I think we hooked four or five, landing three before they wised up, so it was time for us to do the same. We ran past several miles of the most beautiful stretches of white sand and acres of turtlegrass you can imagine. Channels of all sizes and depths snaked their way between the backcountry islands. We finally stopped at an island with a deep hole next to it but tarpon weren't rolling. I tied the Depth Charge fly to a few inches of 30-pound fluorocarbon shock tippet and cast anyway. Just when I was about to give up, I had a strike. This time the fish ran a short distance, but strangely, it wouldn't jump or leave the scene. It turned out to be a 5-pound redfish. And I didn't even think that redfish lived south of Nine-Mile Bank in the Keys backcountry. So, yet another surprise catch, though in the past few seasons Middle and Lower Keys anglers are finding more reds than ever close on backcountry banks within eyesight of the Keys.
The author displays a permit taken on a crab fly at the surface of a channel.
The tide was falling now so we concentrated on bonefish. But we had to be careful. Get caught on a flat on a falling tide, and your day heads south pretty fast. As Denkert poled we saw sharks, stingrays, cowfish and barracuda-lots of life that means gamefish are probably nearby. I blew shots at a half-dozen single bones before Denkert spotted three big fish meandering our way. As they got closer we could see that they weren't bonefish after all. They were permit. Happy permit. Once within 60 feet, I sent a crab fly out to greet them. I have taken a fair number of permit on fly but rarely do I dedicate a day to permit on fly. I can't stand that much rejection. So most of my chances at permit come when I am fishing for bonefish or tarpon. This was no different.
The most productive technique for catching a permit on fly is to drop the fly about two feet in front of the fish's nose. Hit him on the head, so to speak. Instead of hitting the fish on the head, however, my fly fell about four feet to the right of the school. One fish ran over to it but turned off instead of tailing, so I gave the fly a twitch and back it came for another look. As soon as the fly settled on the bottom again, the permit lost interest and left, and I had to retrieve the fly to recast. When I did, the permit got all excited and followed again. As soon as I stopped the fly like you are supposed to, they'd lose interest. This went on until the leader was almost in the rodtip. Before they vanished, one follower turned broadside at the boat just to show me that he was about 25 pounds. I love permit and I hate permit. They drive you crazy, but that's why catching one on fly is such a thrill. If it was easy, everybody would do it.
I returned later in the fall and fished with Capt. Tim Hoover. It was blowing pretty hard out of the north as the first cold front of the season moved through. Stu Apte introduced me to Hoover years ago and I ran into him pretty regularly but I rarely got the chance to fish with him because he lived on Grassy Key which is just a little too far for me to travel to fish for a day. He had guided Redbone regular Jim Bokor at the Little Palm Island Grand Slam and they won just about every category. Hoover got Bokor his four slams in two days of fishing all within a hop, skip and jump of Little Palm Island.
Because of the blustery conditions, we started off looking for mudding bonefish, which are more common after a cold snap. We fished a fly designed by Islamorada marine artist Tim Borski, a chartreuse-and-tan Craft Fur number tied "Clouser-style," with grizzly hackle palmered just behind the lead eyes. Borski says bones in the Lower Keys don't shun flies like they often do on hard-fished Islamorada flats and chartreuse color helps them locate it. Well, the fly worked wonders. I landed two bones in the 10-pound range and had two other strikes. The wind actually helped, allowing us to get within 30 feet of the fish before casting. I was having a blast but Hoover had other ideas. He was already thinking slam. I am a firm believer in letting guides guide, so off we went looking for tarpon, albeit in a 20-knot north wind, which normally closes the door on tarpon action. There can be hordes of them popping up all over and as soon as the wind shifts to the west or northwest, they are gone. Just the same, Hoover found us a school cruising around in a hole next to (you guessed it) a small mangrove key. They were the fun kind, 10-pounders, and I jumped several, landing two. As soon as I released my second, I regrouped to do it again but Hoover calmly said, "Time to leave."
I couldn't believe we were leaving a school of gullible baby tarpon to look for permit but once again, I let guides guide, and off we went to the Seven Mile Bridge.
The water temperature had dropped considerably with the passing front, so Hoover expected permit to be in the deeper, warmer channels on the Atlantic side of the bridge. He kept the boat in position at a channel edge while we both watched the lip of a flat. The channel water was a bit murky so the fly had to be cast right on the fish. Hoover was pretty optimistic about our chances so I decided to break out a unique crab fly tied by Hiromi Kuboki in Japan. It may be the most realistic crab fly on the planet and even though Hiromi has given me several over the years, I only have allocated one for fishing. They are just too pretty to use! But this had the potential to be a very special day so I decided to soak it. My chance came when a small school of permit floated up but sounded before I could get off a cast. Eventually I saw a single fish slowly moving toward us, just creeping along on top. I cast and the wind caught the fly, blowing it back and actually improving my presentation. The permit lit up and I just knew he was going to take. Instead, it circled the fly four times, swam away laughing, and the day was over. No slam, but lots of drama.
On a subsequent trip, Hoover and I had no firm agenda-just fun fishing. After a few mangrove island tarpon, the wind died and we made the run north to some big flats at the edge of the Gulf where the tide was rising. Hoover explained that bonefish move through these flats on a riser, followed by permit at the top of the tide. After a few refusals from bonefish, we spotted a school passing over a white spot heading our way. As they closed the gap, they moved over a dark bottom and disappeared. I guess Hoover could still see them because he called out the distance and direction and told me to cast. My fly plopped down close enough apparently and after a few strips, something whacked it and took off-presumably a bonefish. Well, a few minutes later, my "bonefish" was in sight, only it wasn't a bonefish-it was a baby permit. By the way, there is no such thing as an unacceptable permit on fly. We were very pleased and Hoover went back into slam mode. Now that we had a permit, we scrapped plans to hunt big tarpon in one of Stu Apte's old haunts, Tarpon Alley. We had plenty of time to nail down the slam. I mean, how hard could it be to get one little bonefish? Well, four hours and a hundred casts later, I still didn't have a bonefish and it was too dark to see anymore. Once again, no slam, but lots of excitement.
Whether you have your heart set on bonefish, tarpon or permit, the Lower Keys is a terrific place to test your skills. Except for the rare major cold front, there is year-round action. If you're up for it, you can call on Lady Luck and make your quest for the flats slam, which is great fun. I wouldn't trade the drama of that chase for anything. All I need is a little more help from Lady Luck...as usual.
If You Go
Anglers interested in tackling tarpon and other fish on the Lower Keys shallows should consider hiring a guide. Here are some skiff guides who know the area intimately and are equipped for both fly and light-tackle fishing: Capt. Dave Denkert, (305) 238-3974; Capt. Tim Carlisle, (305) 745-1503 and Capt. Tim Hoover, (305) 743-7352. ù The Little Palm Island Grand Slam is one of a half-dozen Redbone at Large Tournaments. For information on the Redbone Tournament Series, call (305) 664-2002. For reservations at Little Palm Island Resort and Spa (Mile Marker 28, Overseas Highway, call (305) 872-2524 or visit www.littlepalmisland.com. For additional listings of Lower Keys accommodations, public boat ramps and flats fishing guides, call the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce at
(800) 872-3722 or visit lowerkeyschamber.com
