International Permit Rescue (I.P.R.)
http://www.riverandreef.com/articlelive/articles/127/1/International-Permit-Rescue-IPR/Page1.html
Brendan Mason
Brendan Mason is a Canadian born angler who now lives in the outer suburbs of Seattle. Brendan has fished all of his life and started a passion for fly in British Columbia where he grew up. His father a search and rescue expert and his mother a teacher Brendan has the brains and skills to both out think and survive longer than the average Joe Blow. Brendan has fished extensively for the trout and salmonoids but in recent years has attacked the saltwater with gusto. His travels have taken him to Australia, Mexico, Argentina and beyond. Brendan also has the distinction of catching a 600 lb Mako on fly while fishing San Diego in 2006.By Brendan Mason
Published on 11/3/2006
The locals call them "pumpkinheads" or "snubbies", and according to the IGFA they're Snubnose Pompano, but those who have cast a crab fly to them on the flats will agree; they're definitely deserving of the Permit title.
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| The author with his first Permit or should we say Indo Pacific Permit |
International Permit Rescue (I.P.R.)
The locals call them "pumpkinheads" or "snubbies", and according to the IGFA they're Snubnose Pompano, but those who have cast a crab fly to them on the flats will agree; they're definitely deserving of the Permit title. Even the late Del Brown, undoubtedly one of (if not the) greatest permit fishermen of all time commented that they were deserving of this distinction. The Indo-Pacific Permit, Trachinotus blochii, is going to be on the radar for flats anglers worldwide looking for a new challenge.
Nearly invisible at most times, it is only the silver mirror-like reflection off the flanks of "mooning" permit that give away their location on the flats. Under more favorable conditions, they may be seen tailing or even cruising high and happy just under the surface in large schools. The flats of the northwest Cape York Peninsula are where this fishery has really developed and we had timed our trip there to coincide with the best time of year to find large numbers of permit on the flats.
This trip consisted of the usual River and Reef crew; myself and Randall Bryett, his wife Kate, and Kate's parents, Pete ("Van") and Elizabeth Van Gytenbeek. Also joining us was Jim Higgins, a Carpentaria Seafaris veteran who had already landed two Indo-Pacific permit in a single day during his previous Seafaris trip in 2004.
It was the second day of the trip when everything aligned and both Randall and Jim landed permit. Jim's fish was part of a huge school in the neighborhood of fifty permit that we spotted tailing on the flats. As luck would have it, a big cloud blocked out the sun right after we spotted them and all Jim could do was cast in the general vicinity of where we had last seen the school. After a few casts his line came tight and it was game on!
It was all celebrations back at the Tropic Paradise when we learned that Randall too had landed a permit during his morning session.
After running south to another river system in the skiff one morning, Randall, Guide Pete, and I spotted a school of permit, but quickly lost them in the overcast and windy conditions. A few minutes later we noticed a pair of dolphins splashing around in the distance.
"Is that a trevally in its mouth?", Randall asked.
One of the dolphins clearly had a large fish in its jaws and was tossing it around like a beach ball. Pete explained that one of the other guides had recently witnessed a dolphin with a permit in its mouth. We decided to go over and have a closer look. As we approached, the dolphin dropped its toy and disappeared from sight, leaving a gasping permit on its side at the surface. Tooth marks on both sides of its body and large pieces of skin hanging from the permit's cheek were apparent as Randall reached down and tailed the fish.
We quickly raced the fish out of the deep water to the flats where we could get out of the boat and revive the fish in the shallows. These permit are incredibly tough and it didn't take long for the fish to regain its strength and swim away. With a round of high fives, International Permit Rescue (IPR) was born! Randall and I hoped our actions would win us favor with the permit gods and that we would be repaid for our efforts before the end of the trip.
Two days later, we found ourselves scanning the flats at a different river mouth. A huge school of permit was in front of us, some fish mooning near the bottom while others swam in plain sight near the surface. Pete and I threw a few casts before the school moved out of range and we started the hunt again. A pair of permit came slowly swimming past from behind us and I threw a cast to intercept them. Slowly stripping to keep tension on the line, I suddenly felt weight, stripped to set the hook, and nothing happened. At that point in time, I was convinced I had just blown what could very well turn out to be my only shot at a permit for the trip. I checked my hook point and we moved on.
After finding the school again and slowly approaching for a cast, the fish suddenly turned and starting swimming straight at us. I instinctively dropped a short cast as quickly as possible, just before permit started streaking right under the boat. One of the passing fish picked up the crab and instantly fly line and backing started disappearing from the reel. The permit tried to stay with the fleeing school as long as it could and I encouraged Van to cast for a double, but he didn't want to risk getting tangled on my line. Even when the school moved on, another permit stayed with my fish, not leaving its side until it was in the net.
Minutes later, we saw Randall on the skiff with Skipper Phil, rod bent deep on what we could only assume was another permit. Sure enough, when we approached in our boat, both Phil and Randall each threw a thumbs-up; the unofficial signal for permit. After a lot of ribbing from the peanut gallery, Randall slid his second Indo-Pacific permit into Phil's waiting net and celebrated with a little dance on the deck of the skiff.
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| Randall with his first Indo Pacific Permit |
Nearly invisible at most times, it is only the silver mirror-like reflection off the flanks of "mooning" permit that give away their location on the flats. Under more favorable conditions, they may be seen tailing or even cruising high and happy just under the surface in large schools. The flats of the northwest Cape York Peninsula are where this fishery has really developed and we had timed our trip there to coincide with the best time of year to find large numbers of permit on the flats.
This trip consisted of the usual River and Reef crew; myself and Randall Bryett, his wife Kate, and Kate's parents, Pete ("Van") and Elizabeth Van Gytenbeek. Also joining us was Jim Higgins, a Carpentaria Seafaris veteran who had already landed two Indo-Pacific permit in a single day during his previous Seafaris trip in 2004.
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| Suspender Crab |
It was the second day of the trip when everything aligned and both Randall and Jim landed permit. Jim's fish was part of a huge school in the neighborhood of fifty permit that we spotted tailing on the flats. As luck would have it, a big cloud blocked out the sun right after we spotted them and all Jim could do was cast in the general vicinity of where we had last seen the school. After a few casts his line came tight and it was game on!
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| Jim with a nice Permit |
It was all celebrations back at the Tropic Paradise when we learned that Randall too had landed a permit during his morning session.
After running south to another river system in the skiff one morning, Randall, Guide Pete, and I spotted a school of permit, but quickly lost them in the overcast and windy conditions. A few minutes later we noticed a pair of dolphins splashing around in the distance.
"Is that a trevally in its mouth?", Randall asked.
One of the dolphins clearly had a large fish in its jaws and was tossing it around like a beach ball. Pete explained that one of the other guides had recently witnessed a dolphin with a permit in its mouth. We decided to go over and have a closer look. As we approached, the dolphin dropped its toy and disappeared from sight, leaving a gasping permit on its side at the surface. Tooth marks on both sides of its body and large pieces of skin hanging from the permit's cheek were apparent as Randall reached down and tailed the fish.
We quickly raced the fish out of the deep water to the flats where we could get out of the boat and revive the fish in the shallows. These permit are incredibly tough and it didn't take long for the fish to regain its strength and swim away. With a round of high fives, International Permit Rescue (IPR) was born! Randall and I hoped our actions would win us favor with the permit gods and that we would be repaid for our efforts before the end of the trip.
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| The damage from the dolphin can be seen on the flanks of this permit |
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| Man who love his work |
Two days later, we found ourselves scanning the flats at a different river mouth. A huge school of permit was in front of us, some fish mooning near the bottom while others swam in plain sight near the surface. Pete and I threw a few casts before the school moved out of range and we started the hunt again. A pair of permit came slowly swimming past from behind us and I threw a cast to intercept them. Slowly stripping to keep tension on the line, I suddenly felt weight, stripped to set the hook, and nothing happened. At that point in time, I was convinced I had just blown what could very well turn out to be my only shot at a permit for the trip. I checked my hook point and we moved on.
After finding the school again and slowly approaching for a cast, the fish suddenly turned and starting swimming straight at us. I instinctively dropped a short cast as quickly as possible, just before permit started streaking right under the boat. One of the passing fish picked up the crab and instantly fly line and backing started disappearing from the reel. The permit tried to stay with the fleeing school as long as it could and I encouraged Van to cast for a double, but he didn't want to risk getting tangled on my line. Even when the school moved on, another permit stayed with my fish, not leaving its side until it was in the net.
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| The author takes one last look before releasing his permit |
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| First of the trip for Randall! |
Minutes later, we saw Randall on the skiff with Skipper Phil, rod bent deep on what we could only assume was another permit. Sure enough, when we approached in our boat, both Phil and Randall each threw a thumbs-up; the unofficial signal for permit. After a lot of ribbing from the peanut gallery, Randall slid his second Indo-Pacific permit into Phil's waiting net and celebrated with a little dance on the deck of the skiff.
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| Another ripper fish for Randall |