The ABC’s of Fly Fishing for Permit in Belize Part 4 The Influence of Tides, Water temps and Moon Phases on Permit
Permit are opportunists and they will never pass up an easy meal, regardless of what the tides are doing. However, when the water starts to move on the flat, either in or out, the feeding switch in the permits brain is turned on. Moving water is the key, more so than which way it’s going! Because of their unique shape, kind of like a big dinner plate turned sideways, permit have to wait longer on the incoming tide to get up onto the flats to feed. Rays, bonefish, barracudas, and sharks, will all arrive before the permit do. At this early stage of the incoming tide, permit can be found cruising the edges of flats and floating in near by channels. They just play the waiting game, passing time until the tides allow the fish to get high enough on the flat to feed.
Knowing this, I always make sure that the guide I’m working the flats with is carrying a fly rod with a different type of fly than I normally use for tailing permit in skinny water. Having a second rod loaded with either an olive Bauer Mantis Shrimp or a Popovics Ultra Shrimp, rather than a traditional crab pattern, allows me to cast a more effective fly to a cruising or laid up fish, should the situation present itself. High tide does not signal the end of the permits feeding cycle. Far from it! In thinking about the 50 odd permit that I’ve landed on a fly rod, more than half of them were caught once the tide started to recede. In the same way that the incoming tide signals the permit to start feeding, the beginning of the falling tide signals that the permit has a limited time left to feed before it has to leave the flat. The first 1 1/2 hour of the falling tide is by far the most productive part of this stage of the tide, and as the tide continues its way out, anglers will see fewer and fewer permit.
If I still have permit on the brain once the tide has fully gone out, which I usually do, I’ll poke around on some of the deeper water flats and nearby channels. Just because the tides are not optimal does not mean that you don’t have a chance to catch a permit. Successfully fly fishing for this wonderful adversary is all about maximizing your opportunities and being properly prepared. If you’re persistent, and don’t give in to the inevitable frustration, good things can happen when you least expect them to.
Water Temperatures and Permit
Permit are extremely sensitive to water temperature and it’s been my experience that they are reluctant to come up onto the flats to feed when the water temperature falls below 75 degrees. I have never seen a permit take a fly when the water temperature has fallen below this level and rarely, if ever, have I seen them on the flats during the occasional cold front that blows through the country during the winter months. If you are in the midst of your permit trip and one of these nasty little cold fronts blows through, there’s not a lot you can do. Tie some flies, have a few beers, and try and pick your guides brain as much as you possibly can. And maybe start thinking about booking your next trip down!
The optimal temperature for finding permit on the flats is between 80-87 degrees and I’ve had my greatest success in catching them when the water temperature has been stable for at least three days in the 82-85 degree range. Any temps above the high 80’s for more than a day or two and it seems to drive the permit into deeper water in much the same way that colder water does.
Phases of the Moon and Your Permit Trip
If you’re thinking about a trip to Belize to fly fish for permit, you need to take into consideration the phases of the moon at the particular time of the year that you’re interested in going. Planning a trip where the bulk of your week runs right through a full moon phase should be avoided whenever possible. I’d suggest putting the trip off until you can come at a more favorable time. It’s that important! As a responsible outfitter, I’d rather lose out on your business for 6 months or a year, or until whenever you can come back, than have you come at a poor moon phase time where you’re behind the 8-ball the minute you arrive.
Fly fishing for permit it hard enough as it is! Permit will take advantage of the natural light generated by full moon conditions and will feed all night when there is sufficient light to do so. If they’ve been feeding at night, they will not feed as aggressively during the day, which makes them even harder to catch than they normally are. Permit that have been feeding all night for a couple of evenings consecutively, will sort of peck, scratch and scrabble around the flat during the daylight hours. In this situation, it becomes evident that feeding is not really a priority for them. What you want to do is plan your permit trip at a time when there will be little natural light caused by the moon. Booking your trip to coincide with going into and out of the new moon, when there is no moonlight, is generally the best time to pin point a perm it trip. However, this is not to suggest that permit cannot be caught at other times during the month or that there isn’t quality permit fishing available other than during the new moon phase. The first and third quarters can be a very productive and it’s interesting to note that the two largest permit I’ve taken on a fly were both taken at the back end of the third quarter, just two days before a full moon. All you really need to do is make sure that you avoid booking your trip during the 3 or 4 days leading into and out of the full moon phase.
