David Skok's Strong Arm Merkin

The Strong Arm Merkin has an interesting place in flats fishing history. David Skok designed it as a new take on the classic merkin crab pattern, giving it a distinctive “strong arm” claw that changes how it moves in the water. The claw helps it sink and keeps the hook point up, so it lands softly on the flats without snagging — a simple detail that makes a big difference when you’re fishing clear, shallow water. It didn’t take long for this fly to gain a following. Guides and tournament anglers in the Florida Keys started using it, and it quickly proved itself. Over the years, it has placed top in multiple permit tournaments, showing that it isn’t just a pretty fly — it works. Its success spread to the Caribbean, Belize, Mexico, and other tropical flats, where anglers found it was reliable even when fish were cautious. What makes the Strong Arm Merkin enduring is that it combines a simple, lifelike design with just enough motion to make crabs look real to predator fish. Stripped across shallow flats, paused on the bottom, or given a few little twitches, it consistently draws bites from permit, bonefish, and redfish. Today, it’s considered a staple in many flats boxes, not because of hype, but because it has proven itself over years of serious fishing.