Permit Fever

Fly Fishing in Southern Oman.

The plan was to go fly-fishing in search of the two permit species that occur there, viz the African and the Indo-Pacific Permit. The African one can weigh up to 25 pounds and is caught from a boat over the rocks along coastal cliffs using prawn imitation baits. The Indo-Pacific permit lives off sandy beaches, is extremely cautious and thus difficult to outwit. They can grow to a weight of 20 pounds, also taken using prawn imitations as bait.

The inshore fishing was very tough that week due to cold winds gusting up to 25 knots and cool water temperatures of 22 degrees (3 degrees lower than normal). The larger fish had moved out to the deeper regions along the reef – bad luck.

With the utmost effort we were able to hook a couple of small fish. However, under normal circumstances the potential for fly fishermen is enormous. I will definitely have to go there again.