Size 2 hooks, 4” body length, 6” total length.
New for 2026, I have redesigned the Trap Rat again. I want this pattern to be something that my clients and customers can rely on to deliberately target trophy Brown Trout. That meant redesigning the fly from the ground up to optimize its castability and foul resistance. I found that I wasn’t tying the Trap Rat on because it was too difficult to cast the distances needed for my clients to find success fishing it.
The first thing you’ll notice is the new body material. The new fur maintains a slimmer profile in the air- so it has less drag and shoots better. I also changed the hook arrangement to make fouling almost impossible. The hooks can’t reach each other and there is no wire to get bent. The slender rubber tail moves more than previous iterations but also can’t get caught on the hook, looking unnatural and preventing secure connections on a strike.
Over the years, I’ve found that most of the big browns we catch tend to get hooked with main body hooks, rather than dangling stinger hooks. So I moved the second hook to the front of this fly where it sits just under the head. The front hook provides a greater advantage than a second rear hook.
This design still allows for the side to side movement with a short staccato strip, and makes a big wake to draw giants from the depths.
I am excited to have a huge mouse fly in my lineup that I can tie on my clients line that will be more sustainable to cast long distances all night in search of a giant Brown Trout. The largest fish that came to my net this season ate this pattern, and I am confident it will go on to crush personal bests for many, many people.
