Ft. Myers Sport Fishing
Capt. Joe Greco
While there is absolutely no doubt the we enjoy putting our clients on grouper and snapper, its tough to beat the thrill of hooking up with pelagics while fishing off the beaches of southwest Florida.
We’re blessed to have such a diverse offshore fishery right in our backyard. When discussing the various species that we may encounter offshore with prospective clients, I love the reaction that I frequently get when I tell them that in addition to grouper and snapper we often times do battle with kings, cobia and permit. I can’t tell you how many times when I mention this to folks they tell me permit are definitely on their bucket list.
While just about any offshore angler you speak to has caught many grouper and snapper, the same is definitely not true when it comes to putting pelagic fish such as permit on the deck. In addition, many who have hooked into a few permit in their travels often times do so by happenstance and not because they were actively targeting these magnificent fish.
Fact of the matter is, like any species that you are targeting, permit have to be there if you are going to hook up. Knowing this, it pays big dividends if you know as much as you can about their patterns and overall behavior. The biggest tip that I can give you here is that these fish LOVE structure, so fishing reefs and wrecks are go-to places we set up for them.
Conditions play a huge role, too, in success rates, as chasing Permit is often times a visual or “sight seeing” game.
Some of our best permit days have occurred while we were offshore fishing in calm conditions and we spot a school of permit causing by in our vicinity. Same holds true for kings and cobia, as my crew is ALWAYS coached before the first line hits the water about paying attention to the surface while bottom digging.
Sight fishing permit is definitely more productive when conditions are calm, as you can often see the the “dorsal fins” and tips of tail fins of countless fish swaying back and forth as they cruise the surface. Even if the tell tale spike isn’t seen, often times you will see a “shadow” in the water which can prove to be permit.
Whenever I am in an area that permit frequent we try to be ready if and when they suddenly appear. While it is no secret that these fish love eating small to medium crabs, we have caught many tank permit on a jig/ shrimp combo. In fact the week before I wrote this article we were offshore ripping in a bunch of chum line mangrove snapper when we saw a school of permit show up about 20 yards away.
We tossed a medium size shrimp on a 1/4 oz chartreuse jig in front of the school and it was off to the races. My client had this fish on for about 10-minutes and it came unbuttoned. Conditions were flat so we killed the spot lock on our Garmin Kraken trolling motor and got ahead of the school, once again. We pitched a jig/shrimp at them again and immediately hooked up.
This time we scored as -after a short fight- we netted a door mat that measured outside the slot. After a quick pic this beautiful fish was released to fight another day.
Keep in mind that - like most cruising pelagics, permit have eyes like an eagle and can be be line shy, especially in clear water.
With this in mind, a 7-ft spinning rod with 20lb braid is our preferred set up, in conjunction with an 18-24-inch, 25-30lb Seguar pink fluorocarbon leader. We love a 4000 class spinning reel with a silky smooth reel - such as a Daiwa Saltist MQ-as their initial run can be rather impressive.
Our usual hook choice when we are not throwing jigs are short shank circle hooks or quality J-hooks. Hook size varies depending on the size of the bait we are throwing, with a 3/0 as a good starting point. Small to medium crabs are our go to bait when we are specifically targeting permit, however we have caught countless fish on medium size live shrimp.
Lastly, make sure that you have a good size net aboard as these are not a species that you want to nail with a gaff. It is also a good idea to be fully aware of the regulations for permit in the area that you are fishing, as they have a pretty strict slot limit -measured at the FORK.
Once you start targeting permit and you begin hooking into a few, I’m confident you will develop a passion for catching these fickle and very challenging fish. Like I have said many times, “give anyone a good grouper number and anyone can catch grouper.”
It just isn’t that easy with some of the magnificent pelagics that frequent our area waters, which makes the pelagic game even more exciting!
Tight Lines!
Capt. Joe Greco
