Aaron Jasper of Trout Predator Online demonstrates how to tie Al’s Rat, a dead simple yet deadly midge pupa pattern that works pretty darn well even in the thick of a full blown Tricos hatch. Go figure.
Tricos Hatch + Midge Pupa = Fish
Don’t ask me why, but a midge pupa imitation such as Al’s Rat will often take more fish during a Tricos hatch than most Trico imitations, even during a good spinner fall.
On the Little Lehigh Creek in Pennsylvania, my adopted home waters and where this pattern was developed by Al Miller, the “regulars” fish Al’s Rat year round, and swear by it as means to defeat the dreaded “white curse”.
Al’s Rat may imitate an emerging female Trico (the nymphs are poor swimmers and easy prey) or maybe they are taken as a sunken trico where trout opportunistically feed on spent tricos that have sunk below the water surface.
Whatever the reason – it works.
Al’s Rat Material List
Hook: Mustad 94840, size 18 – 22
Thread / Body: Danville’s Monocord 3/0, dark brown or black
Thorax: Muskrat
Yup – that’s it.
Enjoy!
p.s. Why monocord? It lays flat and minimizes thread build-up. And because Al said so and he refined this pattern over the course of 35 years – so who am I to argue?