There is a reason that each gamefish is respected. Trout are respected for the places they are found and for their good looks. Golden dorado and other exotic species like peacock bass are respected for their predatory nature and the violent strikes. And permit are respected because they are a smart and worthy adversary, with a reputation of being perhaps the most difficult fish to catch on the fly. No one catches a permit by accident, and unlike many fish, you can’t pay a premium to catch one either. Even on the best permit waters, the fishing is hard and will show you how good you are as well as where you need to improve.
Like most anglers, my first taste of flats fishing was bonefish. That first trip was fun and exposed me to the appeal of flats fishing generally. But it was fairly easy, and I wanted to raise the stakes with a more challenging fish. After returning home from that first trip, I started doing some research on permit and found Belize was one of the best places an angler could go to chase the fish, as well as one of the most diverse flats fisheries in the world with tarpon and bones around in numbers. Shortly after researching Belize, I booked my first trip to for April of the following year excited to take a shot at a fish I had heard so much about.
Fast-forwarding to the first trip to Belize, the fishing was as good as a you could ask for, with my buddy and I getting 15-20 shots each a day at permit, many of those shots being schools of fish. And we did well, landing 9 permit that week. After that experience, I thought these fish aren’t that tough and that it was an overhyped thing in terms of difficulty.
Little did I know that was the truest case of beginner’s luck I will likely ever experience in fly-fishing. The next two years, I fished 20 days down there only to land 2 fish, with a combination of conditions and fish that just wouldn’t eat contributing to the reduction in numbers. This balancing act that brought me back to earth was frustrating, but also caused me to become more intrigued with the fish as I realized that first trip was just great fishing, not an overhyped fish that isn’t as difficult as advertised.
Over the next 4 years and up to the present, I have experimented a lot with flies and approaches with these fish and learned a lot. More than anything, I am now sure that this is a fish that you will fail on far more than you succeed in terms of converting on shots. But like any fish, there are things you can learn and improve on to help to increase your chances at catching them.
YOUR PRE CAST ROUTINE AND SET UP MUST BE SMOOTH
One of the biggest challenges when permit fishing is the fact that you have 5-10 seconds to put the fly on the fish on most occasions. From a routine standpoint, most people pull out their entire fly line on the deck and when a fish is spotted they go and cast. In my experience, the likelihood of a line knot, or something going wrong with this system is high and leads to problems when shooting the line/delivering the fly. Instead, I like to have 50 or so feet out and cast 30 or so feet lazily to the side of the boat as we pole around looking for fish. I do this to keep a good amount of line already out of the rod, while also staying in rhythm and knowing my distance. When a fish is spotted, I have just enough line out that I can pick it up off the water and go into a back cast with the rod loaded and only need 1-2 false casts before putting a cast on the fish. If a fish is spotted that requires more than 50 feet of line, the fish is unlikely to be spooked and you have time to pull the additional line off the reel.
Another thing worth mentioning is it is important to narrow down where you are most likely to see a permit on a given flat. Some flats are juicy all around and its hard to rule out portions of the flat that aren’t going to hold fish. However, most flats have an area where you are most likely to see a fish ( the drop off point of the flat, etc.) . Be aware of the fact that if a fish is called out it is likely to be in that area so you aren’t looking around everywhere frantically to see the fish the guide has called out. This reduces the time it takes to see the fish along with the hectic confusion that comes with trying to see a fish your guide already sees, and gives you more time to dial in the cast and put it on the money.
SPOOK THEM OR HOOK THEM
Through my initial flats experience of fishing for bonefish, I first felt it was best to lead a permit by give or take 6 feet. I now know that is not the best approach. These fish are constantly pivoting, turning, and/or digging when on the flats which requires you to drop a dime 1-2 feet in front of them. If you spook them, fine that is part of the game. But it is not a high percentage fish to begin with, so if you spook 8-10 but you hook 2 you’re doing exceptionally well. Don’t doubt putting the fly on the fish is the right move after several similar casts have spooked the fish. Everyone fails on these fish most of the time. You need to make sure the fish sees the fly, and eventually one will eat it rather than swim away. And the worst thing that can happen when given an opportunity at a permit is never showing the fish the fly.
FLY CHOICE: NOT SO IMPORTANT AND STICK TO PROVEN PATTERNS
At some point after my initial beginner’s luck wore off and I had some struggles, I tried to address this issue through finding the “perfect fly”. I wasted several trips throwing niche creative “accurate” patterns of every crab and shrimp you could imagine, many of them being experimental “match the hatch” type patterns only to find the fish didn’t care. And most times they didn’t care because they never noticed these smaller imitations, or on other occasions weren’t into these so called accurate patterns that looked great to me as the fisherman.
After a few trips of trying everything, and on one day in particular that I had made some good casts but got no reaction from the fish, my guide said the fish aren’t seeing your fly (a small precise crab pattern) in anger. Seeing his frustration and in trusting his experience, I went back to some relatively larger main stay patterns that day. After doing so, I spooked several fish in a row, but then landed 2 nice permit on that same day that took my fly with conviction. That day was a turning point for me in my pursuit for permit, and in the next 4 years I never experimented much with fly choice again. After giving up on the magic fly approach and in sticking to the established main staples, I came to realize that the key is making sure the fish see the fly, and presenting it properly just like any fish. The fish aren’t hard because of their “selectivity”, they are hard because they are spooky and the presentation needs to be perfect (directly in front of them). In terms of fly selection, the merkin crab, EP crab, bauer/camo crab, and a few other established favorites are tried and true. I do change up patterns in terms of sink rate for flats that are particularly deep or shallow, but now fish the same 4-6 patterns all the time. There is no reason to add another variable to the equation with an experimental fly when the fish are already hard enough. Stick to what has been proven to work.
WHEN POSSIBLE GET OUT AND WADE
Wading a flat is not only undeniably soothing and enjoyable but also the best way to convert on these fish. While the boat gives you the best vantage point for spotting the fish, once you see them, especially if they are tailing and moving slow, it is best to get out of the boat. The reasons for doing so are (1) you can get closer which increases the chances of making an accurate cast (2) casting from a lower vantage point allows you to make several casts at the fish before they notice you or become spooked (3) you can adjust your position to make the proper presentation and cast to the fish rather than hope your guide has time to adjust the boat in time to present the fly correctly to the fish. Not to mention, there is no greater feeling than landing a permit waste deep in the ocean. You’re in it.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
While putting a cast on a fish with the fly a fish can see sounds simple, somehow it isn’t when fishing to permit. I’ve taken many fishing partners with me on my trips to Belize and always say that every angler fishes at 50% of their potential when casting to a permit. The fish in and of itself has a reputation of being difficult, which causes you to get in your own head and negatively impacts your casting. Beyond that, there are casts that are “good” but not perfect, and you need to be perfect with these fish. These nuances that make the fish frustrating are the same nuances that make the fish great. It’s a true test. Wind. Moving target. Smart fish. Hard to spot. And if you want a true test of how good of an angler you are, I recommend you try this fish. They’ll answer the question for you.
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