Del Brown's Merkin Crustacean Saltwater Hook : Heavy gauge - Tiemco 800s, Mustad 34007 or 7766. Thread : 3/0 monocord. Tail : Four or six hackle points & a few strands of Krystalflash. Body : Stiff acrylic rug yarn. Legs : Rubber leg material. Eyes : Dumbbell eyes.
Tying Instructions 1. Place the hook in the vise then attach dumbbell eyes to the top of the hook shank. The weight will cause the hook point to ride up. 2. Attach a tail of four to six hackle points at hook bend, with two or three hackles pointing out on each side. Add a few strands of Krystalflash to make the fly more attractive. Apply super glue or head cement to eyes. 3. Turn the hook over in your vise so that its point is up. Attach a short piece of acrylic rug yarn so that it is horizontal to the hook. Secure the yarn with several thread figure eight wraps. 4. Tie on a short piece of rubber-leg material. 5. Build the body by adding more yarn and rubber-leg material, making sure you pack the materials as close as possible to the previous materials. You should end up with six or eight legs. 6. Complete the body with yarn and secure the thread in front of the dumbbell eyes. Apply head cement to the head and the shank where the thread was used to attach the yarn and legs. 7. Tease out rug yarn a little and trim the yarn body to the desired shape. Becare of rubber legs when trimming rug yarn. 8. Trim the legs to the desired length. Use a permanent marker to colour the tips of the legs.
Fly Notes The Merkin was originally designed for Permit. It can be tied in many colour combinations. The colour of the hackles used depends on the version you want to tie. Brown & Grizzly are common choices. The yarn can be almost any colour. Also experiment with different colours of rubber legs.
Fishing Notes Any species that feeds on crab, Trevally, Bream, Snapper or Mulloway.
Location Notes Shallow weed patches. Designed for bottom of water column work.
Prey Notes Crab presentation.
Tier Peter Benardo

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