William Lovelace - The Year of the Rat

This is not a Chinese Horoscope tale since the Chinese New Year has ushered in the Year of the Rabbit. While tying my Rusty Rat Double for the last flies I submitted I came across the fact that 1911 was the first year noted for the development of the RAT fly by Roy Angus Thomson. Since this year marks the Centennial of the fly I thought it appropriate to deem it The Year of the Rat in my submission on SalmonFly.net. The wings on the original flies were tied with Grey Fox hair with Squirrel tail being the common substitute. Since I have Coyote hair I used it as it makes a wing very similar to the original ties. The original flies in this series were the Rat, Grey Rat, Silver Rat, and the Gold Rat. For more in depth reading on this fly see Atlantic Salmon Flies and Fishing by Col. Joseph Bates or Hairwing & Tube Flies For Salmon & Steelhead by Chris Mann.

Rat Variations

	R.A.T.	Black Krystal Rat	Black Rat	Copper Rat
	Gold Rat	Grey Rat	King Rat	Purple Rat
		Rusty Rat	Silver Rat

To see the flies in Bill's Spade,  Blonde, Clouser,  Pink, and Tube Fly series and many of his others, visit

The Flies Of William Lovelace

"What Can I Say About These Blondes"

"A Day on Puget Sound, Sea-Run Cutthroat, and Salt Water Flies"

"Favorite Flies for Pink Salmon"

Tube Flies on a Tube Steak Budget!

Favorite Flies, Fly Shops, and Rivers

The Electric Soft Hackle

My Doubles for the Rogue River

Bill Lovelace really needs no introduction to Salmonfly.Net readers. His contributions to the site are now over 160 flies and articles. His  prolific submissions to these pages  make him a valuable resource not just to Salmonfly.Net, but also to the fly-fishing community in general, in particular those that wish to see a variety of steelhead flies and fly-tying styles.