At the risk of boring to death those who read this report page, I have to talk once again about the dreaded Indo-Pacific Permit. After all this is the reports section of this great site and I will do my damnedest to not prostitute the position of reporting by embellishing or flouring the topic of fishing. Permit is what is happening right now!
With the help of my good friend Howard McKinney from the States, a veteran of many Atlantic permit captures, we believe we may have cracked the puzzle of getting our Indo Pacific Permit to take flies on a semi regular basis. Part of this technique is to use a crab pattern, make very accurate casts to the sighted fish and if you listen to Howard, you gotta say, "eat it, eat it, eeeeat it, come on eat it". In time, with the strip that isn't a strip, but more willing the fly to look and act like a crab scurrying nervously across the bottom. Sucking in your guts, holding your breath, waiting for that sickening resistance that means the Permit has grabbed your fly. I personally think the "eat it, eat it" bit plays a big part, it's all part of the intensity and enthusiasm, "its the vibe, its Mabo, its the constitution,...no, its the vibe".
I am a great believer in embracing the high end aspects of fishing, mainly because those of you who are thinking and doing all the "deadly stuff", have all the mundane most important stuff taken care of, like razor sharp hooks, correct drag settings and good ( recent ) knots etc. Talking to the fish is a flow on of that theme, willing them to take. Works for Howard!
Once you are connected to one of these fish (which have all been like peas in a pod at 15 LB on the boga grip) the fight is long and hard, and not fun as you might expect. Fighting Permit is nothing short of absolutely terrifying. You contemplate every thing that can, will, and does go wrong, as you clear the line as it leaps up off the deck "#*&% NO! it's caught on my leatherman", drag setting?, did I stick him hard enough?, can I afford to set again? your knots on the long 4kg leader, can I apply a little more pressure to stop him getting into the deep water. Having had lots and lots of good shots and to finally get connected, you literally pray for the out come and try not to think about the disappointment associated with the "If only" factor, if only I'd.......... if only the fish hadn't....... if only...............................
No matter how hard you try and how well you do everything, getting them to eat is only part of the battle. We have hooked and lost lots more than we have photographed and released. These fish are so visual, and if you see them, they can see you. A 15 to 18 knot wind chop, lets you hide to an extent and is actually an advantage. They have incredible vision and sense of smell, making it extremely hard to get them to take a fly. Everything has to be in your favor and so many things combined have to go right to turn yet another good shot into a connection. One in ten some say, as a shot to hook up rate, I wish! Maybe as time goes on and we learn more about them we can approach the rate that their Atlantic brothers are caught. . The fish in the accompanying photographs took over 30 minutes to land, with 3.5kg of constant pressure on the 4 kilo tippet, the butt leader knot was in the tip of the rod 3 times and 3 times the fish had Howard 50 to 100 meters into the backing. With as much pressure bent into the but section of the rod as possible and the tip pointed at the fish, there is nothing you can do (except pray) as yet another reserve of energy is unleashed, literally screaming more backing off the reel. Until next month, good luck. GREG BETHUNE
