The problems that permit present to the fly rodder are unparalleled within the sport of saltwater fly fishing and the difficulties associated with catching a permit on a fly rod are well documented. And yet, more and more anglers are taking up the challenge.

       
Most fly rodders come to fly fishing for permit through bonefishing. They’ve usually spent untold hours on flats throughout the Caribbean, and other locations, developing their saltwater skills by catching and losing, many, many bonefish.

            
Enter getting serious about fly fishing for permit! There are so few permit caught on a fly rod, when compared with the other traditional flats species, that many fly rodders tend to leave the permit to the hardened flats veterans, choosing instead to focus on the more easily caught species. This is a shame, because with a little bit of knowledge and yes, some luck, landing a permit on a fly rod is quite possible.  If you are interested in learning as much as possible about this enigmatic fish and then applying this knowledge while chasing permit, the Belize Flats Fishing Expeditions Permit School is the place to be.

        
We have put this year’s school together with a couple of things in mind. Our first objective is to create a “permit culture” environment where dialogue and a free flowing exchange of ideas and information are being analyzed and discussed. To this end there will be a series of informal classroom sessions (where Belikin Beer is usually the beverage of choice) followed by what is usually a quite lively question and answer period. All classroom time is in the evenings, after dinner, and usually lasts no more than
an hour.

       If you’re looking to enhance your saltwater fly fishing skills in a challenging and highly informative setting, the BFFE Permit School is sure to please. With only 10 spaces available, we have purposely kept the school small, to ensure a relaxed and unhurried week.

    

The odd time the sickle fin of a permit would present itself for a brief moment and the angler will nervously make the cast, only to spook the fish by a variety of transgressions. He or she coughed, moved to quickly, cast too close, couldn’t cast far enough: so many the little things that bonefish, in all their decency, will usually forgive an angler for. After catching hundreds of bones, and often times many more, the skills are fairly well honed and the angler is looking for a more challenging chase, where his or her skills will really be put to the test.

      
This year’s school is located on Southwater Caye, in the heart of some of the best permit waters in the world. We’ve chosen this location specifically because of the high number of permit that live in this area year round. Seeing 25 to 50 fish per day is common and there are few places better that will consistently give fly rodders the opportunity to get quality shots at this skittish fish.

   Topics include:

• Permit habitat and tendencies
• Tides
• Presenting the fly
• Fly selection
• Leader and knot construction
• Playing the fish

The second goal we have for the Permit School is to have our guests apply this knowledge when they hit the flats with a fly rod in hand. To that end, the price of the school includes five full days out on the water, experiencing first hand the complexities of fly fishing for permit. After a week with us at Permit School, anglers will have a good handle on fly fishing for permit and will have seen more fish in six days than they likely will have in all their other flats experiences combined.A critical component to the BFFE Permit School, are the guides that we’ve selected for the week. Each of the guides are “permit oriented”, in that they spend approximately 150 days a year guiding specifically for permit. Our school firmly embraces a hands-on philosophy and we feel that our guests learn far more by being out on the water with our guides than they would with endless hours of classroom time.

The Belize Flats Fishing Expeditions Permit School includes:

• Round trip airfare from Belize City to Dangriga
• Round trip taxi service from the Dangriga airstrip to the docks
• Round trip water taxi service to Southwater Caye
• Six nights accommodation at IZE Cottages (2 guests per room)
• Five days of guided permit fishing with a BFFE guide
• Three meals per day for the duration of the week
• Nightly permit education classroom work (1 hour max)

The Belize Flats Fishing Expedition Permit School does not include:

• Return airfare from your point of origin
• Fly fishing equipment
• Alcoholic beverages
• Gratuities
• $20 US Belize City airport departure tax

Please contact us at:

Email: rich@belizeflatsfishing.com or rfbelize@yahoo.com

Or call:

Mid June to October 25th (Toronto, Canada)
#416 537-4233

Or

October 26th to June 16th (Belize City, Belize)
#011 501 607 6854