June 28 2015 – Summertime means calm waters, hot days and great fishing for permit on the wrecks here in Key West.  If permit are on your bucket list or you just like the hard pulling, unpredictable nature and great photo fish – June, July and August are a great time of the year to catch one on the wrecks.

Wreck fishing for permit is undoubltly easier than trying to hunt down, stalk, cast to and get a tailing permit to eat on the flats. (Which by the way is also really good in the Summer and Fall.) Same bait is required but the factor of many more fish in a group, deeper water and less wary fish makes it a different easier game.

Wrecks off of Key West are numerous and easy to get to within reason. With a decent set of GPS numbers of the named wrecks you can find anywhere on the internet by googling “GPS Numbers for wrecks off of Key West” and walla you have some spots to check out. Or your local Key West wreck fishing permit specialist will have a mess of spots to take you to as well if you hire one as your fishing guide. (recommended)

Although as a fishing guide I think its easy, wreck fishing for permit can be difficult to the DIY guy who has not done it. Approach, rigging, visual ability and sound can all have a factor in your success on the wrecks for permit. As a default I always tell folks its way easier to hire a proven wreck fishing guide out of Key West and your chances of bagging these monster Man Hole Cover fish will sky rocket. We know our wrecks, tides and in some cases the fish that hang out there and behavioral patterns.

I fish about 15 different spots for permit. The reasons I chose a spot is based on a few things but most importantly, when I fish for permit there the last time. Wrecks that are very popular are the hardest to catch a permit on. Why? cause every person with that spot goes there as soon as he can to bag his silver sided radar dish of  a fish. So I base a visit to a spot on who I see out and about, if I saw a guy on it yesterday and when I was there last time. Some of the wrecks I fish are very small and not well known and those do me the best favors. It doesn’t take a lot of structure to hold permit which helps to not be found so easy. One of the wrecks I fish has about 6 ft long by 3 ft tall showing from the bottom but covered in permit in about 18ft of water.

Natural structure can also be a good thing when hunting for permit. In some of the areas I frequent there are huge coral towers that permit seemingly orbit around. Its pretty cool and generally passed up by most of the others in search of the “round ones”.

The wreck fishing charters we do here for permit out of Key West are full day trips. here at Dream Catcher Charters we do have some fish on some structures closer that can be done in a 4 hour but your odds of catching are much better on our “All In Wonder” full day trip.

Booing a trip with us for wreck fishing for permit is easy.. 
Call My Office.. 1-305-292-7212 Speak to Island Genn. 

Pro Tip.. I use my typical tarpon fishing set up. My rigging consists of a Daiwa Saltiga 3500 serries filled with 20lb Samurai braided line. I use braided line to feel the bite and react to it faster. Attached at the business end I use 20b Fleurocarbon leader to an Owner 3/0 SSW hook.

Once hooked up.. Be sure to just let the fish run if he is headed away from the wreck or structure. Let him feel like that is the way to safety and he will keep going. This will separate him from the school, disorientate him and ultimately keep him from getting wrapped up in the structure.