Fran Betters

Many of you may have heard about the recent death of Fran Betters, the legendary fly fisherman from Wilmington. He is usually associated with his beloved Ausable River, but he fished many other places in the Adirondacks as well. Years ago, for example, he wrote a nice piece for the Explorer about the fishing opportunities on the North Branch of the Saranac. Fran created the Haystack fly, used to catch trout in turbulent rivers like the Ausable. His wife says he could tie a complicated fly in just three minutes. Those of you who would like to know more about Fran can read his obituary in The New York Times, which was published this week.