Permitcapt

Stiff soles and ankle protection just makes sense. Be prepared. Wear neoprene gaitors over any wading shoes you settle on. Bad things can and do happen in saltwater environs.

I used to target them often in Jan and Feb in the lower keys, after the water warmed to over 71 degrees. There are certain flats that they hitch-hike over sting rays. It is one of my favorite fishing scenarios. Now living in Apalachicola I only occasionally target them, as they overlap with tarpon. Usually they cruise the beaches on the gulf, but sometimes are found bayside around St. George Island and bayside on Cape San Blas. I caught one late this fall over a ray on a SGI flat. That was unusual though. Here many boats ride around all day using their "tuna" towers to sight cobia on the beaches and near steucture. The fish are harrassed too much, so I am disinclined to chase them with my Maverick HPX.

Crabs have been a mainstay of my arsenal for years. Epoxy crabs are a favorite of mine, as so many variations can be made, and they are fun to make. A whole host of different feathers and other natural and synthetic materials can be used to make claws and legs. The key to a successful crab pattern is how it acts, more importantly than how it looks. It must sink properly with the hook point up most times, usually at an angle of about 30 degrees, and land upright every time. If it is stripped, it must track perfectly upright, never wobbling or worse yet, spinning. It is all about how it is weighted. Different weights can be used, but the end result must always be the same. Weights are most functional when under the hook shank, and near the front of the hook. Floating crabs, of course, are the exception, they must float upright every time, hook point preferably down. I caught my first permit on one of these many years ago, and a number of my clients and guide friends did as well, back when I was guiding in the lower Keys. I tied these pictured for Partridge Days at the Catskill Fly Fishing Center in September 2014, hosted by Joe Fox and Dettetroutflies.com

Thanks for the good wishes mate! North Queensland!!!! I sold my last Thoroughbred stallion to a big farm in Queensland. I had hoped to accompany the stallion there and stop-off in Kiribati to fish Christmas Island on the way back. Unfortunately my wife was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer that week. That was 20 years ago.

Thank you for your advice and don't worry Bob, I have jumped a lot of poons in the lower Keys and in the Shark River area of the Glades, and I never used a bend-back style hook for them. They do have a unique mouth. I have used Gamagatsu SC15 hooks almost exclusively for about 13 years now. Sorry I won't get to see you on the Flamingo ramp this year.

Gives one different ideas. Thanks.

Yup, good advice, will do.

That's a nice fly. I find no problem on hooksets. There is soooo much space.

Thank you Tidewaterfly, for the kind words and for the advice.

Nine of the hooks are Mustad Wide Bend Jig Hooks 91768BLN. The one odd hook is an Eagle Claw L700G Finesse Featherlite 3.5/0

Thank you for your kind words. Mearns quail provided the black with white spots, and the brown with black spots. The white with black spots is what I call ermine hackle, as a winter ermine has a white coat with a black tip on the end of it's tail. Tom Whiting calls it unique grizzly variant. It is 100X rarer than cree.

70 denier for most tying where build-up is avoided, and 140 denier when you want to really reef on some spinning hairs.

Start with lots of small snips, not big snips, and you will see the final product slowly emerge.

Everyone is half right. I just don't know which half.

Fly Samurai knows his stuff. Listen to him. I fish Apalachicola, and what he says about his area would be applicable to my area.

No. I tested it by rigging it to a boga grip, and the 3/0 hooks straightened at 24# and the 5/0 at 27#. I did nothing to the bend, only the front of the shank where a plastic worm would normally be attached. So, where I reforged it, it was still stronger than the bend, therefore no problem. The purpose of the bend I put in was to create a large enough space to tie materials on, and to have the hair and hackles sweep above the point, to provide some protection against snagging.

Heading to Everglades in two weeks for camping at Lostman's River, and intending to throw some mullet patterns at snooks and redfish. Here are some variations that have served me well in Apalachicola for redfish and seatrout. I reforge the worm-style bass hooks to make them foul-resistant. They track straight, don't snag on the bottom, and seldom snag vegetative matter. They also hook and hold well.

Hello. I'm in Apalachicola. Used to live in the lower Keys, and near Homosassa. Lots of good saltwater. Tie till you die!

White, chartreuse, and baitfish blue I all you need. Rabbit fur makes irresistible flies. Just tie a zonker strip for a tail, and wind cross-cut rabbit up shank for a body. Dumbells if you need to sink fast. Eyes or no eyes, you will catch fish.

Intermediate clear tip lines are great for very shallow water, whether it is crystal clear or not. Once the tide rolls in and it gets deeper, they are still perfect. If I were to fish only one line on flats for permit, bones, or reds, it would be a 9 wt. clear tip Cortland 444.

Good work. Size of flies isn't enough to affect bite. Hook size, well, I don't know. For years I used the smallest hooks I could. Now I use the largest I can. I even use 5/0 worm hooks for redfish flies, and the hook and hold ratio is extremely high. They are easier to unhook also.

Bellisimo!

Finally! Man's best friend in man's favorite place.

Ya Mon! That bench belongs to a working fly tyer!

Wow!