Tidal flats in the Big Pine Key area--particularly those bordering the Gulf of Mexico--tend to be the hard,"crunch" type bottom that permit prefer.

It is a dream of mine to take a weekend-to-weekend, nine-day trip from one end of the Florida Keys to another, targeting permit exclusively. I would begin on the flats of Biscayne Bay, nearly in the shadow of downtown Miami. The second leg would be in the Lower Keys, and the adventure would end in the Mecca of all permit fishing, Key West.

I’ve fished all three areas, but never in one shot. In my opinion, these waters represent the world’s top spots for flats permit in terms of big-fish availability and overall accessibility. For the average boat-owning flats angler, it would be a surprisingly affordable and exceptionally rewarding trip. The hardest part, for me anyway, would be scraping time away from family and career considerations.

The hottest months for this week-long safari would have to be May, June, July, August, September and even October. Permit don’t mind the heat. In fact, they seem to thrive on it. These months also promise mild winds, which permit seem to prefer for getting up on the flats.

I would also select a week with late-morning incoming tides where the high tide will be particularly high. Permit aren’t bonefish and need a fair amount of water to accommodate them on the flats. Use your Florida Sportsman Fishing Planner or other source to target the time of the tide and tides that are 1.8 feet or more in height.

A high tide is also good for permit as it offers stable water temperature. On a flat that cooks in the sun during an extreme low tide, for example, incoming water will be considerably hotter than the surrounding depths. The fish might be reluctant to explore the flat. This issue can be compounded if the incoming water is slow moving and doesn’t flood past two feet in depth. Midday extreme lows on hot sunny days, coupled with a weak incoming tide, mean you aren’t going to see much in the way of permit. This is especially true with the massive flats surrounding Key West and the bayside waters of the Lower Keys.

Having said that, permit do like warm water. Ideal temperature is somewhere north of 80, but below 90.

I would look forward to every late afternoon with great anticipation and fish the flats till sunset, which I feel is one of the best times for tailing permit. Permit seem to love tailing in oil-slick water, and they’re really prone to do this during the last hours of the day. As a bonus, late in the day, you’ll often have the flats to yourself.

The author, holds a good fish, favors hot summer days for sight-casting.

I would pray for cookie-cutter days, too, with no dramatic changes in weather from day to day. Major changes in wind direction and velocity tend to drive permit off the flats. Wind in the 5- to 10-knot range puffing gently out of the southeast and then laying down in the afternoon is perfect for permit.

High-in-the-sky sun for clear visibility is a critical factor, too, especially on days with midday high tide. Unless fish are pushing noticeable head wakes or tailing, cloud cover crimps your ability to see them.

Each of the three stopping-off points I mentioned offer something a little different. Biscayne Bay, for instance, has two distinct and widely separated areas to fish. Easternmost oceanside flats from about Soldier Key south to Sands Key range from lush, dark seagrass to colorful sea fan gardens, to sandy, light-colored grassflats. The western and southern quarters, with small bays and bights, would seem at first glance not to be prime permit habitat. The bottom is dark grass, fringed by mangroves, and the water is slow-moving. But the permit are there; good numbers of big fish, too.

Another difference in the Bay as opposed to the Keys is you won’t often see tailing permit here. Sure, you’ll see fish tip a tail up occasionally, or find some laid-up fish finned out on the surface on calm days. It’s just that you’ll see more cruising flats edges, well below the surface, when the sun is high enough to spot them. Head-waking fish are common enough on calm days in the lower interior part of the Bay, so you can fish these fish fairly successfully during low-light conditions.

The Lower Keys and the waters west of Key West offer more tailing action. Here you’ll witness some memorable scenes, such as permit standing on their nose and falling over backwards in an attempt to eat something off the bottom—presumably a crab. Or, permit tailing behind a mudding stingray or better yet, multiple permit tailing in loosely packed schools working slowly and methodically across a flat.