The Bahamas Permit

The permit, or Trachinotus falcatus, is a challenging fish to engage. The Latin “falcatus” meanssickle-shaped, hooked, curved, or more descriptively, “armed with scythes.” This aptly identifies the large, curved dorsal fin of the fish. As it is often mistaken for the Florida pompano, enlisting the support of a seasoned guide from a Bahamas fishing charter service is indispensable for a successful trip.

Description
Distinguishing between the two fish can be difficult if you are not aware of a few distinctions. Permit average at 40 to 50 pounds, with a world record weight approximately 60 pounds. They show orange markings on its belly and their dorsal fin stands short and tall. They also have a gradual, backward sloping forehead, and an upright, deeply-forked tail fin. The average pompano is much smaller, weighing approximately six pounds, with a possibility of reaching upwards of eight pounds. They may show yellow markings on their bellies and their dorsal fin is longer and angles back. Their forehead has a steep hump before sloping back and their tail fin slopes back and is narrow-forked.

Habitat
These prize game fish have been reported from the southern tip of Brazil to as far north as Massachusetts, but they are more abundant in southern Florida, the Caribbean and the Bahamas. They mainly inhabit shallow waters, often in water less than two feet in depth, either in the flats or near the beaches and the surrounding channels and holes. In these areas, they usually congregate in schools no more than ten fish. They also live in deep water, amassing around shipwrecks or reefs in large schools.

Diet
They rummage their meals from the benthos or sea floor. They primarily eat mollusks and crustaceans, but will also eat other fish, insects, amphipods, copepods, and polychaetes, or marine worms. Using their hard mouths to unearth their meal, they employ their toothed tongues to crush their prey. Usually docile while solitary, if they are in a school, they can become hostile and aggressive.

Sport
Although these fish do inhabit deep waters, the best sport fishing is accomplished on the flats. They are a canny fish and do not often respond well to lures, although a fisherman can try jigs or bucktails. Skim the lure across the surface, enticing the fish to follow it, then abruptly stop and let it drop into the bottoms. Live bait works best, though, such as crab, shrimp and clams. A fisherman could also try dead chunks of lobster or crab. Even though they may be easy to hook in the shallows, once hooked, these fish are challenging to reel in as they love to run. The sport fisher may want to choose a twelve foot fishing rod and use sinkers, making sure to have a strong enough line for the fight. Choose a mono line between six to twelve pounds. Bahamas fishing charter boats consider March through the end of July as the prime fishing season. From August to the end of November, a fisherman still has a good chance of reeling one in. December through February is only considered as fair fishing. As this is a demanding fish to catch, victorious sport fishers rank catching a permit high on their list of achievements.