| Trachinotus falcatus |
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This is also called and known as the Great Pompano. Permit has been use to describe any large Pompano of medium depth and with fin lobes of medium length, and at time all three species of pompano that were found in Florida were called Permit. The first dorsal fin has six spines, the second dorsal fin has one spine and 17 to 21 softrays, and the anal has two short detached spines followed by one spine and 16-19 softrays.
Body and fin proportion change appreciably with growth. The dorsal and anal fin lobes are more elongated in smaller specimens. Coloration is variable. The small permit may be more black in color or black and silvery with a dark red tinge but can alternate these colors rapidly. The large Permit are usually bluish or grayish on the back with the remainder of the body silvery. A very large Permit may have his entire body almost silvery, with a bluish green tinge and the fins all very dark.
Atlantic Permit may be found from Brazil to Massachusetts, and in the West Indies and Bermuda. They are most abundant and reach there maximum size of the southern end of Florida. The maximum size may be in excess of 50 lbs. but most caught are in the 20 to 30 lb size. Spawning may extend from December thru September but may mostly occur in May. The young are found inshore and mostly over sandy bottoms while the larger one may be found in the surf and at the edges of flats and in the current. Adults are more solitary while the young may move in small schools. The young feed on a variety of small invertebrates while the larger Permit eat mainly bottom living invertebrates and some small fish.
Permit are a fish that is present but seldom seen and more often seen than caught. There are more Permit in Southern Florida and in the Bahamas than most people realize. Permit tend to stay in channels and holes but they come up onto the flats like Bonefish when the tides flood. They rarely make a mud like Bonefish, a school will never cloud the water by there feeding. Although individual Permit may be seen from time to time, they mostly can be seen in schools of ten or more fish. Seeing them means you must have a good 20/20 vision and good Polaroid glasses. As in Bonefishing, a school will suddenly stop to feed and tip down to root for food while there large forked tails will look upward. In the Lower Keys on a good day some guides have seen as many as 1,000 to 2,000 Permit in a single day. But for all the fish sighted few are taken. A Permit may take from a half hour to a few hours to land in some cases on light tackle. One of my anglers years ago caught a 40 lb permit on a 8 wt fly rod and it took him over two and a half hours to land it, so they can be a real struggle to land. When hook a Permit has that same burst of speed similar to a bonefish, but the Permit will continue to keep running well after a bonefish would quit. A Permit caught in shallow bank will head for deep waters there it might bang it's head on the bottom to shake the hook lose then take off again or try and wrap the line around some sea fans or other bottom items.
When fishing with bait use a double line or a piece of 20 lb flora carbon leader. They will most likely take a small blue crab or spider crab. The Permit is a sight feeder. So they will hit artificials also. When a permit get its head down to look for food they concentrate on just a few square inches of bottom under there nose and ignores everything else. Often a Permit will pay no attention to a lure at all but when a little crab plops the water it will get there attention very fast. Permit spook very easily so the sound of the plop must be just right so knowing what they will tolerate is something the angler must learn for themselves.
The ideal way for a Permit to take an artificial is in a competitive situation. Alone tailing Permit are a lot harder to interest than a fish that is feeding with a school. When feeding with a school the Permit may grab it whether the lure looks right or not. Permit have a mouth like the texture of hard rubber so they must be struck hard to set the hook and keep a tight line. Permit caught on flies is basically the same technique as catching Bonefish.