Sunday, August 13, 2017

The "Ausable Stonefly" Mystery Solved

I came across an interesting pattern in my surfing travels. The fly was labeled as an Ausable Stonefly and the article claimed it was tied by Fran Betters. The text was that Fran had tied a few of these and sold them in his shop. I can't recall the fly on his website years ago nor could I find it in his pattern book. So from the not so good photo and a few materials that were thought to be what was used in the fly I tied up a couple of them. The fly I tied was close but not quite to the photo that was posted.



This is the first fly I tied using the materials they thought Fran had used. Tail and wing were woodchuck, body was orange Australian opossum, brown body hackle, grizzly hackle for the head, and orange thread. These materials were staple items on Frans tying desk and it seemed logical that they were true except for the fact that the color of the wing was much more brownish.


Well I thought I'd try the fly and see how it was received. The brookies pounced on it. Looking at the fly it is designed for rough water, almost unsinkable. It would bring big fish up in fast water.


So in my quest to get the wing color more in line with the original I searched for some woodchuck I got from Frans shop. The small patch gave me the right brownish color needed. Problem solved "Not so"...I only had enough to tie a few flies and where was I going to source more of this unique color woodchuck.


So I was in "Upcountry" and found some some Nutria..I then tied this fly and again the color was close but Nutria does not yield enough hair.


Ausable Stimulator tied by Fran Betters....Jan Betters photo
At this point I felt it necessary to go to a very good source one who could set things right. That source was Jan Betters. I asked her if Fran had ever tied an Ausable Stonefly. In the email I sent her a photo of the one I tied and she responded that he had tied the fly but he called it a stimulator. She said that he liked to use the fly for the large drake hatches in the Adirondaks. The fly above was tied by Fran and you can see it has all of those wonderful attributes of a Betters fly. She told me that the wing and tail material was actually rust orange dyed deer hair.


Jan Betters photo
She sent along this photo also. In her words...."is when we were playing around one morning after fishing Lake Placid during a hex hatch. We caught a male and female and when they were still alive the next morning, Fran suggested we put them with the fly we were using. This was the result. Picture’s worth a thousand words,eh?

Here is the fly tied with the materials she said were used. Deer was used for tail and wing but it is nor rust orange, I'm working on that.


Here are the four flies I tied using different wing materials. I don't think Fran would mind with my fumbling with his pattern. Thanks to Jan Betters for her wonderful insight.












28 comments:

  1. AL
    Very nice !!! Again works of art, beautiful ties and your research paid off!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TROUT1
      Thanks
      Pete so far this fly has worked for me on 3 different streams. Waiting to try it on the Farmington.

      Delete
  2. It looks like a woodchuck caddis.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RKM
      Thanks
      Kirk it does have that look, but when you use the various other hairs it does take on the look of a stonefly. Betters used deer hair.

      Delete
  3. Alan
    I like the brushy look of this fly, nice job at the vice. Looking forward to a fishing report involving this fly-----thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bill Trussell
      Thanks
      Bill it's that bushy look that will make a trout strike. It has been successful so far.

      Delete
  4. I will echo, very close to a chuck caddis with the addition of the tail. However, deer would float a tad bit better. Excellent fly. I like everything Fran betters tied. They catch fish. Note: Swap out regular deer hair with barred coastal deer hair (dyed Rusty Orange) and you have the best of both worlds. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ralph Long
      Thanks
      Ralph do you know where I could get some coastal deer hair, either orange or brown?
      Fran was a champ.

      Delete
    2. Alan, Yes'sir I do. I have two patches, A light coastal that would be perfect for dying. And a natural Western Washington Blacktail patch from a small 6pt I shot with the bow years ago. I cut you a patch from both and they are sealed in an envelope as I type, It will go out in the morning. Look forward to one of your pics of a brookie with some of it in it's jaw. :)

      Delete
    3. Ralph, Thank you very much....I certainly will give these colors a go, and will post the findings.

      Delete
  5. I loved the history lesson and all the detective work you put in on this fly. That was a fun read, Alan! Thanks. This fly is now on my tying list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mike
      Thanks
      Mike there is so much history and flies that have no names or are shaded over time. It could keep one occupied forever.
      Tie some up, they work.

      Delete
  6. Alan, I love the stimulator fly. It can imitate so many terrestrials on the stream this time of year. Beautifully tied that I am confident will produce for you. Regards, Sam

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Parachute Adams
      Thanks
      Sam it's a very versatile fly, and the fish really take to it

      Delete
  7. Nice research work Alan! I have to say that I love all of them and think that any of them would draw fish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Howard Levett
      Thanks
      Howard I love getting info on some of these patterns. I think most hungry fish would eat any of them.

      Delete
  8. That was quite the investigation..nice work Alan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. penbayman
      Thanks
      Mike I knew if I contacted Jan I would get the best info. How's your summer been?

      Delete
    2. It's been very short but lovely..I go back to work at school Monday morning..Fall is coming and that means cooler water..who knows I may even get out fishing...

      Delete
  9. Al, very interesting blog today... I really like the first one for the little black stone flies that come off here in NY..... But, I can understand the "quest" to get the pattern right.... Fran was a great tier and fly fisher, there's a reason he tied it as such... Thanks for posting it....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Doug Korn,Fly Tyer
      Thanks
      Doug I fully agree with the statement Fran was a great tier, one of my inspirations. I also believe as creative tier he would not be afraid to tinker and tweak patterns with materials he loved.

      It's nice to hear from an upstate N.Y. fly tyer and angler.

      Delete
  10. I always thought Randall Kaufmann was the inventor of the Stimulator, but like all things, it seems it's a bit more complicated than that: http://www.troutnut.com/topic/3529/On-the-Origins-of-Stimulators-and-Origins-in-General

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. George S
      Thanks
      George I would say that Kaufmann was the originator of the stimulator. The version I'm trying to tie is a version that Fran Betters tied. A major difference between the two versions is the hook...Betters used a Mustad 9671 and Kaufmann used a curved hook which may have been a Mustad C53S.

      Delete
    2. Got it. Thanks for your reply. After years of trying every other attractor pattern on brookies in tumbling freestones, I now almost exclusively use an orange stimulator - the trout can't seem to resist them and they float for days.

      Thanks again, your blog is a always a pleasure to read and a staple of my morning routine.

      Delete
  11. That's an awesome looking fly. One of my favorite flies, the stimulator, with the distinct touch of one of my favorite tyers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RM Lytle
      Thanks
      Rowan this fly does give you the best of both.
      Fran was in touch with wild trout.

      Delete
  12. Your "research"might be more honest if you credited and linked the original thread where you got these ideas at Sparse Grey Matter

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous
      Thanks
      If I thought that was necessary I would have done so.
      And seeing how you have now brought that to light thanks would be in order "thanks"

      Delete