Or is it just fewer opportunities....
Newbie flats fishing question. I've only managed to get to the tropics twice now and gone after permit a total of three mornings or about 12 hours. After they stopped showing themselves in the expected areas, we started targeting bonefish, tarpon, and snook....with the occasional barracuda thrown in ( that was very similar to tiger/muskie fishing).
My observation is that hooking into a permit seems a large matter of luck. Full disclosure, I have not had the pleasure of personally hooking into one yet, but got plenty of refusals.
So.....our group of four guys caught four permit. When my main fishing buddy and I were together, we had the bad luck of only coming across three very fast cruising permit in a stiff right to left breeze and never really had a chance...over two mornings. We had great luck for bonefish on the flats and had a blast, but really never had a chance at permit the two days we fished together targeting them.
The morning I was with one of my other buddies ( who truthfully has a very limited casting ability), we had the epic of all opportunities. Three tailing schools of permit all within 600 yards of each other on a flat sea with zero wind. After my buddy tried a couple times, but couldn't cast far enough, the guide had me try. I was able to get several follows and the guides changed flies after every refusal, even to the point of finally changing to a lighter leader. I had been on the deck for about 45 mins...so the schools weren't going anywhere, so I gave the deck to my buddy. After a short casting lesson, the guide carefully moved around the school and snuck up on them. We got right on top of them. My buddy cast, probably too far out in front, but luckily the school was moving that way. The guide actually poled the boat toward the school. The guide had him keep his line in the water, the school got closer, he had my buddy start to strip....and fish on! It took 30 mins for him to land the fish....25lbs is what the guide estimated. By now the schools had disappeared but we were all happy. I asked the guide if I could have done anything differently, and he said I should have cast with the lighter leader (my buddy had used my rod), and that probably all the previous refusals had finally gotten us to the correct combination of leader and fly choice. I felt a lot better...that's just permit fishing. We unfortunately didn't see another permit all day.
Meanwhile, my main buddy and fishing buddy #4 ran into a similar number of schooling permit elsewhere the same morning. Buddy #4 was on a mission to get a permit, so he sort of had the deck for about an hour and a half casting at these schooling permit. He finally got one, but same circumstances, slow moving schools of about twenty tailing fish, not scattering with a bad cast. No permit for the rest of the day.
As it turns out, when my buddy and I were NOT seeing any fish, my other two fishing companions had the great luck to run into tailing permit again. They each caught one....again. But only if they were in a tailing school.
I've heard of several other guys, catching a permit on their first tropics trip, and they're not the most accomplished casters. I was able to get a couple follows on some cruisers, but never hooked up. One person suggested it's my stripping technique, which I can believe, except the guide said I did everything correctly.
The schooling permit seem like fish in a barrel. Sure, they're still picky....they're permit...but they give you cast after cast to try. The cruising fish give you one quick cast on a fast moving fish that may not be moving in the best direction based on angle of the boat and wind direction. Maybe it's sour grapes, but it seems like if you can hook into a 'cruiser'....that's real permit fishing. These stationary schools....it's almost like hunting pheasant on a game preserve.
Anyway.....what say the tropics pros.....
Mark
Newbie flats fishing question. I've only managed to get to the tropics twice now and gone after permit a total of three mornings or about 12 hours. After they stopped showing themselves in the expected areas, we started targeting bonefish, tarpon, and snook....with the occasional barracuda thrown in ( that was very similar to tiger/muskie fishing).
My observation is that hooking into a permit seems a large matter of luck. Full disclosure, I have not had the pleasure of personally hooking into one yet, but got plenty of refusals.
So.....our group of four guys caught four permit. When my main fishing buddy and I were together, we had the bad luck of only coming across three very fast cruising permit in a stiff right to left breeze and never really had a chance...over two mornings. We had great luck for bonefish on the flats and had a blast, but really never had a chance at permit the two days we fished together targeting them.
The morning I was with one of my other buddies ( who truthfully has a very limited casting ability), we had the epic of all opportunities. Three tailing schools of permit all within 600 yards of each other on a flat sea with zero wind. After my buddy tried a couple times, but couldn't cast far enough, the guide had me try. I was able to get several follows and the guides changed flies after every refusal, even to the point of finally changing to a lighter leader. I had been on the deck for about 45 mins...so the schools weren't going anywhere, so I gave the deck to my buddy. After a short casting lesson, the guide carefully moved around the school and snuck up on them. We got right on top of them. My buddy cast, probably too far out in front, but luckily the school was moving that way. The guide actually poled the boat toward the school. The guide had him keep his line in the water, the school got closer, he had my buddy start to strip....and fish on! It took 30 mins for him to land the fish....25lbs is what the guide estimated. By now the schools had disappeared but we were all happy. I asked the guide if I could have done anything differently, and he said I should have cast with the lighter leader (my buddy had used my rod), and that probably all the previous refusals had finally gotten us to the correct combination of leader and fly choice. I felt a lot better...that's just permit fishing. We unfortunately didn't see another permit all day.
Meanwhile, my main buddy and fishing buddy #4 ran into a similar number of schooling permit elsewhere the same morning. Buddy #4 was on a mission to get a permit, so he sort of had the deck for about an hour and a half casting at these schooling permit. He finally got one, but same circumstances, slow moving schools of about twenty tailing fish, not scattering with a bad cast. No permit for the rest of the day.
As it turns out, when my buddy and I were NOT seeing any fish, my other two fishing companions had the great luck to run into tailing permit again. They each caught one....again. But only if they were in a tailing school.
I've heard of several other guys, catching a permit on their first tropics trip, and they're not the most accomplished casters. I was able to get a couple follows on some cruisers, but never hooked up. One person suggested it's my stripping technique, which I can believe, except the guide said I did everything correctly.
The schooling permit seem like fish in a barrel. Sure, they're still picky....they're permit...but they give you cast after cast to try. The cruising fish give you one quick cast on a fast moving fish that may not be moving in the best direction based on angle of the boat and wind direction. Maybe it's sour grapes, but it seems like if you can hook into a 'cruiser'....that's real permit fishing. These stationary schools....it's almost like hunting pheasant on a game preserve.
Anyway.....what say the tropics pros.....
Mark
At least I can get close enough to musky to see their middle finger.
