Got some Fran Betters-tied flies

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samsonboi
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Got some Fran Betters-tied flies

#1

Post by samsonboi »

So I was talking flyfishing with Thorne the postman in our driveway, who's just started fly fishing recently, (he had delivered my rodmaking tools a little while before and my stepdad had told him what they were) when I happened to ask after the Fran Fest 2003 shirt he was wearing. I asked him if he knew Fran Betters, and he said he was in fact related to him! I thought this was cool by itself, but he went on to say "And I have a few of his flies. I'll bring 'em by Tuesday or Wednesday." He shows up with this here box of flies with my name on it. I had his thank you note in the mailbox the next day, but it can't really do justice to this amazing gift.

Image

P.S.- the Fran-dyed possum fur in the Ziploc is from another very generous individual who is a member of this forum.
Last edited by samsonboi on 06/23/20 13:32, edited 1 time in total.
"Car ce n'est pas assez d'avoir l'esprit bon, mais le principal est de l'appliquer bien.”- Descartes

samsonboi
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Re: Got some Fran Betters-tied flies

#2

Post by samsonboi »

In the box there are 3 Au Sable Bombers, 1 Stimulator, and on the lid there are 2 of the Au Sable Caddis with rooster hackle, 1 of the deer-hair collared "hackle" Au Sable Caddis, and a bluish hairwing mayfly.
"Car ce n'est pas assez d'avoir l'esprit bon, mais le principal est de l'appliquer bien.”- Descartes

jerrib
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Re: Got some Fran Betters-tied flies

#3

Post by jerrib »

I have a couple of his patterns that I bought back in the early 1980's in his shop.

Fran Betters was a very "quirky" shopkeeper; he reminded me of a movie character. Lol

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Eric Peper
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Re: Got some Fran Betters-tied flies

#4

Post by Eric Peper »

jerrib wrote:
07/26/20 11:44

Fran Betters was a very "quirky" shopkeeper; he reminded me of a movie character. Lol
This could be the understatement of the last century. My most vivid recollection is stopping at Betters shop and buying a bunch of bugs and asking about a spot we'd heard of on the West Branch. Fran gave very specific instructions to the location, which we followed diligently . . . and which got me very close to being killed. As we were within site of the water (very attractive looking I stepped on a floating island in a boggy stretch and was saved by grabbing a large laurel bush. I could feel the current rather swift against my legs as one of my companions was hauling me out onto solid footing. Not one of my fondest recollections,

Eric
A mountain is a fact -- a trout is a moment of beauty known only to men who seek them
Al McClane in his Introduction to The Practical Fly Fisherman . . . often erroneously attributed to Arnold Gingrich

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Norm Frechette
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Re: Got some Fran Betters-tied flies

#5

Post by Norm Frechette »

my experience was that it was not a friendly fly fishing river to fish even with a guide

never again

samsonboi
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Re: Got some Fran Betters-tied flies

#6

Post by samsonboi »

Hehe, I love it. I need to get some studs for my rubber soled boots though! I'll only be using them on sandy sections and my now too small felt ones on rocks until I get the studs!
Probably should have gotten Korkers instead.

It's a strong, dangerous river in the faster sections.
"Car ce n'est pas assez d'avoir l'esprit bon, mais le principal est de l'appliquer bien.”- Descartes

jerrib
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Re: Got some Fran Betters-tied flies

#7

Post by jerrib »

I lived out West a couple of years and the NY AuSable was as heavy a water as many of those streams. Very hard to wade in many places.

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bearbutt
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Re: Got some Fran Betters-tied flies

#8

Post by bearbutt »

Nice score on the flies! And your new friend! The three "Ausable Bombers" and the caddis flies definitely look like Fran's work--the oversized calf tail monowing on the Bombers is a giveway. The stimulator was not tied by Fran; his own pattern was rather different--ask Tom to show you his picture of Fran's stimulator/stonefly--Fran never wrote about the pattern. There's a thread about it over on the Sparse Grey Matter boards. Not so sure about the other two flies--I'd have to see other image/closeups to judge them better.

The Ausable is not an easy river at all. As for this:
Norm Frechette wrote:
07/28/20 13:02
my experience was that it was not a friendly fly fishing river to fish even with a guide

never again
It's a mistake to give up too easily. The river takes a lot of time and patience, it extracts from you a lot of slips and falls, but the reward is hard to put into words.

Image

bb

samsonboi
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Re: Got some Fran Betters-tied flies

#9

Post by samsonboi »

I've seen the thread and the picture, you actually very generously sent a bag of the dubbing you dyed for that fly to me. Maybe one of his guides or tiers tied it? I'll ask Tom for his opinion.
"Car ce n'est pas assez d'avoir l'esprit bon, mais le principal est de l'appliquer bien.”- Descartes

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bearbutt
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Re: Got some Fran Betters-tied flies

#10

Post by bearbutt »

samsonboi wrote:
07/29/20 21:48
I've seen the thread and the picture, you actually very generously sent a bag of the dubbing you dyed for that fly to me. Maybe one of his guides or tiers tied it? I'll ask Tom for his opinion.
Yes, ask Tom. Fran employed a lot of different people in town to tie for him--and many of "Fran's" flies were tied by others. But he also bought commercial ties for resale, because those are patterns his customers sometimes wanted.

The possum was from Fran's shop in the 1990s and early 00s--he dyed it.

bb

samsonboi
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Re: Got some Fran Betters-tied flies

#11

Post by samsonboi »

You sent yellow seal you dyed yourself with the possum. It’s good stuff although a little harder to dub so I have to use my extra-sticky vintage Thompson dubbing wax. That stuff, I can’t get it off my hands so I have to be really careful :)
"Car ce n'est pas assez d'avoir l'esprit bon, mais le principal est de l'appliquer bien.”- Descartes

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bearbutt
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Re: Got some Fran Betters-tied flies

#12

Post by bearbutt »

samsonboi wrote:
07/30/20 09:52
You sent yellow seal you dyed yourself with the possum. It’s good stuff although a little harder to dub so I have to use my extra-sticky vintage Thompson dubbing wax. That stuff, I can’t get it off my hands so I have to be really careful :)
OK, right. The seal. Here's a pic of Fran's stone:

Image

Ausable stoneflies are a dirty yellow, not so orange as they are in other regions--so the right dubbing mix involves seal and some dirty floor sweepings for a more striated body. Cut the seal in slightly shorter lengths to make it more manageable. Try to get your hands on Veniard's Liquid Wax for dubbing--you apply it with a needle, and seal sticks to it well. You can also mix a little seal with something else like dyed squirrel to give it a less ornery texture.

Happy tying,
bb

samsonboi
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Re: Got some Fran Betters-tied flies

#13

Post by samsonboi »

Yeah I cut it up and mixed it with some muskrat in small batches as I tied
"Car ce n'est pas assez d'avoir l'esprit bon, mais le principal est de l'appliquer bien.”- Descartes

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