How to Tie the Rat Fly for Bass

The rat fly uses spun deer hair to imitate a floating rat or mouse. You must twitch and swim the fly to imitate the panicked motions of a natural rodent. The large fly is attractive to bass searching for a large meal, and it is especially effective when fished close to the banks. The rat fly uses simple fly tying techniques, but practice is necessary to control the deer hair. The fly is also messy and a waste basket must be placed below the vise for falling materials.

Things You'll Need

  • 2XL streamer hook sizes 4 to10
  • Brown chenille
  • Deer hair
  • Black GSP thread
  • Black waterproof marker
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Instructions

    • 1

      Place the hook in the fly tying vise. Start the thread at the bend in the hook. Cut a length of brown chenille to match one-half the length of the hook shank. Make four tight thread wraps to secure the chenille to the bend in the hook. The chenille creates a lively tail in the water.

    • 2

      Cut a chunk of deer hair from a large patch. Use your fingers to comb the underfur from the base of the hair. Hold the hair on the top of the hook, with the tips extending past the bend. Make two loose wraps around the hair, followed by three tight wraps. Hold the tips in place while the base of the hair spins into a wild pattern.

    • 3

      Use your fingers to stroke the spun hair toward the bend in the hook. Cut a new chunk of deer hair and repeat the process immediately behind the spun hair. Continue spinning deer hair until you reach the eye of the hook. Use a whip finisher to knot the thread at the eye of the hook and cut the thread from the hook.

    • 4

      Place a razor blade in a flat position beneath the eye of the hook. Push the blade forward to the bend in the hook. The blade will trim the spun hair and create a flat profile on the bottom of the fly.

    • 5

      Bend the razor blade between your thumb and forefinger. Align the curved blade with the top of the fly and push it forward to trim the hair on the front one-third of the fly. The trimmed hair creates a head shape on the front of the fly.

    • 6

      Leave the long hairs extending from the top of the fly. Use scissors to trim any rogue hairs from the sides, bottom and head of the fly. The scissors are only used for cleanup and do not trim any significant amount of materials.

    • 7

      Color one black dot on each side of the head to resemble eyes. The eyes are not necessary and are an optional step for aesthetic appeal only.