Wet FlyintermediatePacific Northwest
Brad's Brat
Flybox sourcing profile
No TWG price or checkout is active. Use this page to validate the fly, then source it through the mapped tier or trusted fly shops.
Pattern Ledger
Source Brad's Brat
Want help finding this exact pattern or a tied-to-order equivalent? Join the sourcing ledger and we will prioritize demand by water, species, and pattern.
Trusted Sourcing Ledger
Find this fly from an independent source
Exact links are published only after the product name and live page are checked. TWG does not sell the fly, set the price, or control stock, shipping, or returns.
Exact source still under review
We have not published an exact product link for this pattern yet. The directory below can help locate a regional specialist, but it is not proof that the exact fly is currently listed.
Regional source directory
Pacific Fly Fishers
Matched on Pacific Northwest, wet flies, steelhead. Pacific Northwest shop with a large online catalog and steelhead/trout regional relevance.
Big Y Fly Co.
Matched on wet flies, steelhead, wet. Broad by-type catalog useful for common benchmark patterns and inexpensive backups.
Schultz Outfitters
Matched on wet flies, steelhead, steelhead. Michigan and Great Lakes shop lead for steelhead, trout, and smallmouth patterns.
Fulling Mill Flies
Matched on wet flies, steelhead, broad catalog. Large pattern house with broad freshwater and saltwater fly categories.
These are independent businesses. A listing does not imply endorsement or partnership. TWG currently receives no purchase commission from these links. Any future paid or affiliate relationship will be labeled beside the relevant link.
Enos Bradner was a Seattle outdoor columnist who tied flies the way he wrote columns -- with confidence, clarity, and an understanding that tradition is just innovation that survived. Brad's Brat is a product of the 1930s, an era when steelhead flies were tied with bucktail, tinsel, and the assumption that a good pattern should last a lifetime. Ninety years later, it still catches steelhead with embarrassing regularity, which either validates Bradner's design or proves that steelhead have not evolved since the Depression. Either way, the pattern endures, and so does the lesson: sometimes the old ways work because they always worked.
Quick Facts
Where to Fish It
North Umpqua River
OR · Freestone River
Skagit River
WA · Spey River
Loading map...
You Might Also Like
Wet FlyadvancedAqua Veil
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#2 - #6
Jerry French's steelhead spey fly. Long hackle fibers and a flowing profile designed for a slow, seductive swing.
Steelhead
Wet FlyintermediateGeneral Practitioner
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#2 - #8
Esmond Drury's classic British salmon fly adapted for Pacific steelhead. Orange hackle, golden pheasant tippet collar, prawn-like silhouette.
Steelhead · Chinook Salmon
Wet FlyintermediatePurple Peril
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#4 - #8
Ken McLeod's classic Northwest steelhead fly. Purple body, brown hackle, silver tinsel rib. A Washington State legend since the 1940s.
Steelhead
Wet FlyintermediateFreight Train
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#2 - #6
Randall Kaufmann's steelhead fly with layered hackle in purple, orange, and fluorescent green. Named for its unstoppable effectiveness.
Steelhead · Coho Salmon
Wet FlyintermediateBoss
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#2 - #8
Virgil Sullivan's steelhead and salmon pattern. Black chenille body, fluorescent orange tail, silver rib. An Oregon standard since the 1960s.
Steelhead · Chinook Salmon · Coho Salmon
Wet FlybeginnerSoft Hackle
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#10 - #18
Traditional wet fly with a partridge or hen hackle collar. Thread or floss body. Swung downstream, it imitates emerging insects across species.
Rainbow Trout · Sea-Run Cutthroat · Steelhead