Permit
name: Permit
other names: N/A
The deeply forked tail and elongated anterior dorsal fin provide the more distinct characteristics of the permit. Looking like long sickles, these fins impart the fish's species name falcatus. However, one can also identify the permit by its highly laterally compressed body, making the fish appear thin and tall. From a lateral perspective, the permit shape looks round in juveniles, but becomes oblong as the fish ages into an adult. In addition to the long anterior dorsal fin, inserted directly above an elongated anterior anal fin, permit also possess 17-21 soft dorsal rays, and 16-19 soft anal rays.
Permit primarily occupy inshore regions such as flats and sandy beaches, and deeper cuts, channels, and holes adjacent to these areas. The substrate of the flats may vary from sand, mud, marl, or sea grass. Permit often swim in water depths less than 2 feet, though due to large body depth, large individuals cannot occupy waters as shallow as other flats species such as bonefish. In deeper waters up to 30 m, permit often congregate around structures such as reefs, jetties, and wrecks where they frequently occur in large schools.
Permit primarily forage on flats and intertidal areas, entering shallow water on incoming tides from deeper adjacent channels and basins. They usually travel in schools of about ten, but may school in larger numbers; larger permit tend to be more solitary, feeding alone or in pairs. Permit also congregate around wrecks and other deeper-water structures. Like the bonefish, the permit uses its hard mouth to dig into the benthos and root up its prey. These food items usually consist of crustaceans and mollusks, which the permit crushes with its granular teeth and pharyngeal bony plates. However, as opportunistic feeders, permit will eat a variety of animals, including amphipods, copepods, mollusks, polychaetes, fish and insects. Developmentally, permit exhibit planktivorous feeding habits as juveniles, eating copepods, amphipods, mysids, larval shrimp, and fish. As they increase in size, permit begin to feed on benthic prey including mole crabs, coquin clams, flatworms, gastropods, and sessile barnacles. Larger adults feed on gastropods, sea urchins, bivalves, and crabs.
Permit spawning may last all year, but occurs primarily from May through June in the Florida Keys. Spawning peaks during these summer months, with extended spawning seasons occurring outside this main period and a decrease in spawning activity during the winter months. Researchers have found that permit may spawn over natural and artificial reefs or in nearshore waters in the middle and lower Florida Keys. Males reach sexual maturity earlier than females.
Fishing for Permit requires a reel that holds a minimum of 150 yards of twenty pound backing and has a smooth, reliable drag mechanism. Although large arbor reels are currently popular due to their ease of line retrieval, they are not a necessity when hunting Permit. Permit are not know to make blistering long runs like bonefish. They have a tendency to take off and then circle within a short distance and quickly expend their energy. They are an incredibly powerful fighter however, so it is wise not to underestimate their ability to defeat even the most experienced angler. Rods: The most popular rod size for Permit is a 9 or 10 weight. An 8 weight rod might due in a pinch for a smaller fish but if you should toss your fly at a bigger Permit you'll be terribly undermatched. A nine foot rod is the optimum length for both it's casting and fighting abilities. Line & Leaders: Your reel should be lined with at least 150 yards of backing matched to a brightly colored fly line. The colored line improves.
