Permit.
Crab-feeding diamond. Marquesas spawn the most famous in the world.
How they feed in the Keys
Permit are the most technical fish in the Keys. Ocean-side flats from Key West through the Marquesas and the Special Permit Zone hold the largest concentrations of resident fish, and the Western Dry Rocks / Sand Key / Marquesas wreck complex hosts the most famous spawning aggregation in the world during the May/June full moons. Expect lockjaw on a perfect cast, then a trophy fish eating a fly six feet behind a tail. Wreck fishing during the spawn is a different game: drift live crabs over a structure with thousands of fish stacked on it, and hold on.
74–82°F
Active 70–86°F · Cold-front shock kills the bite below 68°F
Incoming tide on flats — they push with the rising water chasing crabs onto the lee side. On wrecks, a strong tide of any direction stacks fish on the up-current edge of the structure.
Moderate is best on flats — too much and the bait tumbles past the fish. Wreck permit love a hard tide because it concentrates them on the structure.
Sun + light wind for sight fishing. Permit feed during the highest sun of the day on flats — you need the sun behind you. Pre-front spike can spark a feeding frenzy on the wrecks.
Stable to slowly rising is best for sight. Falling pressure ahead of a front can ignite the wreck bite.
Mid-morning through mid-afternoon for flats sight fishing. Wreck fishing peaks around the moving tide regardless of clock.
Full and new moon May/June at the wrecks — the famous spawning aggregations. Spring tides on the flats wash crabs out of the mangroves and bring fish in.
80+ for the flats fishing magic and wreck stacking. Spring tides push lobster, shrimp, and crab off the flats and into channels — every predator knows it.
Western Dry Rocks, Sand Key, Marquesas wrecks. May 1 – July 31 closed to harvest in the Special Permit Zone for the spawn — release-only fishing welcome and incredible.
One cast per fish. If you flub it, sit and wait — they sometimes turn back. Drag a crab three feet in front of a tail and let it sit.
12-month outlook
What they eat, what catches them
Live blue crab (silver-dollar size)
The single most-effective permit bait. Hook through a back corner of the shell, fly the leader free, drift it across the fish's path.
Live pass crab
When small blues aren't available. Almost as good — sometimes better in dirtier water.
Merkin or Bauer crab fly
Tan/orange, weighted, size 2–1/0. The fly that broke the permit-on-fly stigma in the 1980s.
- Live shrimp· Smaller permit will eat shrimp; trophies usually want crab. Worth a try in murky water.
- Sea lice / hermit crab· Available at Keys bait shops near the wrecks. Permit love them; less common because they're harder to source.
- Strong-Arm or Avalon fly· Heavily weighted patterns for wreck permit in 30+ feet of water.
- Flats sight cast, calm water
Live small blue crab on a 30 lb fluoro leader, 7 ft from the angler. Or weighted crab fly on a 9 wt.
- Wreck during spawn
Live blue crab on a 30 lb leader, drifted with 1–3 oz of weight depending on current. Heavy spin and a strong drag.
- Pressured fish, blown casts
Wait. Often a permit refuses on the first cast and eats a few minutes later if you don't spook them with a recast.
How top captains rig it
Flats spin: 15–20 lb braid. Wreck spin: 30–50 lb braid. Fly: 10 wt floating + 16 lb tippet on weighted fly.
Flats: 4000 size with smooth drag. Wreck: 6000+ with heavy drag. Fly: 10 wt with 250+ yd of 30 lb backing.
Flats: 7'–8' light. Wreck: 7' medium-heavy. Fly: 9' 10 wt.
30 lb fluorocarbon for flats; 60–80 lb for wrecks where they'll cut you on structure.
- Flats fly
9' 10 wt + intermediate or floating + 15 ft tapered leader to 16 lb tippet + Merkin pattern.
- Wreck spin
7' medium-heavy spin + 30 lb braid + 60 lb fluoro + 6/0 circle hook + live blue crab + 1–3 oz egg sinker depending on current.
Recreational rules
22"–27" fork length slot in the Special Permit Zone (most of the Keys). Outside SPZ: 11" fork minimum.
1 per harvester per day, 2 vessel max in SPZ. Aggregate with pompano outside SPZ.
Closed for harvest May 1 – July 31 in the Special Permit Zone (covers the major Keys spawning aggregations). Catch-and-release fishing remains open during the closure.
Spearing prohibited.
Note · Catch-and-release is the right move for trophy permit. A 30+ lb fish takes 8–12 years to reach that size and sustains the spawn — the best practice is to keep them in the water and revive them at the boat.
What actually moves the bite
Each factor is rated by how much it shifts the bite for this fish in the Keys. Calibrated against the Bite Score weights — see the Bite Score reference for what each factor measures.