Wednesday, June 20, 2012

A Sign and Some "Usual" Stuff





In my travels over the last week or so I have visited a few very interesting places. They are located in what many believe to be the birth place of fly fishing in America, and where the first dry fly was cast upon flowing waters. This is a sign showing the major hatches of a river system. It not only tells of the hatches, what times, etc. but has actual tied flies of each insect. I'm sorry the photo was not as good as it should have been. I'll tell more about this wonderful place in a future post.


Now on to some "Usual" stuff.
The Usual is one of Fran Betters classics. It's a fly that can be fished dry or as an emerger. It is tied with a few simple materials and is not difficult to tie. But the main selling point of this fly is that it's deadly.

The main ingredient of this fly is the snowshoe rabbit foot, Fran tied the entire fly just using this one
item. But a fly tyer named Matt Grobert over at "Caddis Chronicles" showed how he ties this fly using a couple different materials which produce an easier to tie fly and one thats just as deadly.

Matt uses a snowshoe rabbits foot for the wing, a few wood duck fibers for the tail, and a cream dubbing for the body. He chooses a tan thread, while I like orange.
This is my version of Matt Groberts version of Fran Betters "Usual".


These are some flies tied by Fran Betters. The "Usuals" are in the top right.










22 comments:

  1. Love that last shot of Fran's flies. I really love the simplicity and impressionistic nature of his flies. The Usual has been working pretty well lately for me to. Just by changing the color of the thread you can change the body color because of the translucent nature of the snowshoe rabbit when used as a dubbing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark,
      Thanks.
      The man really new how to tie something that would fool a trout.
      I agree with you about the translucency of the rabbit dubbing.

      Delete
  2. The Usual is my go to dry fly. For ease of tying and effectiveness, it's hard to beat. I really like your version.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kiwi,
      Thanks.
      Between the Usual and the Bomber, they are great flies.
      The Usual is about as simple a fly to tie as there is.

      Delete
  3. Brk
    The hackle on the Fran’s flies is outstanding. I really like the hatch chart; I am going to Google a search for a chart with the same information. That would be useful for individuals such as me who am still learning about the hatch in different areas of the country. What size works best with your version of Fran's Betters? Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bill Trussell,
      Thanks.
      I tie them in size 14 and 16.

      Delete
  4. Two outstanding things in this post..First the flies, both Fran's and yours Brk Trt and secondly the chart. Very handy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. penbayman,
      Thanks.
      I thought that chart was so cool. It took a bit of work to complete.

      Delete
  5. Great post Alan. I'm a big fan of Fran's usual and fish it often on the creeks. I tie it in a few different colours and it always brings a few choice trout to hand. That is an awesome hatch chart. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Darren MacEachern,
      Thanks.
      That's what so wonderful about the Usual, it represents so many insects just by using different colors. The chart was sweet.

      Delete
  6. I probably have better luck with the Usual than I do the Bomber. Either way, Fran Betters' patterns are exceptional. A very creative fly tyer, I'd say.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RKM,
      Thanks.
      With me it's just the opposite. He new what it took to bring trout to hand.

      Delete
  7. Awesome. The trout out here would murder them.

    Mark

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shoreman,
      Thanks.
      That happens pretty much where they're fished.

      Delete
  8. I've always been curious about the Usual and have seen several different variations. Nice post and I look forward to more about the Beaverkill.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Howard Levett,
      Thanks.
      Just fish it a few evenings...your hooked.

      Delete
  9. Great fly. Betters patterns are very underrated. Cool post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Todd,
      Thanks.
      He was underrated in many of his accomplishments, accept by those who actually fish.

      Delete
  10. great post indeed. that hatch chart is pretty cool and I must second some previous comments as the the nice hackle on those flies!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Steve,
      Thanks.
      The chart was awesome, the photo does it no justice.

      Delete
  11. Great post. Have you fished your Usuals yet? Hope they slayed them! MG

    ReplyDelete
  12. Matt Grobert,
    Thanks.
    Yes I have, and they work very well.

    ReplyDelete