Post by Charlie Dickson on Oct 12, 2007 9:08:21 GMT -5
I finally decided to do something for the salt. And why not start with one of the best crab imitations of all time. This fly was originally developed by the late Del Brown of Watsonville, California and changed fly fishing for permit like no one could imagine. Brown landed over 500 permit on this fly and many consider this achievement one of the greatest in angling history. It works good for other saltwater fish as well. I my self have used it for stripers on the north shore of Massachusetts.
And the best thing about this fly? The name of course. Del Brown named it after a 17th century pubic wig. When prostitutes caught diseases and got infested with vermin back then the local authorities would shave them, thus marking them as a place you don’t want to go! So to fool the hapless consumer the prostitutes would wear the pubic wig called the “merkin”. I’m thinking that Dell Brown must have been a funny guy!
Hook: Standard salt water hook in size 2-2/0
Thread: Tan, chartreuse, yellow or blue.
Tail: Wide, webby neck hackles and a very small amount of pearl flash.
Body: Rug yarn or sparkle yarn but in a color to match the natural.
Legs: White rubber legs with red tips.
Eyes: Lead dumbbell eyes.
Keep in mind that there are many other color variations for this fly. The one I show is one of the more popular variations but I have also seen them in cream, olive, gray and reddish brown.
Chuck up a hook in the vise and start the thread on it.
Tie in a small amount of flash off the back of the hook
At the back of the hook build up a small lump of thread. This lump of thread will help to splay out the hackle tip “claws” when you tie them in
Select two webby hackle tips with a large amount of curve in them. Strip the hackle barbs off of the hackle stem leaving about a hooks length at the tip. Then flatten the stems with a pair of flat blade tweezers or pliers so they don’t roll over when they are tied in.
Tie them in on either side of the hook so they flair out to the sides as shown
Tie in some lead dumbbell eyes at the front of the hook
Wind the thread to the back of the hook
Tie in a section of yarn on top of the hook the same way you tied in the lead eyes.
Tie in another section of yarn the same way and repeat the process until you reach the front of the hook.
Now trim the yarn with a sharp pair of scissors to an oval shape
Tie in three rubber legs using an overhand knot as shown.
Trim the rubber legs and use a permanent red marker to color the tips red.
The finished fly.
And the best thing about this fly? The name of course. Del Brown named it after a 17th century pubic wig. When prostitutes caught diseases and got infested with vermin back then the local authorities would shave them, thus marking them as a place you don’t want to go! So to fool the hapless consumer the prostitutes would wear the pubic wig called the “merkin”. I’m thinking that Dell Brown must have been a funny guy!
Hook: Standard salt water hook in size 2-2/0
Thread: Tan, chartreuse, yellow or blue.
Tail: Wide, webby neck hackles and a very small amount of pearl flash.
Body: Rug yarn or sparkle yarn but in a color to match the natural.
Legs: White rubber legs with red tips.
Eyes: Lead dumbbell eyes.
Keep in mind that there are many other color variations for this fly. The one I show is one of the more popular variations but I have also seen them in cream, olive, gray and reddish brown.
Chuck up a hook in the vise and start the thread on it.
Tie in a small amount of flash off the back of the hook
At the back of the hook build up a small lump of thread. This lump of thread will help to splay out the hackle tip “claws” when you tie them in
Select two webby hackle tips with a large amount of curve in them. Strip the hackle barbs off of the hackle stem leaving about a hooks length at the tip. Then flatten the stems with a pair of flat blade tweezers or pliers so they don’t roll over when they are tied in.
Tie them in on either side of the hook so they flair out to the sides as shown
Tie in some lead dumbbell eyes at the front of the hook
Wind the thread to the back of the hook
Tie in a section of yarn on top of the hook the same way you tied in the lead eyes.
Tie in another section of yarn the same way and repeat the process until you reach the front of the hook.
Now trim the yarn with a sharp pair of scissors to an oval shape
Tie in three rubber legs using an overhand knot as shown.
Trim the rubber legs and use a permanent red marker to color the tips red.
The finished fly.