Dry-fly permit? It's a thing at The XFlats.
January 10th by Chris Hunt
The wily permit is considered by most fly fishers to be the ultimate fly-rod gamefish — most of us who have fished for this overly discerning flats fish can remember every single permit we’ve caught, because they so rarely fall for our flies. Each catch is celebrated. Even those close calls, when a fish might turn on our fly only to refuse it, earn a pat on the back, and a hearty, “You did everything right,” from seasoned permit guides.
So, imagine, then, what it might be like to catch a permit on a dry fly. If you attend a screening of the this year's International Fly Fishing Film Festival and see the film, The Silent Spotter, you'll see just what we're talking about. The inspirational film, about a flats guide at The XFlats who's been hearing-impaired since childhood, dives into this whole permit-on-a-dry-fly notion.
From the film "Silent Spotter"
Well, it’s a real thing, and our partners at The Xflats, a great little lodge just outside of Xcalak, Mexico, are pioneering the method. And it’s working. Oddly, the idea of dry-fly fishing for permit arose from one of the more noxious environmental challenges facing the Caribbean these days. Warming ocean waters in the Sargasso Sea are spurring larger-than-normal blooms of sargassum — you’ve probably heard about the Yucatan coast becoming the final destination for these huge mats of seaweed.
The green, plant-like algae that literally drifts across the ocean into the Caribbean thanks to little methane-inflated “berries” is a normal occurrence in the tropics. But, in recent years, the bloom is out of control, and when the seaweed hits the beach, it begins to decay, and those little berries burst — the smell can be very off-putting.
But, in something of a “happy accident,” it turns out that crabs use those mats of seaweed for cover and for food, and sometimes, those bite-sized crabs float among the sargassum. And, of course, we all know that permit love crabs. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that, over time, as these flotillas of sargassum got bigger and more common, the presence of “floating crabs” did, too. And, if you ask the guides at The Xflats, catching permit on imitation floating crab patterns might be the “next big thing” in permit angling.
From the film "Silent Spotter"
Permit. On a dry fly. Sounds too good to be true? Well, in the new film, The Silent Spotter, The XFlats owner Jesse Colten can show you proof. The film, which is part of this year’s International Fly Fishing Film Festival, features footage of floating crabs … and of permit gobbling them down.
There’s only one way to match what the guides at The Xflats are doing. It’s time to nab a permit on a dry fly. Not only is that a story to share with your fishing buddies, but that’s a story to tell your grandkids.
Catch your dry-fly permit
Chetumal Bay
The Xflats
The Mayan Riviera that stretches south from Cancun all the way to the Mexican border with Belize is one of the fishiest stretches of Caribbean coastline there is, but escaping the throngs of tourists can be a real challenge. A decade ago, a short drive to Tulum was all it took to get away from the craziness and into some really great fly fishing. These days, though, Tulum can be just as chaotic as Cancun and Playa del Carmen, and there are more and more anglers plying the green Caribbean waters for bonefish, permit and tarpon. It pays to venture even a bit further.
