N@N

MY INCREDIBLE PERMIT FISHING DAY

_{//travel-leisure.news-articles.net/content/2009/03/19/my-incredible-permit-fishing-day.html}
^{Published in Travel and Leisure on Thursday, March 19th 2009 at 18:13 GMT, Last Modified on 2009-11-03 18:55:37 by Pesca Maya Fishing Lodge}  

ASCENSION BAY, Oct 31 "We decided to take the kids and another family with us on fall break to one of our favorite destinations - Playa del Carmen. I planned a day trip into the Sian Ka'an biosphere where the cozy lodge Pesca Maya sits on the north side of Ascension Bay. I enjoyed a hearty breakfast overlooking the Caribbean Sea with guide Felipe Xec and his assistant Susano Sansores.

As we walked to the boat, I told Felipe I wanted to target permit. He gave me the frustrated look of a guide anxious to ensure his client catches fish. "Let's just find some bonefish for you", he implored. "Permit can be hard to find and even harder to catch on fly - you will probably not catch any."

I insisted anyway, adding that I'd caught five permit over the years on fly and if we struck out today, so be it. Off we went, and immediately we encountered bonefish. Sensing that Felipe was testing me, I passed them up. "Okay", he said with a sigh, "we'll run a ways to maybe find permit."

And find them we did - a magnificent school with countless permit ranging from five to 10 pounds and only about 50 feet from where he shut down the skiff. I immediately made a cast, let the fly softly land in front of the school and started a long, slow strip. Boom, a hit and release. Quick picture, release, cast, same strip, boom again. And so it went. When a lull occurred, I changed the fly pattern. We stayed with the school for over two hours.

As the count rose past the lodge record of four permit, Felipe excitedly exhorted, "uno mas, uno mas". We called it quits after releasing the tenth permit. For good measure, on the way back I released three bonefish on fly and cast to several baby tarpon in the hopes of a grand slam, but they wouldn't eat.

But who's being greedy? I started that day hoping for one permit and my guide hoping I'd just catch bonefish. I ended up with 10 permit and 3 bonefish on fly. And at times when things get tough or frustrating at the office, all I have to do is recall that day on Ascension Bay and my whole attitude changes.

� Mark Cooper 2008