Frank was born in Bellingham in 1908 and as a young boy spent much of his time fishing Squalicum Lake and for Cutthroat trout in the Sumas Creek. At the age of 25 Frank was introduced to fly fishing and taught himself to tie flies with his own home made vise. During this period Frank built a number of cane and fiberglass rods.

In 1940 Frank joined the Washington Fly Fishing Club along with his friend Walt Johnson. In 1942 Frank took position as club president for the WFFC and became the first to hold this position for two consecutive years.

Frank worked with Washington State Sportsman’s Council for 10 years promoting fly fishing and stream rehabilitation in addition to teaching fly tying and fly casting at Green Lake (Seattle). After the Second World War, Frank along with other club members visited hospitals and taught fly tying to Italian and German prisoners of war.

Frank was very involved in conservation efforts on many lakes and rivers and on January 9th, 1940, along with WFFC members, was successful in petitioning the game commission to make the North Fork and Pass Lake fly only water.

In 1946 Frank, along with WFFC, developed a program to collect steelhead and salmon, and also in rearing 23,000 surviving young for the nearby Arlington hatchery and eventually planting them in Deer creek. The success of this project spearheaded the Department of Fish and Game to their first steelhead rearing program in the NF Stillaguamish basin.

Some of Frank’s favorite rivers to fish for the legendary steelhead were the Wind and Kalama. In 1946 it was his love for North Fork of the Stillaguamish River and its steelhead that prompted Frank buy property alongside his friends and fly fishing companions Enos Bradner, Walt Johnson, and Sandy Bacon on the famous Elbow Hole below Deer Creek. As good friends Enos and Frank spent many hours fishing the NF Stillaguamish and developed fly patterns and techniques in pursuit of its famous steelhead. Some of the flies they developed and fished were Franks Dandy Green Nymph for which Enos had named as well as the Hellcat and the lesser known Haile Selassie; other favorites were the Purple Pearl and patterns developed by Ralph Wall.

Dale Dennis 9/3/07