The Search for the Most Functional Alder (Zebra Caddis) Dry Fly...

For the past week or so I've been trying to develop the ideal Zebra Caddis (locally known as the Alder) dry fly.

Alders hatching usually means lots of good dry fly action.

Since noticing the Alder hatch this year on the Androscoggin River on 6/14 I've fished it 4 of the 6 days that have passed and have done well landing somewhere near 200 trout (all but 2 released unharmed thanks to mashed barbs), using different Alder iterations in search of a better Alder dry fly.  ...and I think I might have it.

The Alder natural on my finger next to a Deer Hair Caddis in the Rainbow's mouth.

There are two types of conditions that I typically fish an Alder dry during the 2+ week long hatch: calmish water where the surface is moving, but nearly smooth, and fast water where it's difficult to see your fly and when it's being taken.  A fly that's performs admirably in the slower water doesn't necessarily cut the mustard when it comes to faster water...

Regular Elk or Deer Hair Caddis in sizes #12 and #14 work reasonably well and drew a good number of strikes with a peacock body. A brown body seemed to outperform the peacock, and given the natural is brown that makes sense (but hey, you've gotta try peacock - that stuff is magic).  With all these dry flies I've fished the same dropper fly - a generic caddis emerger pattern 1 or 2 sizes smaller than the dry.  Using these traditional Deer Hair Caddis flies about 1/3 of the fish were taken on the dropper.

A bit more effective still was the regular #12 & 14 Stimulators in orange and brown - it seemed like a coin flip as to which color drew more action. I've found that flies tied on the typical Stimulator hook - the longer, naturally curved Tiemco 200r style - seem to match the body shape of the adult Alder better than traditional dry fly hooks, so that's what I've focussed on using in later flies.  While fishing the Stimulator with dropper about 1/4 of the fish were taken on the dropper.  While obviously a tiny sample size, to me this means that the more fish that pass up the emerger on the way to the dry, to take the dry, the better.

#14 Stimulator

So, after the Stimulators I tried a Deer Hair Caddis tied on the 200r style hook, which results in a bit longer body, with tweaks of a bit longer deer hair wing and more densely/tightly wrapped body hackle, in an effort to get better buoyancy in some of the faster water trout are often found. This extra hackle also makes the fly ride a bit higher where it's a bit easier to "skitter" on the surface - which, let's face it, is a whole lot of fun coaxing acrobatics out of trout that seem to go nuts for these alders that bounce along the water. If I gave the fly a good dip in silicone floatant it was good for quite some time before needing to be redipped - I'm guessing maybe 75 or so drifts/casts in the quicker water - somewhat less in the slow water.  So, now we were on to something - less maintenance on the fly and what seemed to be a higher number of strikes per cast, with a significantly higher percentage of fish taken on the dry vs. the emerger dropper 18" behind the dry - only about 1/5 fish took the dropper over this new version of Deer Hair Caddis.

The photo below shows the Deer Hair Caddis improvements, in the 4 body colors that I tied them in for experiment - peacock, orange, tan and brown.

Of these colors the brown color seemed best, followed next by the peacock, and pulling up the rear was tan and orange.

About half of all the trout were caught on my newly built 6' 2wt fiberglass rod. Tons of fun. :)

So that brings us to the next version of Alder dry.  The strict traditionalists among us - you know, the silk line, bamboo rod type - will likely scoff at this, but here it is... :)  I substituted 2mm brown craft foam for the hackled body of the more traditional Deer Hair Caddis and tied it on the same #14 200r hook.  A substantial improvement to fishability on the river.  Photo below.

The results of this modification were applying silicone once, at the beginning of fishing, and not needing floatant again for hours.  Occasionally the fly would get nasty slimy and I'd just swish it around in the water, then shake it good, blow the remaining water off and we were back in business.  Fish took this version what seemed like equally well as the previous version, with the added benefit of less maintenance and a bit more buoyancy.  Still though, the fly was a bit difficult to see at times, being mostly all darkish brown, especially in some of the faster water.  That needed improvement.  And here it is...

I added a second craft foam wing, of a lighter beige color.  This provides more buoyancy and the 2nd layer of foam acts as a sort of sighter, make it significantly easier to see in faster water.  This is what I consider my best Alder imitation yet. It needs no floatant, ever.

This will be my go to Alder dry for the foreseeable future... until I toy with it some more by maybe adding a fine gold tinsel or extra fine gold wire spiral ribbed over the underbody... Will good enough ever be good enough?  I sure hope not. ;)

Recipe:
Hook: #14 200r style natural bend.
Thread: 8/0 Uni brown or black.
Underbody: superfine dry fly dubbing in rusty or dark brown.
Bottom wing: Dark brown 2mm craft foam cut as wide as the hook gap, extending just past the hook bend.
Middle wing: Beige 2mm craft foam, same size as the first wing.
Top wing: Deer body hair extending just past the foam wings.
Front hackle: brown or dark barred ginger hackle extending a bit beyond the hook gap.
I finish it with 2 three turn whip finishes and a dab of head cement.

Of course, your mileage may vary - but it works for me. Good luck fishing. :)

...P.S, trout aren't the only fish that can't resist a well tied Alder dry during the hatch.