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[Times illustration from a photo by Ed Walker]

By ED WALKER

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 25, 2001

A typical late-spring offshore trip in search of kings, barracuda and grouper turned into an adventure of the most educational kind.

In 50 feet of water off Redington Beach, we saw an area alive with Spanish sardines, diving birds and gamefish. We quickly gold-hooked a few dozen baitfish and set them out behind the boat on 10-pound spinning rods.

As we slow-trolled around the structure, our lines were assaulted with skyrocketing kings and mackerel-munching barracuda. The action was hot and heavy for an hour or so, then the tide went slack and it stopped. As is often the case, the tide change was accompanied by a lull in the wind, and the surface of the water soon became as slick as oil.

We noticed the first of many fins sticking out of the water. Long black fins and tails gently waved in the sun. As we moved the boat closer, we saw hundreds of huge permit. They milled around in a giant circle similar to what tarpon fishermen call a daisy chain pattern.

Knowing that permit prefer crabs over sardines, all aboard scrambled for the tackle box and any lure we could find that even remotely resembled a crustacean. There wasn't much. We tried small yellow jigs, sinking plugs and even plastic worms. Nothing worked. Cast after cast into a school of permit half the size of a football field attracted no takers. Frustration was beginning to set in when the fish gods gave us a break. There, under the flare kit in the floor hatch, was an old rubber crab.

We carefully rigged our beloved lure onto a single hook with no weight. One cast was all it took. The lure hit the surface and a half-dozen permit rushed over to investigate. They circled it, swiped at it, and when we gave it a twitch, a big one gulped it down.

The fight was on. The drag screamed as the fish ripped more than a hundred yards of 10-pound line from the reel in a matter of seconds. We had no choice but to give chase. Under no circumstances were we to lose that crab! As we passed through the permit school, the fish parted and then reformed behind us, seemingly unfazed. After a tough 20-minute battle, our prize was alongside the boat. As I grabbed it by the tail, I saw that the unthinkable had happened -- the rubber crab was gone.

On the scale, the fish weighed 25 pounds. It was revived and released. It would be the only permit we would catch that day. We cast to the school for another two hours with various goofy lures we created to try to imitate crabs. We even cut semi-artistic crab shapes out of a large plastic squid, but the permit were not impressed. A lesson had been learned.

We returned to the same wreck the next day, and as the tide slowed, up came the permit. This time we were ready; not only did we have every rubber crab that a local tackle shop had in stock, we also had the real thing. A few hours of wading and dip-netting along the banks of the Anclote River had produced several dozen prime live crabs. There is no better bait for permit.

Things were going to be different today.

The first live crab hit the water and a pack of permit charged it and crashed the surface. For the next two hours we fought triple headers. From that day on, we never venture offshore in the spring and summer without something onboard that permit like to eat.

Crabs can be hard to come by. Live shrimp also will work and are more available. Rubber crab imitations will tempt them, but not nearly as much as the live stuff.

Some permit inhabit our waters year-round, but the larger fish are most often encountered in the spring and summer. The best months to look for them locally are April through June, when they gather around high-profile structures like artificial reefs and wrecks. They roam around these structures, making them difficult to track down.

Examination of stomach contents has revealed that clams are a major part of a permit's diet. This explains why these fish spend most of the day out of sight, feeding on the bottom, only rising to the surface occasionally. Slack tide is the best time to find them on top, but not the only time. They may stay up all day or they may not come up at all. When they are deep, they are difficult to catch. This is why few fishermen target permit exclusively. Just when you think you have them figured out, they disappear. The best strategy is to have a backup plan, look for permit and if you don't find them, try for kings or grouper.

Having the proper tackle is almost as important as having the right bait. Permit are seldom fooled by heavy line and leaders. The new fluorocarbon leader material makes a big difference in the number of bites you get. Its low-light refractive index and transparency make it nearly invisible in the water. This makes a big difference in how the fish react to your bait. Thirty-pound test fluorocarbon usually works well, but occasionally even that won't fool them. Scaling your leader back to 20- or even 15-pound test may be needed if the fish are finicky and the water is clear.

There is a bag limit of one per person on permit over 20 inches fork length. Most of the permit you will find offshore are much larger than that. They are quite good to eat, and one is usually enough to feed your whole crew.

Most anglers do not consider shrimp and crabs as offshore baits. Modifying your offshore fishing plan to include them may pay off big some day. Once you experience a feeding frenzy with a school of monster permit, you will never again leave the dock unprepared.

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