Fly Tying Inventory
Ausable Wulff
A rugged, high-floating attractor designed by Fran Betters in the 1960s specifically for the tumbling pocket water of New York's Ausable River. Betters adapted the classic Wulff style using locally available materials — woodchuck guard hairs for the tail, rusty orange Australian opossum dubbing, and hot orange thread — creating a fly that is both highly visible and incredibly durable in turbulent Adirondack freestone water. A must-have pattern for Eastern pocket water fishing.
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Materials
Long shank dry fly hook (Mustad 9671, Daiichi 1710), sizes 8-16
Fluorescent hot orange 6/0 or 8/0
Woodchuck guard hairs (or moose body hair substitute)
Rusty orange Australian opossum fur dubbing
White calf tail hair, upright and divided
Mixed brown and grizzly dry fly hackle
How to Tie the Ausable Wulff
- 1
Step 1
Mount hook and start hot orange thread, wrapping a base to the bend.
The fluorescent orange thread is a Betters signature — it adds a subtle hot spot at the head.
- 2
Step 2
Tie in a bushy clump of woodchuck guard hairs for the tail, about shank length.
Woodchuck hair is stiff and buoyant — if unavailable, moose body hair is a good substitute.
- 3
Step 3
Dub a full, robust body of rusty orange opossum dubbing forward to the wing position.
- 4
Step 4
Tie in white calf tail hair as upright, divided wings using figure-eight wraps.
- 5
Step 5
Attach brown and grizzly hackle feathers and wind both forward, making turns behind and in front of the wings.
- 6
Step 6
Build a small thread head (showing the hot orange color), whip finish, and apply head cement.
Watch Tying Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQejGoB1FY0
Credit: Fran Betters (1960s), Wilmington, New York