The pattern notebook · streamer
Merkin Crab
How do you tie a Merkin Crab?
Merkin Crab is a streamer fly pattern for saltwater. Find its 7 materials and 36 tying steps below.
- Difficulty
- 3 of 5
- Target species
- saltwater
- Pattern designer
- McFly Angler
Added to catalog · Updated
At the vise
Materials
- Hook: Gamakatsu SS15 in size 2
- Thread: Danville's 210 flat waxed in tan
- Claws: Brown hackle cape
- Feelers: Barred rubber legs in brown
- Body: Congo Hair in caddis tan and medium brown
- Weight: Dumbbell eyes 5.0mm
- Resin: Solarez Bone Dry
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Tying instructions
Secure the hook in the vise.
Start the thread a ways back of the hook eye.
Pull out two brown hackle feathers.
Align the tips of the hackle.
Measure the hackle to about the length of the hook.
Strip off the fibers to about that measurement.
Tie in the hackle on the side of the hook, ensuring the bend of the hackle is bending outwards.
Make a few wraps to hold it in place, then snip off the waste.
Pull the hackle down and out to flare it.
Clean up the waste section with a few wraps.
Grab two more feathers and align the tips again.
Measure those feathers to the length of the previous and pull off the fibers again.
Tie the feathers in on the other side of the hook shank, angling outwards as well.
Adjust the feathers so they are angled the same way on both sides.
Take three to four barred rubber legs and tie them in on top of the hook shank.
Trim off the waste and clean up the section with thread wraps.
Turn the vise towards you.
Take one of the clipped congo hair chunks and put it behind the thread.
Pull it up over the hook bend holding it in place.
Make a wrap with your thread over the fiber to create an X wrap on top of it.
Adjust the fiber so is right in the center and push backwards towards the bend of the hook.
Tug tightly on your thread to lock it in place, then pull the fibers rearward and out of the way.
Make two tight wraps in front of the fiber, and then one loose one, making that wrap up the hook shank just a little bit.
Repeat this step with alternating colors of fiber until you have reached just about two hook eye lengths from the end.
Turn your vise back to the sideways position again.
Add 5.0mm dumbbell eyes.
Stroke all the fibers rearward and tie in your dumbbell on top of the hook shank with some X wraps.
Then under wraps to keep it in place.
Whip finish your fly.
Add UV curing resin to the dumbbell eyes and whip finish.
Cure with UV light.
Trim the fly and make it look more like a crab.
Rest the bottom part of your scissors on the dumbbell eye, then cut outward at an angle towards the back of the fly.
Try to make the same cut on the other side as evenly as you possibly can.
Make an angle cut inward on both sides.
Round out your cuts so they are not so sharp edged.