Proper angling method and skill are required to even enter this ballpark and having the right guide with the right equipment and most importantly the right attitude may get you a try out. To step up to the plate, all these conditions need to be in your favor and there needs to be a good amount of chemistry between angler, guide and quarry. When all this comes together, catching permit on fly doesn’t seem so difficult.

At present, Del Brown’s merkin is the most effective fly. I use this fly in various colors, sizes and sink rates to match the conditions. Permit fly design is in its infancy, but this fly works better than anything available right now. The merkins greatest quality is that it seems to look a lot like an escaping blue crab when it is falling to the bottom. It looks fairly natural sitting still on the bottom but when it is being stripped, it no longer accurately depicts the permits prey. As anglers, the theory behind effective permit fishing is to attempt to get the fish to see the fly falling to the bottom.

In order to fool a permit, the fly needs to drop fairly rapidly and then sit on the bottom. Crabs use camouflage to protect themselves from predation and will often sit motionless to avoid being eaten. If the permit angler can get the fish to see the fly fall the chance of catching the fish is improved dramatically. To properly do this, the fly needs to be cast extremely close to the eyes of the fish. A grazing permit is focusing exclusively on a small radius in front of him which gives the fly angler a very small target. What makes permit fishing so difficult is that an aggressive cast will sometimes spook them because the permit is extremely sensitive and wary. If the cast is made too far away, a slight twitch may be necessary to get the permit to see the fly.

Describing a classic permit fishing situation with one of my favorite anglers, the artist Peter Corbin, may illustrate why anglers decide to pursue this wily quarry.

Poling down the flat, I spot a permit at 1:00 and 250 feet. I call out the directions and get Peter to see the fish. He tells me he has located it and continues to point his rod at the fish to insure that we are looking at the same fish. I begin to work the boat quietly into position while pushing as fast as this situation will allow. It is blowing 20 mph and totally sunny. The waves camouflage us and make the approach totally silent. Our permit is feeding to the left. The fish tails, blows a little mud and then changes direction and goes to the right. I have him positioned at 12:00 to the bow, 150 feet while slowly heading our way. My first instinct is to try to set up so the fish will keep coming to us. The fish begins to move to the left again and I have to pole hard to get in front.

The shot is coming up soon and I keep telling Peter to watch the fish and WAIT! Peter is capable of an accurate 80-foot cast but I want the fish closer. The cast has to be pinpoint accurate and I feel his best distance under these conditions is 50-60 feet. My decision to wait until the fish comes closer is also based upon my forecasting where the second, third and fourth shots may present themselves. Moving the boat slightly ahead puts the permit at 10:30 and 80 feet. I straighten the bow so we are not too committed in either direction if the fish changes direction. The permit tails and muds again and I instruct Peter to begin his cast. Concentrating on stopping the boats forward progress, I try to anticipate the attitude and future direction of the fish. Our quarry slowly turns right and looks up about the time the fly lands 8 feet to the right. The permit has heard the fly hit but is not alarmed. He goes over to investigate but cannot find the fly.

 "Wait, wait, wait" I say.

 The fly is too close to the fish to pick it up right now.

 "Don't move," I whisper.

 It is unbelievably quiet. The fish slowly meanders right 20 feet.
"Pick up and recast. Right on his head", I say.

Peter picks the line up and with no false cast, drops the fly 3 feet in front of the permit. He sees the Merkin drop and slowly cruises towards it.

“Strip once; half an inch”  I instruct.

The fish locates the fly, does a headstand on it and sits motionless, studying the fly.
"Don't do anything, wait, wait."

Almost imperceptibly, the permit's tail quivers and the tiny puff of mud tells me that he has eaten the fly.

“Long, slow strip” I tell Peter, so that we can test to see if the fish is there.  If he feels weight, Peter will strip strike being careful to allow the fish to take off.

I watch as Peter begins a three-foot slow strip only to come tight to the fish after twelve inches.
“Let him take off!”

…and he does. Peter clears the line to the reel and another permit is hooked. Thirty-five minutes later I net the fish, quickly weigh the net and fish, subtract the net and give the weight. I ease the net back in the water as the cameras are readied. I gently remove the twenty-seven and a half pound permit from the net, give it to Peter and stand behind him for a photo. We gently revive the fish and release it.

So this is what it feels like to be on top of the world. I felt about the same at the birth of both of my two sons and my daughter.

“They ought to bottle this”, I think to myself.

The obligatory handshake is next but we both know it is mere formality. The act is not capable of representing the occurrence. A thank you on either side is also formality. We know. We both know.
I put the net back and get back on the pole. I push the boat with renewed enthusiasm as Peter sharpens his merkin and checks his leader. This is a good day.

How can anglers prepare themselves for the best permit fishing possible? First and foremost would be getting the right guide. Finding a guide who wants to catch a permit at least as badly as you do is critical. He has to have an all or nothing attitude and be willing to put enough research in to know where permit can be found in flyfishing opportunities all day long. Guides like this can be extremely hard to book as their current anglers realize what they have and covet the time spent on their bow.

Once the guide relationship is forged, simply putting in the time is required. A permit can be caught on fly any day of the year under any weather condition but it is incredibly obvious to me that there are the right days and the other days. The recipe calls for good visibility all day, enough wind to camouflage the boat and a large number of permit using the flats as a feeding area. Time commitments alone can't put a permit in the boat. The angler has to have basic skills that seem somewhat advanced to the average fly fisherman. Successful permit fly anglers have to be able to easily see and track a fish on the flat after it has been pointed out to them. Anglers need to have mastered basic saltwater fishing skills such as handling high wind conditions (15-25 knots) while still maintaining accuracy and a minimum fifty-foot cast. Obviously, the further and more accurately you can cast, the more situations you can attempt. Anglers desperately need to be able to comfortably deliver a back cast presentation at least as far and accurately as their forward cast. Most importantly, anglers have to be able to cast with enough control on either their forward or back cast that they can make the fly hit the water with no slack in their leader or fly line. Fly fishing for permit requires that anglers make minute twitches to the fly to just animate it enough to allow the permit to locate it. In so many occasions, a two- foot long strip is made when a two-inch strip was needed. The result is a horribly spooked fish, which could possibly have been a hooked fish. To practice this, anglers have to develop complete control with their left hand (assuming the reader is right handed). As the angler shoots the line to the target, friction is applied with the left hand to remove the slack in the line. Just before the fly hits the water, take a five foot strip to remove any accumulated slack. The goal is to be able to move the fly with a twitch and always be completely connected to the fly. This skill is easily learned but the next skill is very advanced. To remain connected despite the boat movement, wind or current, anglers have to take up accumulated slack or even give line without moving the fly. This is truly advanced and is the skill that separates a good angler from a truly great one.

Another very important skill is the ability to listen and act quickly. A good guide has some altitude and can see what is going on better than the angler. Listen to your guide and do what he says. He is able to sense the fish's attitude and knows whether to wait for the best shot or take what is there right now.

The Guides Perspective: How to find them
Guiding in the Lower Florida Keys is paradise for the permit aficionado. Permit can be found anywhere the water is deep enough for them to swim and feed. To find permit on cue requires long hours of research combined with chart study. I look for areas adjacent to deep water where there is a defined edge. The edge can be drastic or gentle, but a well-defined edge helps to congregate the permit making them easier to find. Regardless of the height of the tide, I always search for a defined edge on the flat. Flats that always have a good current flow are ideal. Some flats are only productive on the in-coming or outgoing tides but most flats in the Lower Keys will have permit on them when the water level is comfortable for the fish. I feel as though water level and current speed are more important than whether the tide is coming in or going out.

When searching a flat, I search from approximately eight o’clock to four o’clock (Based upon the clock system flats guides use, the bow is always 12 o’clock and 9 and 3 are at a right angle on the left and right respectively) and at distances of thirty, fifty, seventy, one hundred, one hundred fifty and two hundred feet depending on the visibility. Keeping my eyes moving helps to discover any movement or fish shapes. Sometimes they stand out dramatically, other times permit blend and move very slowly. I will scan away and then back to the spot to see if it has moved. Occasionally, I have to pole right up to something to prove to myself it is not a permit.

A permit has ink black dorsal, tail, and any pectoral fins as well as a black eye ball. Most times when I first see a fish I only see a couple of black parts and rarely the whole fish. Once my eye is on the permit, the shape seems to materialize. I look intensely for a heavily forked tail that is ink black. Barracuda have a squared tail and bonefish have a colorless forked tail. Sharks are often mistaken for permit. They can be distinguished by the swagger in their swim pattern and the lack of black color.
When I call a fish out to my anglers, I ask them to point the rod where they are looking. From there, I can direct them left or right and give them a distance. A common mistake anglers make is to look right down the rod like sighting a riffle. Your guide’s instructions may be precise but probably not to that extent. Point in the direction he is guiding you and then scan an area around that, start close then move your eyes out. Look left and right. When guides and anglers develop chemistry, a mere "look left and long" will probably do the trick.

Once a fish is sighted, I pursue it as quickly as the situation allows or demands. I will try to keep the fish at twelve o’clock as much as possible and at the last minute kick the stern around slightly to allow a shot and remain noncommited in either direction. I try to think ahead about what the fish may do and be ready to pursue. Stopping the motion of the boat is absolutely critical to convert the shot to a hook up. Boats that continue drifting towards the permit allow slack to accumulate in the line and also risk spooking the fish.

In forecasting a week of fishing for my customers, I look to the tides and current charts most. I feel as though seasons are more critical than just having the optimum tides, however I like to have a 1.5 high tide or higher in mid morning to start the week. In the Florida Keys, we experience from two to six hours tidal difference from ocean tides to backcountry tides. This difference allows me to fish virtually any water level I want.

Fly selection is a function of the weather. If it is really blowing I like a large fly with heavy eyes. As the wind conditions diminish, I go with progressively lighter and smaller flies.
To the angler, the greatest thing one can do is catch a flats permit on fly. As discussed, this accomplishment requires many factors to coalesce. To a guide, guiding an angler to a permit on fly is at least as much of an accomplishment. Lots of guides do it occasionally, but a select few can have success consistently.

Guiding for permit is extremely physically demanding. I pole more and harder for permit than any other fish. Other success depends on a twenty-five mile per hour wind which is real tough to pole into and also difficult to pole with. The boat must be in total control at all times and quiet.