Permit Fishing 101: Seasons And Guides Featuring Captain Nick Labadie (Part 1 of 3) - HOW 2 TUESDAY #75

The Lower Florida Keys are one of the very best places in the world to catch Permit on the flats. In order for Permit to be plentiful, they need the right temperature, food source, vast inshore and offshore habitat and structure such as wrecks, coral heads, and bridges. 

Best Seasons and Tides

In the Florida Keys, the permit fishing is truly year-round. Of course, there are better times than others for permit, but anglers can feel confident that with enough looking, permit can and will be found. My favorite times of the year are Feb, March, June-November. The months of Feb and March coincide with the water temperatures climbing back into the comfort zone of the permit while also being just before the spawning season for permit. This time seems to be when there is a lot of permit on the flats and also when conditions are conducive to catching the fish on the fly. I look for post-cold front days when the sky is completely clear and the temperature is increasing for the best opportunities. The windy conditions that usually accompany this meteorological scenario allow anglers to get close to the permit and require shorter casts.

I like the summer and fall the best for finding the largest number of permit both on structure and flats. The calm conditions of the summer and fall will require longer casts with both spin and fly, however, the opportunity at the fish abounds.

During both times of the year, I prefer a big high tide in the middle of the day of 1.5 or greater. This allows me to fish virtually wherever I want and lets the permit frequent areas formerly inaccessible. It is important to remember that we have a 4-6 hour tidal difference between the ocean and many areas of the backcountry so many anglers make a big mistake by choosing the time to fish simply based on the tide chart. Each area has its best tide and the discovery of this only comes through many days spent researching these areas. 

Now that you know the best times to go and how to find a good guide, we will go over the tackle and techniques necessary to catch Permit in my next couple of posts. First we address spinning tackle, bait, line, leaders, casts and strategy before moving onto fly fishing.

This podcast is brought to you by Waypoint. Produced by Tom Rowland and Brock Rustand. Audio editing by Brock Rustand. If you have any questions, email podcast@saltwaterexperienece.com

See you on the water,Tom Rowland