Sploosh. Another huge rat jumped off the shore into the river. Their swimming prowess underwater is unreal. The speed, agility and comfort in water was surprising. I am sure that pike are all too happy to snack on them.
Anyone who watches Fly vs Jerk will have seen the huge success of the Miuras mouse lure. A big stub nosed, buck tailed collar and juicy wiggle tail. Two seasons in a row this big fish lure clinched the winning fish. Big, water pushing rats.
In the mood to spin some deer hair and experiment, I created the Ratatat. Or perhaps it’s the Domiratrix, or Ratfro. A huge articulated water pushing fly that can fish as a slider, or sub-surface.
When swimming, the fur on the rats comes alive with movement and shimmering light. To replicate this I wanted a sparse, but plump untrimmed body. I was happy with the body created by tying in the deer hair at the tips and then spinning it. This is far sparser and should not hold too much water. The body was spun on an 8/0 Partridge Predator X hook.
I added a wiggle tail attachment for the removable tail. I like both the dragon tail, and the xxl dragon wiggle tail. I think the dragon tail which collects water should be great for fishing it as as slider. The dragon wiggle tail better for sub-surface.
The buck tail collar should create a good amount of push and movement. The body hairs should get plenty of movement in the wake created by the collar. The head was spun on a Gamakatsu SP600 3/0. The hooks connected with a doubled 40lb wire loop.
Will it work? Time will tell. If it is fishable on a 10wt, I am confident that it will get chomped.
