Go Overboard for Permit

Author Jody Moore shows two very good reasons for jumping ship to catch permit.

I am not a big fan of fishing waist deep in sharky waters. Nor do I relish negotiating a soft bottom where my foot disappears into the mud with each step. But like most possessed fishermen, I'm willing to make adjustments for certain species. For permit, I'll do just about anything.

And so it was that I slipped over the side of the boat on a “monstrous” flat within sight of the Key West skyline and began slogging my way toward a dozen sets of black dorsal and tail fins poking above the surface. In addition to those tantalizing permit, finning on top, we had also spotted numerous blacktip sharks cruising the flat, so I kept my eyes peeled, hoping not to spy any triangular fins in the area.

From the boat we had made several attempts at getting close enough for a cast, but each time the fish moved just out of casting range. When they finally sensed the boat, quit feeding and nervously swam away, fishing partner Tony Wells suggested I leave the safety of the skiff in exchange for a lower profile and silent approach.

My feet sank into the bottom and the water inched up past my belt, soaking the lower third of my shirt. Thankfully, the temperature of the water felt equal to that of my body.

I proved to be a less-than-graceful stalker of the flats as I trudged across the mucky bottom trying to maintain some quiet and my balance. The sucking mud holes I made with each step made me understand why herons and other wading birds have widely splayed toes. Somehow, I managed to squish into range to hook a fish.

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This wasn't the first time I'd thought about getting wet for permit. In recent years, anglers wading for permit in the Key West area have met with enviable results. This was perhaps best demonstrated at the Southernmost Light Tackle Anglers, or SLAM, Tournament in 1999: Of the five permit caught on fly, four were taken while wading.

There are many reasons for this record of success. For starters, wading is the quietest means of approaching shallow-water permit. On calm days, when permit are naturally more wary, the bow wake and slight noise of a boat slipping through the water can alert fish to your presence. Windy conditions can be just as bad if not worse, especially if your flats boat is prone to hull slap. This distressing noise is caused by wind chop lapping against the side of the boat. Permit don't grow old by ignoring these foreign sounds. Pushpoles scraping hard bottom, cooler lids slapping shut, tackle dropping on the deck—all this the wading angler leaves in his wake.

As for visuals, it's impossible to overstate the importance of maintaining a low profile when approaching permit or any other spooky flats species. Wading puts you down near water level, reducing your visibility and allowing you to get in closer for an accurate cast.

Wading also makes sense when the wind is blowing from behind you. It is hard to control a boat or even slow one down if a fish happens to be downwind of you. Here again it makes sense to stake the boat a safe distance from a feeding fish and wade the rest of the way.

Key West, in my opinion, offers the best terrain and fish populations for this strategy, but likely you'll be tempted to wade on other waters where permit are abundant. Biscayne Bay, for instance, has some wadeable flats that see permit from time to time, as do many of the accessible oceanside flats stretched along the length of the Florida Keys. And tropical travel destinations such as The Bahamas and Belize may also beckon you to go overboard for wary, wily permit, sometimes on flats generally thought to harbor only bonefish. In other words, it pays to know how to stalk and cast to these world-class gamefish.

For convenience sake, however, let's look at how wading can transform the usual approach to the Key West flats. The similar techniques and observations about fish behavior can of course be applied elsewhere.

The flats around Key West are conducive to wade fishing for permit mostly because of the spectacularly large population of permit in the area. There are lots of flats with hard bottom suited for wading, while others are just too soft. Most of the harder flats are found on the edges of flats that are subject to the forces of wind and wave. Softer bottom is typical of interior flats. A quick test of the bottom with your pushpole will tell you which ones are firm enough for wading.

Productive permit flats include the ones found north and northeast of Key West starting from Calda Bank and all along the string of Keys channels that face the Gulf up to Marvin Keys and beyond. Another hot area is a massive triangle that includes a place called The Lakes. This permit triangle roughly starts around Mule Key and runs north to Hemingway House Ruins and back south to Big Mullet Key. The flats between Woman Key and Boca Grande Key are good for wading, as are the string of flats that lie directly north of Boca Grande Key.

While there seems to be no way of predicting how many fish will be around from one day to the next or how well they eat in spite of their numbers, there are some basic rules you can follow in locating permit in Key West. If you are not familiar with the area, hire a guide. There is a vast amount of water to cover, plus navigation can be difficult, especially early and late in the day when the light is low. Landmarks are limited, flats irregularly shaped and channels sometimes poorly marked.

The best months are from early spring through late fall when the water is warmest. Temperatures above the mid 70s will start to see plenty of fish and certainly anything in the 80s and even into the low 90s is ideal. Start looking for fish along the edges of channels. Pole along that 1- to 3-foot sloping ledge where a flat drops off into deeper water; this is where you will spot most of your fish, though they can just as easily be on top of the flat or “floating” in the middle of the channel. On calm days the tails and fins of floaters (floaters are permit that are sitting stock-still in the water column) will stick up above the surface. A good way to approach floaters in the channel is to wade to the edge of the channel and cast a live crab or fly upcurrent and let it drift down to the fish.

Local knowledge is indispensable given the vastness of the area and the many variables of wind, tide and moon phase that come into play. Capt. Tom Rowland, renowned as a permit guide, imparts these clues to finding fish: “Primarily, water depth has to be over a foot and a half to hold fish. While some flats and spots are better on the incoming tide others will prove best on outgoing. All of which can be affected by the height and strength of the tide. Moo n phase dictates this, of course, so around a full moon when tides are strongest—1.5 or higher—flats that don't normally get much water will get feeding permit at the peak of the tide. Each day can be different with fish preferring shallow water one day and deeper the next.”

The most productive moon phase seems to be the midpoint between full and new moon. It is universally accepted among the better permit guides and experienced permit fishermen that permit don't eat well during a full moon.

The most surefire way to catch a permit is to cast a live crab on a spinning rod. A 7-foot rod designed to cast a 3⁄4-ounce lure with a reel that can hold around 150 yards of 12- or 16-pound test will do. A spinning rod should be strong enough to fight and hoist in a 30-pound permit and delicate enough to cast a dollar-size crab accurately. No need for a bite tippet given a permit's toothless gums, but two feet of double line created by a Bimini twist is suggested.

This sizable fish fell for a live crab, likely the single most effective permit bait.

A 2/0 hook is the right size for permit large and small. I like to use bronze hooks with standard-length shanks with an offset hook point for a better hookup. Adding a small splitshot just above the hook will assist you in getting more distance in your cast. Hook the crab through its carapace on either of its pointy ends with enough of the hook point exposed for an effective hookup.

Presenting a live crab with a spinning outfit requires some accurate aiming skills. Rowland explains, “Cast the crab close to the fish or purposely cast beyond the fish and reel the crab high in the water and then slowly into the permit's vision and let it drop. The crab should be a lively one. It should be moving around and kicking. The permit will find it on the bottom and blow it out or tail on it and suck it in. You will often know the fish has eaten when mud streams out of its gills.”

In the event that fish are closing fast, you must put the crab on the permit's nose. You will spook some fish this way, but many times a permit will strike instinctively. For floaters, it's best to cast beyond, then reel the crab into position. Once the permit has eaten, reel down on the fish until the line tightens and then strike with the rod. Keep the rodtip high throughout the fight. This will help keep the fish from chafing your line on the bottom or wrapping your line around a sea fan or some other bottom structure.

Fly fishermen use a similar strategy. Rowland suggests using Del Brown's Merkin Crab in brown-and-tan, all tan or all gray. He also suggests having a variety; heavy flies for deep water and lighter flies for shallow water. His experience with clear lines has been a great success. He likes to use leaders as long as 15 feet on calm days and will shorten them to 9 feet when stiff winds prevail.

Rowland shared his opinion on casting: “Permit are looking for food in a small area in front of them. A fly should land no more than three feet in front of them where they can see it. A fly should fall quickly to the bottom and rest there. A stripped fly doesn't look like a crab. You can twitch it just a bit or let it rest.

“When the fish tips up on the fly you may detect a tiny quiver in its tail that lets you know the fish ate the fly. Give the fly a long 3-foot strip and when you feel resistance strip-strike the fish.”

A simple stripping basket will prove its worth by keeping fly line from dragging behind you; otherwise, the friction between that line and the water will cut the potential distance of your cast.

Wading booties are always a good idea, though I usually go barefoot. Shorts or long pants that dry quickly will make things a little more comfortable when you get back to the boat. And of course a hat and polarized sunglasses are indispensable for sight-casting situations on the flats, whether afoot or afloat.

One word of warning: I've heard enough wading-for-permit-and-bonefish shark stories to tell you sharks are something to consider seriously. Though none of the storytellers I've heard from were ever bitten, they did have to push some aggressive sharks away with their rods and certainly felt compelled to quickly get back to the safety of their boat. There is one Key West captain I know who refuses to wade or allow his clients to do so. You can imagine the excitement and confusion a shark would experience with the cloudy water you've stirred up by your wading and the vibrations of a struggling fish that you are reeling in.

That day fishing with my friend Tony Wells, and on more than one occasion as I waded toward a tailing fish it seemed that the hunter became the hunted. The sudden eruption of water behind me and the tire-size swirls that marked the departure of a large underwater lifeform more than startled me. It scared me enough to question the wisdom of wading that deep and that late in the day. Though I never actually saw what created these big boils I certainly feared the worst.

Tony and I ended up catching four permit between us that afternoon. I hooked the first fish I waded to. Tony slipped over the side of the boat as soon as I was on and waded to another tailing fish and was hooked up just minutes after my fight started. We landed both fish within a minute of each other.

So the secret's out of the boat—now it's time for you to get out, too.

FS