Permit Fishing in South Florida is one of the most challenging species of fish to catch.  They are wonderers from the deep that enter the inshore flats to feed during certain stages of the tides.  They are very illusive and spooky when they prowel the flats, searching for crustaceans.  With their large eyes and powerful tail, they can be in casting range one second and will be gone in an instant if they spot you.  Catching a Permit requires intense patience, accurate casting, and teamwork from the guide and angler.  We prefer to target Permit while Hunting, Stalking, Sightfishing, or Poling the flats rather than catching them on the offshore wrecks.  The accomplishment of any angler of catching a Pemit while sightfishing on the flats is by far the most rewarding trophy any angler can hope to catch.

How we Target Permit

The Permit can be targeted by using a live shrimp or crab on 10-15 lb. light tackle spinning rod or with a 9 or 10 weight fly rod with various fly patterns.  Here in South Florida, the Permit can vary in size from 5 to nearly 50 Pounds and can be caught throughout the year.  However, in Biscayne Bay, the warmer months are always more productive because Permit love hot water.  In the Florida Keys and more specifically the Lower Keys, Permit fishing can be great all year long and even most of the winter.

Permit Conservation

The Permit is always considered a catch and release species here in South Florida.  We believe this fish is much too important as a gamefish rather than a meal.  In recent years, many anglers worldwide are understanding the importance of practicing Catch and Release with Permit.  This push has also been helped by a great organization called Project Permit which has teamed up with sunglass company Costa Del Mar and The Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.

From the Project Permit Site

In coordination with the BTT, Costa has dedicated fours years of funding to support a state-wide tagging program for permit. In 2010, Costa will make available 6,000 tags for the Permit Tagging Project. The Permit Tagging Project will be a statewide effort encouraging anglers and guides to tag permit. The catch and recapture data will finally inform permit movements in Florida waters, and provide managers with new data that might be applied to management zones. For example: are the Permit that spawn on artificial reefs off southwest Florida the same permit that inhabit the Florida Keys, or do they come from elsewhere; are the permit of Florida a single large population, or are permit populations regional?

Nice Permit in Biscayne Bay

with Rich Smith

Project Permit

Bonefish & Tarpon Trust