Close to an Alder or Leadwing Coachman - but does not explain the golden pheasant tail. I'll keep looking.

I found a traditional wet fly called the Hardy's Favorite which is close. Maybe someone just cobbled this fly together using known effective natural materials. It happens.

That is a Mopey Dick, it is intended to be a nymph, but some fish it in bigger sizes as a streamer. It is a great wet fly too. It was invented by a fly fisherman and bait shop owner from western New England. I cannot remember the man's name, but it you google the fly's name, you might find it. The Mopey is one of my favorite flies, and it is a killer on streams like the Farmington, Westfield and Deerfield rivers in western Mass during the months of late April through June. I am sure it will work for Vermont too. For hook size, I prefer a 4x #10 streamer hook.

The golden pheasant tippet is an important component, as is the teal wing tied flat over the body of peacock herl. I sometime add a ribbing of gold wire, or green tinsel flash.

Archfly, do you know that fly by "mopey dick" as a variation of "Moby dick" as shown here, where, again little variations are shown, such as the use of mallard flank feathers and a palmered body? I don't know if these are tier's preference adaptations, or two slightly different patterns. I about always use wire ribbing on a peacock herl body so was interested in the comment that he feels it is sufficiently durable without. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJeYywNMSK4

All in the family, that's for sure. Larger versions might be thought of as minnow imitations, but patterns of this type are also good in waters (lower river stems, again) that host, not only the alder fly, but the meaty Dobson fly, and probably suggest stoneflies as well. Same as the picketpin mentioned in the video, easier to tie for a dub at the vice like me, or a grizzly hackled wooly-worm style fly with a peacock herl body.

Like the fly shown, versatile, suggestive patterns that can be varied in details and size according to whim or local knowledge. Once in a while, who can resist putting in two wraps of flat gold or silver tinsel at the tail, or a few wraps of gold or silver wire to form a head. Or both.

B, You are welcome! One of my father's friends told me it was tied to imitate a particular nymph, maybe a stonefly. Let me know how it works in Vermont.

Trev, Yes the Bonnie Red Hackle, although I much prefer the grizzly hackle in western New England. As far as changing the name of a fly, folk classification drives when a modification to an old standby qualifies as a new fly. Because the rules are not written, they tend to shift with time. I can only relate what I was told when I was learning to tie flies back in the dark ages of the early 1960s.

whrlpool, I believe it was Dave Goulet who originated the pattern. Rich Strolis is a tier of some renown here, and I really like his style. I would say that he is tying a streamer and it is not the same fly. The Mopey has a flat teal wing, and never would have palmer-tied hackle. I don't agree with him that the herl body can take it. I always chased the herl twists with a turn of tying thread like Ray Bergman said to do in his book: Trout. Believe me, I made high school lunch money repairing Mopey Dick bodies for the fly fishermen on our street. All it takes is to catch one fish, and the body starts to unwind (and that beautiful tippet tail begins to get chewed). It never bothers the trout though.

There is also a second nymph that Dave Goulet tied, The Dopey Dick, which was the same fly only tied with a yellow chenille body and Lady Amherst tippet. It is a great pattern to use when golden stonefly nymphs are drifting around.

I could go on, but it would only sound like a doddering old man telling stories from his youth.