Instagram story viewer> @strategicangler> Posts

Merv R

@strategicangler

4282

posts

16.8K

followers

542

following

Custom lure maker & gyotaku artist @strategicangler®️ OBX, NC
EST 2011
Production lineup: @smalllureco
(Designer/co owner)
👇dealer links & archives

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

The new 2024 Frantic180

My very first Strategic Angler branded lure that kickstarted this obsession. The Frantic series was (and continues to be) the hardest lure I’ve ever designed, created and imparted action to; its lineage includes models like the 2014 Mikros series and the 2020 Naia series. I started with a piece of balsa from my model plane building days and started whittling in a little manager’s office in the Apple store at the Pier in Atlantic City. That was in 2011.

The new 2024 Frantic 180 has been redesigned for a more aggressive action on the full rod sweep, a lazier zig zag with short rhythmic strokes and her best attribute, the dead drop. The new Frantic180 features a solid cast body with a UV additive, a hand formed tack welded doubled through wire, teardrop loops for better hook motion and a heavier body at 122-125g (4.5oz) in a shorter 180mm (7 inch) package.

More specifications and details will be on the website (yeh I do that too 😥) after I get back from the fishing shows at the end of March… please reach out to your local dealers for post show allocations. I only have two hands and there’s only 24 hours in a day. Thanks y’all for being a part of the StrategicAngler®️ family.

#strategicanglercustomlures #strategicangler #strategicanglerdesign #SACLfrantic #bornandraisedintheusa #whennothingbutthebestmatters #sexyandiknowit #stickbait #castinglure #biggamefishing #tuna by @strategicangler

184

11

2 years ago

“The biggest mistake that anglers make is they take the presentation away too fast. Slow it down”

Don’t overthink it, seriously it’s that easy…. and hold on.

Test tank video at the @goosehummockshops jig tank at the Rhode Island convention center March 10, 11 and 12. Thanks Jake for showing us how it’s done.

#SACLproteus #fishing #fishinglure #customlure #stickbait #strategicanglercustomlures #whennothingbutthebestmatters #bluefin #bluefintuna #capecod #capecodfishing #butterfisb #bunker by @strategicangler

497

12

3 years ago

The new 2020 Naia series being released (and shown here in their test tank) this weekend at the Boston Boatshow with @goosehummockshops. .
For the folks lucky enough to grab them yesterday in person please make sure you give the lure some time to “rest” after you cast it 🥰. This is what makes her seductively sexy in the water! .
PS- make sure your drag is set properly because things happen soon after 😉
.
#strategicanglercustomlures #whennothingbutthebestmatters #SACLnaia #herring . taken in Boston Convention & Exhibition Center by @strategicangler

583

29

6 years ago

Part of a set heading down under 😈

#strategicanglercustomlures #whennothingbutthebestmatters taken in Nags Head - Outer Banks (NC) by @strategicangler

51

2

11 hours ago

It could be Saturday, but it’s Monday!

#dropitlikeitshot #strategicanglercustomlures #whennothingbutthebestmatters #australia by @strategicangler

37

0

11 hours ago

Rain hasn’t stopped, outdoor markets cancelled, cranking out some pieces as much as I can.

Next up: Bunker/pogie on the smaller size clear cast Frantics at 6” and 5”

#thegrind #strategicanglercustomlures #whennothingbutthebestmatters #mintyfresh #bunker by @strategicangler

70

1

2 days ago

When they cancelled, weather bad, baaaad for outdoor markets, it is for making more preciousss we will. Next 5 days we will.

No vendor markets this week due to the weather gang- @dowdypark will be postponed to Monday the 27th as it will be raining tomorrow and that’s just no fun! In the meantime, I’ll be making more precioussssesss 😈

#strategicanglercustomlures #whennothingbutthebestmatters

Cruiser series, bunker
Espada series, chrome legacy color shift
Frantic180, bunker

Espada series, magic Mac and chrome legacy

Frantic180- bunker

Walker series, custom mullet

Frantic180, minty fresh Mack’s

Frantic180, 155, 130

Proteus130, bunker taken in Nags Head - Outer Banks (NC) by @strategicangler

142

9

3 days ago

Eating a 10 day old yellowtail and finding out that “yellowtail don’t eat poppers”

Why I felt comfortable eating a 10 day old fish:
-Bringing the fish in as fast as possible helps reduce lactic acid buildup from the fight.

-Dispatch the fish ethically using a brain spike (ikejime) or even better, shinkei-jime in which a wire is also run through the spinal cord to destroy the nerves to eliminate spasms.

-Sever the lower part of the gill and submerge the fish in a saltwater and ice slurry (for tuna, puncture the artery at the top of the pectoral fin as well)

-Once bled and cleaned up, place the whole fish (tuna will need to be cored) in the cooler or kill bag and try to keep it under 35° (or frozen for transport which is what we did)

We couldn’t have done all this without the help and expertise of @sportsmensseafood.sdca @sportsmens_seafood who froze all our fish whole and the @reliable_fishing_products kill bag we borrowed from @socaldeckboss helped keep our catch frozen during transport and until we got back to the Outer banks in North Carolina, which was also an almost two hour drive from our closest airport in Norfolk, VA

Special thanks to Capt Sam of Guardian charters @guardiancharters and @calibeverlyann who took @miss.indulgent @gunk_dogg @bighterlures and I to go scouting on one of the slowest days for the offshore fleet but somehow made it happen. (Ok, it was Cali who found the kelp bed after Sam was already headed the opposite direction 😂). Yellowtail took a prototype color @smalllureco Mikros-Pop130 on my coffee grinder Saragosa 5k matched to a THREE piece travel rod from @jiggingworld

You can find the SLC lineup in California at these two locations:
@fishing.evike in Alhambra
and @anglerschoicetackle in San Diego
…….

So do San Diego yellowtail eat poppers?
What did you think would happen? 😬

#strategicanglerdesign #smalllurecompany #SLCmikrosPop #sandiegofishing #yellowtail taken in San Diego, California by @strategicangler

176

7

4 days ago

Makaira nigricans’ vertical propulsion system and pelagic prey impaler has now been checked off my “would like to do this one day” list.

601 lb Blue Marlin by @playitbyearsportfishingteam caught at the @piratescovebillfishtournament Aug 14, 2025

This piece will reside at the shop, but I’ll definitely have some prints made in the future. Still a work in progress as I plan on adding color as well.

#gyotaku #strategicangler #whennothingbutthebestmatters #outerbanks #bluemarlin taken in Nags Head - Outer Banks (NC) by @strategicangler

2k

69

2 months ago

Acting like I own the place everywhere I go 😂

Be humble and be kind, stupid is what stupid does, life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get. 👊

☮️❤️😍 from me and my west coast Ohana
@gunk_dogg
@guardiancharters
@calibeverlyann
@thedelmarin @bighterlures

#strategicanglers #whennothingbutthebestmatters

Camera: @miss.indulgent taken in San Diego, California by @strategicangler

602

73

a month ago

A little sneak peek…. Stay tuned to see the rest of the video (I’m still editing it 😂)

@guardiancharters @gunk_dogg @thedelmarin @miss.indulgent @calibeverlyann

#strategicanglerdesign #smalllurecompany #SLCmikrosPop #whennothingbutthebestmatters #sandiegocalifornia
m1039p by @strategicangler

151

16

5 days ago

When you have a million things to do but your brain wants to wander off with the music, so you just do it anyway.

#strategicanglercustomlures #whennothingbutthebestmatters #outerbanks #obx by @strategicangler

136

7

5 days ago