Late Summer Opportunities to Fish The Florida Keys for Permit, Tarpon & Bonefish
Several months ago I received a call from Doug Kinney regarding Tarpon dates in April May or June. I told him all that I had available where two days at the end of June. His response was one of hesitation and I remember him saying that fly fishing, especially for Tarpon, is pretty much done by then not to mention it is awful hot at that time. I told Doug that the big Tarpon are on the way out but the Permit are returning to the flats from their offshore spawn and there should be plenty of Bonefish around. Not to mention that the fishing pressure from Guides is reduced by two thirds. Doug said that he had never caught a Permit on fly and did not expect to, but if he had a shot at some Tarpon and Bonefish would come down for a couple of days.
The evening of June 28th I received a call from Doug to schedule our departure time the next morning. He told me that he had asked around and the people that he had talked to said that the Tarpon fishing on the Oceanside was over. I agreed with that assessment but there were some great opportunities on the Bayside of the Lower Keys. I told him I would pick him up at his hotel at 6:30 am the next morning.
Morning broke with the wind blowing about 5 to 10 out of the south and partly cloudy. I picked Doug up and we left Marathon and set out across the 7-mile bridge to our launch in Big Pine Key. Our plan was to fish for some Bonefish early in the morning and once the tide was right around 11 o’clock we would look for some big Poons. I also mentioned that there were a lot of Permit around if he would like to take a shot. He rolled his eyes and and said sure.
The sun was low and together with some scattered clouds our visibility that morning was poor. We had a falling tide and so I decided to work the edges of some sandy areas to give us some chance to see the fish. I handed Doug the 9wt Sage with a Bonefish fly and we went to work. I mentioned that the Permit really like that particular fly as well. Again Doug rolled his eyes and said we will see. After poling for about fifteen minutes and seeing several Permit that were out of range I noticed something coming down the edge of the turtle grass edge. It was a Permit and it moved out on the sand and back onto the grass as it fed off of the big flat. I turned the boat and Doug snapped too. Doug laid the fly out about forty feet on the edge of the grass and let it sink to the bottom. I caught sight of the tip of a permit tail right behind the fly. Doug I said,”long slow strip”. Doug moved the fly slowly in the current and let it fall. The Permit charged the fly and dove down on it with his black sickle tail quivering on the surface.
I yelled,” He’s got it”! The fly line peeled off of the deck and then off of the reel and quickly got into the backing. Fifteen minutes later we landed and released Doug’s first Permit on a fly about a fifteen pounder.
Doug was all smiles. We threw a about a half a dozen more Permit with no takes. By then the tide was down enough to try some Tarpon so off to another spot. We set up on a point with the tide screaming out and I laid out the plan to Doug. Doug stripped the line off of the 12wt and I continued to explain where the fish would come from. But before I could finish Doug yelled out, “Right there”! I spun the boat around and got Doug in position to make the cast to the pod of about 20 fish. “Go ahead”, I said, and he let loose a cast. “It’s short”. I said. Doug stripped up and after two false casts let the fly go again. “Perfect cast”, I said, as Doug started his strip. Immediately an 80 lb Tarpon peeled out of the school and engulfed the fly. Doug set the hook and after 5 acrobatic jumps and about 25 minutes we released the Tarpon at the side of the boat. In the next hour and a half we would jump off two more Tarpon. Finally with the tide almost done in the Bay I suggested a move to the ocean where we might find a bonefish.
The tide was just starting to roll in as we polled onto the Oceanside flat. Doug stepped up on the front deck and stripped the line off the 9wt rod. The first fish to come by was a permit and Doug fed him the fly and he jump on it. “He’s got it,”I said. Doug strip struck the fish but as is the case with Permit he somehow managed to leave without the fly in his mouth.
Ten minutes later three bonefish showed up feeding into the current and Doug showed them the fly. After three strips the bonefish ate the fly and screamed offshore with the fly line to ripping across the surface of the water. People always ask me which species is the toughest to catch for the Grand Slam. I always say the last one. So after about 5 minutes of holding our breath we caught and released Doug’s bonefish to complete his Grand Slam on Fly. After the high fives and congrats we managed to catch one more bonefish that day. Not a bad day at all.
The next day Doug could only fish till noon so we went out back on the bayside again. Doug hooked another Permit unfortunately the handle of the reel grabbed his shirt sleeve and broke off. A few minutes later about a thirty pound Permit ate Doug’s fly again and after a short battle the hook pulled out. No doubt some payback for the previous day’s success.
After putting the boat on the trailer and heading home we discussed the last day an a half. Doug commented on how few boats we had seen. I told him that even when the big schools of Tarpon move out and the throngs of fishermen leave the Keys there is still plenty of opportunity for some good fishing. The fish are less pressured and do the right thing when you show them a fly or bait. Doug said, “Sign me up for next year”.
If you would like your own chance to catch a Florida Keys Grand Slam, please contact me –
Capt. Richard Keating @ 305-743-6554or Fishrbk1@bellsouth.net
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