Merkin (Permit Crab) By Captain Thomas Rowland Thanks to Umpqua Feather Merchants, for photo use permission.
Materials
Hook: Gamakatsu wide gap in Sizes 1-2/0,
Mustad 34007 or 7766.Thread: Flat waxed nylon, chartreuse,
yellow or blue.Tail: Wide, webby hackles of
tarpon quality. I try to match the tail to the body of the fly using
brown/grizzly, olive/grizzly, tan, cree, or gray hackles. I place a
small bunch of marabou between the feathers and incorporate a
very small amount of flash to match the feathers.Body: Rug yarn. Some tyers use
“sparkle yarn” but I prefer to use the smaller diameter yarn
very similar to carpet yarn. Color: Tan, brown, olive, gray.
I have also been experimenting with other synthetic materials
such as Sea Fibers, Widows Web, and Body Dub in the same colors.Legs: The original fly calls
for white rubber legs with red tips. With the advent of so
many leg choices, the tyer can be creative. I incorporate
Zebra Legs and Sili-Legs in various colors to my Merkins
as well as the original white rubber legs.Eyes: I weight the flies
to the situations that I plan to fish. Most of my flies have
the 3/16-inch eyes on them. I tie some with the 7/32-inch
and 5/32- inch. I prefer chromed eyes without eyes painted
on them, but will use black or natural lead eyes.Weed Guard:
Optional, I use 20 pound Mason Hard Monofilament.
"The most interesting aspect of the Merkin
is that it is truly a fly that changed salt water fly fishing.
Before Del Brown created the Merkin and began to regularly
catch some of his 370 plus permit on a fly, anglers and guides
would just take passing shots at the wary fish. Capt. Nat
Ragland created a fly called the Puff, which was responsible
for a few fish, but not until Brown’s creation did permit
fishing take off. Del Brown, guided by Steve Huff, proved
beyond a shadow of a doubt that permit fishing is not only
effective, but also a worthy way to spend the day. The two
routinely caught permit, set world records, with days where
they caught numerous permit. At the time, their records were
staggering since the number of anglers who had caught even
one permit on a fly was amazing low.
Pioneering flies and techniques for permit, the pair created quite a stir
in the Florida Keys and elsewhere. We can all thank Del Brown
for the sport we now know as permit fishing with a fly." ~ TR
Tying Steps:
- Start by
running your thread from the eye to the tie-in-point and
completely cover the hook shank.
Originally published c. 2003 on Fly Anglers Online by Captain Thomas Rowland.