you are doing in you videos, i have learned alot of stuff over the years watching KZbin. I have been trying for 25 years or so. Just want to thank you for your videos. And keep them going!!!

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks; I really appreciate the support!

[@bigdaddy99929]

Love the history on this nice little fly. Most definitely tying several. Thanks again Matt.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Clyde! You're one of my favorite supporters here and it really is appreciated. 😁

[@jamesvatter5729]

I know the Alder works well. This is an interesting variation. Will have to give it a try sometime.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Jim! Let us know if it works for you. :-)

[@amandahammond2691]

Hey Matt, I wanted to share that the earliest forms of Dame Juliana’s Treatyse predate the typical 1496 citation. The 1496 Wynkyn de Worde version is the best quality and best known, but the treatyse is actually a bit earlier than even that one. :) Regards, A F

[@wayneandrews1278]

Cool fly I make one

[@OttoJulian_]

Hey Matt I saw your email and I thought that there was an attachment with a pic of the background. Now I understand that I just had to watch your video haha. Your intros are getting better and better and not just because all the background story. Speaking of backgrounds, it looks good! And what you told me about the picture is barely noticeable (at least when watching on my phone). Yeah, throw the light in the background hidden from our sight... many ways to do it, just try different things!

[@SavageFlies]

Ha! Yes, I knew you would eventually watch it anyway. (I can't tell if anybody else noticed the music so I kept it in again.) Thanks for watching all my stuff. I know I post a lot, and to reciprocate I only watch about one a week from you. But... if you made more, you know I would watch them all! I love your stuff. I do learn a lot from watching yours. Not just the tech stuff, but how you frame pictures and composition and such. Now get back to your restaurant business! Or being an engineer. Or filmmaker. :-)

[@OttoJulian_]

@@SavageFlies hahaha, yeah I need to get back to work. No problem, I usually find some spare time to watch your videos. I like the fact that you are trying to improve and it shows on your videos. I did notice the background music again. Thanks Matt for your support!

[@SavageFlies]

Any time Otto! I'm serious that I would watch your videos every day if you posted that often. But I can tell how much work goes into each of yours (and it shows) so I'm sure four of my videos take about as long as one of yours.

[@OttoJulian_]

@@SavageFlies you know, I always wonder if viewers realize all the time that is being put on the videos. Thanks for pointing that out!! I can almost do 2 per week but that takes almost all of my time (depending on how complex the video is).

[@DeboraExum]

It's fun to think about nuns fishing. They had no idea we'd still be talking about them 600+ years later.

[@SavageFlies]

Very true! Will anybody be talking about us 600 years from now?? Probably not me! Unless I do something really remarkable (or crazy) in the next 40 years. :-) Thanks for watching Debora. Much appreciated. :-) PS: check in with Otto Julian and Prepping with Sarge. Both good guys. Mostly unrelated to your channel, but some of us small youtubers support each other by subscribing/watching/commenting. There is a whole network of us little guys out there helping each other! And you learn something about other niches that can be interesting. Cheers.

[@DeboraExum]

@@SavageFlies Thanks for the recommendations. I checked them out and enjoyed both. You are right that we need to support each other. When I started, I had the "if you build it, they will come" mentality. I have since learned it's a huge grassroots effort among the smaller channels. It's really satisfying to support others. I've met some great new people and having fun expanding my horizons, too.

[@SavageFlies]

@@DeboraExum -Absolutely! Just leave a comment on any of Otto and Sarge's videos (tell them Matt sent you). Otto is an amazing filmmaker and I've learned a lot from him in just a couple of months. (And his channel is growing fast!)

[@OttoJulian_]

Just had to read all these comments! Thank you Matt for all your support!!! And Debora, that's what I was thinking exactly, about them not having a clue we would be talking about them 600 years later lol.

[@trappertrustgod4948]

Thank you for showing this pattern, I never heard of it before but now I'm going to tie some up. One question for you What did they use to hold the hook while tying the fly so many of hundred years ago?

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks for the note! We know vises have been around at least as far back as the mid-1800s. Probably earlier than that but I'd have to do some more digging to find out when vises really started being used. But also, lots of tiers just held the hook in their hands, even as recent as the 1950s or so.