Chasing Bonefish, Tarpon & Permit

BONEFISH ARE SORT OF THE GATEWAY DRUG to flats fishing. Once you catch one, you can’t get enough, and you want to go after permit and tarpon, and then you’re hooked.”

Those were the words of Dr. Aaron Adams, Conservation Director of the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust on an episode of my Higher Calling Wildlife podcast.

When I told Adams after recently catching my first bonefish in Florida’s Biscayne Bay, that I had already booked a trip to catch permit, he said, “I told you so.”

Adam’s statement made perfect sense to me. I’ve never done a drug in my life and have always found the high of hooking into a big fish or calling in a turkey plenty for me.

The Flats Slam consists of the bonefish, tarpon, and permit, fish which spend some of their time in the deeper ocean but most of their life cycle in the flats.

It is the ultimate quest for inland saltwater fly fishermen and is also highly regarded by anglers fishing traditional spinning and casting gear.

I won’t say I’m obsessed with completing my quest, but I have goals to finish up with spinning gear. I’ll go back in to do it all on the fly within the next couple of years.

Yeah, I might be a bit obsessed.

I thought it would be fun to take a look at the flats slam and make some connections with Texas that you might have never considered.

Slam Species

Tarpon: Tarpon are the monster of the slam and Texas has solid tarpon fisheries along the Gulf Coast from 

“Tarpon Alley” between Galveston and High Island to Port O’Connor’s Pass Cavalo and the South Padre area. They are not an easy fish to catch, but the last few years have been good.

Capt. Brian Barrera guides out of South Padre and had some incredible days last year.

“We caught some big fish last year, including a fish that if we had harvested it, might have broken the state record,” he said.

“Tarpon are an awesome fish and they have a deserved reputation of being hard to hook and hard to land. That makes them one of the world’s most prized catches.”

Bonefish: Bonefish are arguably the fastest-moving, hardest-fighting pound-for-pound fish on the planet. They are the stuff of fly fishermen’s dreams as stalking them on the clear flats in places like Florida, Belize and The Bahamas is a mega challenge.

Did you know there are a few bonefish in Texas?

The state record weighed 3.77 pounds and was caught by angler C.W. Morris in 1977. The listing says “Gulf of Mexico” which probably means he caught it in the surf somewhere, but I have not been able to track down the exact location.

One of Capt. Brian Barerra’s clients caught a small bonefish in the South Padre area a few years ago. Capt. Joey Farrah told me one of his clients hung into one in the lower end of the Middle Coast.

In preparation for this article, I contacted Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s coastal fisheries division and found out that since 1994, they have records of catching 16 bonefish in their net surveys. The catches were all in the Aransas Channel, Aransas Bay, Corpus Christi Bay, Upper Laguna Madre, and Lower Laguna Madre. They were all less than four inches in length.

They’re nowhere near a common catch, but they are present in Texas waters.

Permit: Quite a few anglers think they’ve caught a permit in Texas, but are disappointed to find out it was a southern pompano (a close relative) or even a jack crevalle (similar shape and colors).

Permit are stunning flats species that get big. They are said to be the moodiest of flats slam species and will often ignore the most perfectly placed lure or fly.

Permit are also present in Texas in small numbers.

Jared Guinn caught the Texas state record in the Gulf of Mexico in 1993. It only weighed 1.50 pounds. I’ve heard anecdotal evidence of permit close to this size caught in the Galveston Bay complex in recent years, from very informed anglers.

One of Capt. Brian Barerra’s young clients caught a permit in the South Padre area. It wasn’t a monster but in a very real way, it was the catch of a lifetime.

About That ‘Gateway Drug’

“It’s all fun and games until someone goes and misses a bonefish!”

My friend Todd Jurasek and I stood in disbelief as Capt. Mo Estevez shouted that from the back of his 16-foot Hewe’s flats boat in Biscayne Bay.

We had a double hookup on big bonefish near the end of a day-long expedition into Biscayne Bay near Miami, Florida. Both of the fish, after several minutes of intense, long runs, just let go.

We both missed fish the same way earlier in the day, so this was shocking. I can’t remember losing two hooked fish in a day ever, and I have caught everything from giant white sturgeon to wahoo around the world.

But there’s something different about bonefish. Everything you’ve heard about their pound-for-pound power is true—plus some. I’ve caught everything from peacock bass to Wels catfish and this was my favorite catch.

These fish just don’t want to come to the boat. If redfish are bulldogs, bonefish are pit bulls crossed with greyhounds. Their power and speed are simply stunning.

Last April after missing two bonefish, I ended up catching a big one in the seven- to eight-pound class. It was a dream come true. It was something that really inspired me to complete a flats slam. It also got me more involved with flats fishing issues whether here in Texas or on the Florida coast.

Sea flats are important places for those who love to fish and have respect for all of the creatures that dwell there.

If you have caught permit or bonefish in Texas, please email pics and stories to chester@chestermoore.com. We would love to share them in our e-newsletter.

Texas Flats Slam

Who says we can’t have our own Flats Slam in Texas?

You could technically try to get the real thing here, but after getting your tarpon, you would spend the rest of your life trying to catch the others.

A tarpon, jack crevalle, and redfish would be a great trio. Jacks are permit-like (although not nearly as picky—they’re voracious) and the redfish don’t have the bonefish speed, but they have stamina.

A tarpon, redfish, and sheepshead are another good combination. Several hardcore fly fishermen have told me, that sheepshead can be as picky with flies as the permit.

It’s all in fun, and if fishing quests put a smile on your face, be creative and enjoy your time in pursuit.

 

 

—story by Chester Moore

 

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