Monday, November 3, 2014

Ausable Bomber.... "Rough Cut"

Ausable Bomber tied by me.
Fran Betters "Ausable Bomber" has been in my emails many times in the last several weeks. Questions about materials, construction, sizes and so on. And with that much interest I decided to do this post. I don't know when Fran first tied this fly, I came to know of it back in 2002 while visiting his shop in Wilmington. I bought a couple of them and was impressed with the way trout, and especially wild trout hit this fly. I attempted to tie it and the first few flies I fished were not taken the same way that Frans versions were. I contacted Fran and was given instruction, as well as materials that are a must to get this fly to work the way his did.

I don't know if Frans design of the "Bomber" was for use in rivers, although I suspect it was, being from a region where the mighty Ausable flows. But the "Bomber" is a small stream must have dry fly. It has taken trout for me every where it's fished, as well as every month of the year.






Here are the main list of materials. Rust orange Australian Opossum, Hot orange thread, woodchuck guard hair, grizzly, and brown hackle, and the Mustad 9671 hook.


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This is the main ingredient to a Ausable Bombers success, these are not my words but Frans. Rust Orange Australian Opossum. These came from Frans shop and as you can see there is some variation in color and depending where the fur came from on the body some of it is a bit wirery which is also a plus for making these flies look very buggy.


These flies were tied by Fran. You can see the 5 Bomber flies tied "rough cut" as Fran so often did.






23 comments:

  1. Nice Alan, great fly. Love the Fran collection you got there. I like the haystack a lot as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LQN,
      Thanks.
      Long, I wish I had purchased many more of Frans creations.

      Delete
  2. Alan - Nice post, your are spot when you said "the "Bomber" is a small stream must have dry fly". In addition to the rusty orange opposum dubbing, the mustad 9671 hook is also a key ingrediant. I struggled tying this fly until I started using the correct hook which is also the hook used for the mini muddler and Ausable Wulff.

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    Replies
    1. Mark,
      Thanks.
      That hook is key. It makes tying these so much easier.

      Delete
  3. I have never used a bomber, but because of your advice I plan on trying to tie one to use next season. Just a question regarding materials: is fishusa a good site for materials or is their stuff low quality? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RI brook trout,
      Thanks.
      If you fish small streams, and those streams hold wild trout then the "bomber" is a fly you need.
      Don't know anything about fishusa. A good online source for fly tying materials is Bears Den in Taunton MA.

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. RM Lytle,
      Thanks.
      A good substitute for the possum is "Awesome Possum" package dubbing.

      Delete
  5. I know that Fran's patterns are very recognized in the history of fly tying for stream trout. I just don't see them in shops out west here. As I get on more smaller streams in my area, I will take your advice and tie up a few. Thanks for sharing your tying description.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mel Moore,
      Thanks.
      Mel they will produce on small streams.

      Delete
  6. Good stuff Alan. I've got a nice collection of Fran's flies in my wood fly box. In addition to opossum, I've been experimenting with various colors of peacock herl for the body and they have come out really nice. Also, I have been using various colors of herl on my Picket Pins as well. I'll post pics on my blog when work slows down a bit. Hope to fish with you guys soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PS. The Bombers I've been tying on the Mustad 9671 size 16 with a black herl body make a nice little winter stone fly pattern. :)

      Delete
    2. Apache Trout,
      Thanks.
      As you well know Peacock herl is a trout magnet. I have used a red peacock on my Picket Pins for awhile, and the trout like them.

      Delete
    3. John,
      I'll bet they will work just fine.

      Delete
  7. I also have a collection of Fran Betters flies including the "Bomber" ! I was introduced to this fly by none other than Brk Trt.
    The Bomber is also deadly on the Farmington River.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TROUT1,
      Thanks.
      Pete, Fran was a fly fishermans fly tyer if you know what I mean.
      Those bombers catch fish.

      Delete
  8. Thanks for the write up on this one, excellent to have the "recipe." Much appreciated!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Adam,
      Thanks.
      They are a very effective fly with the right ingredients. Not that hard to tie either.

      Delete
  9. One of our top ten searching dry patterns. Solid performer in the west for us also.

    Nice tie as usual.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Todd,
      Thanks.
      Good grades for the bomber out west. Never knew that Todd.

      Delete