If you are having difficulty finding fish when the tide is low, look for these areas, and when you find one, give it a careful going over. And don't be discouraged if there are no fish there. Find another depression and work it. These areas don't all hold fish, but when you find one that does, chances are there will be fish there again and again under similar conditions.

The majority of these depressions are on the Gulfside from the Lower Harbor Keys to the Marquesas Keys. There are a few places where permit like to feed in water so shallow that their fins poke out of the water. It's a wondrous sight to behold, but if you want to catch a permit on a fly, best you stick to the fish in a little deeper water. A permit in three feet is much easier to catch than one in a foot of water.

As good as the Gulfside flats are in the spring, don't overlook the oceanside flats. Any time you have big tides permit are going to be on these flats, especially those west of Key West. During times with small tides, when the fish don't get up on the flats, work the edges. The inside edge is usually better than the ocean edge, but not always. Oftentimes wind and water clarity dictate which edge to fish.

It seems that every month or two there's some hot new permit fly. Most of the Key West and Lower Keys guides pretty much stick with the Merkin pattern--it's a classic, and it works. They do, however, change the size and weight of the fly to fit the circumstances. Again, sink rate is important. Throw a crab out in shallow water and watch how quickly he swims to the bottom.

Many anglers make the mistake of thinking crab patterns are just for permit. Remember, many fish eat crabs. If you spot a bonefish or tarpon, give that fish a chance to eat your crab fly. If he's in a feeding mood, chances are good you'll get a hookup.

The choice of tackle is fairly standard, but subject to the angler's individual preference. Some go as light as an 8-weight rod, some as heavy as an 11-weight. Personally, I like an 8-weight for my smaller, lighter flies, and a 9-weight for the bigger, heavier flies. However, there are times, like on windy days, when a 10-weight is more practical. The presence or lack of wind is a dominant factor in fly fishing for permit, demanding flexibility in tackle.

A standard weight-forward floating line is used by most experienced Keys guides and anglers and most use a line one size larger than what the rod calls for. There are a couple new alternatives some have tried, with mixed results. One is the Scientific Anglers Mastery Stillwater slow-sinking clear fly line. Coat this line with line dressing, and it will float for you. There is also the Monic, a new clear, floating monofilament line now on the market. It's tough to keep up with the location of your fly with these lines, but I believe both have great potential for use on calm days, or when you're wade fishing. It helps to use a highly visible fly when you are using a hard-to-see fly line.

Under normal conditions, permit are not especially leader shy. A 16-pound-test leader will work fine. If you want to go lighter, wait until after you've landed your first fish. When it's breezy, an 8- to 9-foot leader is plenty long. Remember, you're going to lay the fly right on the fish, making long leaders unnecessary. When it's calm, or just a light breeze is blowing, go to a longer leader, like 10 feet, and a smaller fly, such as a Merkin tied on a No. 1 or No. 2 hook. Most of the calm days will be in the summer and early fall. Then you'll have the added advantage of seeing more bonefish than in the winter, and bonefish love small crab flies. Stay flexible with your flies, and after several rejections, start changing the size, weight or color.

Permit offer a major challenge to the saltwater fly fisherman. They are just plain tough to catch on a fly. Baseball and fishing great Ted Williams said many years ago that permit were not a flyrod fish. The improvements in technique and tackle in the past 10 years have changed that. Now, permit are the ultimate challenge to the saltwater fly fisherman. Multiple catches in a day is a reasonable goal for an accomplished fly fisherman.

Sometimes skill, tackle and techniques are secondary to plain old luck. I'll never forget the time I motored up on a flat to give it a try. Just as I cut the engine, a spooked permit darted away from the boat. My angler began to work his line out in preparation to cast. He dropped the fly in the water 40 feet from the boat and stripped another 10 feet from the reel. He then attempted to lift the fly line out of the water to work more line out. He tried to lift the rod and to his surprise, it wouldn't lift. He was even more surprised when the line began zinging off the reel. We couldn't imagine what had taken the fly, but guessed a cuda or shark. To our surprise we spotted a permit crossing a shallow white spot, trailing a fly line. Twenty minutes later we landed a beautiful 15-pound permit. I don't know if this was the same fish we had spooked. I do know the fish was hooked just seconds after I cut the engine.

I didn't tell my partner what Vic Dunaway had told me many years ago, but I sure did think about it. "I'd rather be lucky than good anytime" was Vic's sage observation. So, when you seek your permit on a fly, may luck be with you.