It seems like another lifetime ago that I was obsessed with this fish.
This fish is a permit, for those who may not know. For those of you who do know permit, you probably understand my obsession. It is regarded as the most challenging fish to catch on a fly rod. Some saltwater fly fishermen consider catching a permit in shallow water a lifetime achievement. Just look at that eye; it sees everything and quickly senses danger. It’s spooky; it perceives movement above and below the surface of the water. A permit often vanishes before an angler even sees it.
I was a fly fishing guide for several decades in my youth. Serious saltwater anglers made pilgrimages to my home waters of Key West each year for an opportunity to catch a permit. I hunted these fish all day, nearly every day, for years. Some days the results were heroic. Other days ended in humiliation. Many anglers fished for a week, never made contact, and went home in despair.
A few years ago, I traded my skiff for a sailboat, I migrated from shallow water to blue water, and I exchanged my fly boxes for a locker full of charts to navigate around the world. I don’t fish for permit anymore–it’s another story for another time–but I dearly miss my encounters with this great fish. I loved seeing them feed on the flats, their tails quivering with excitement as they discovered a crab, shrimp, or other crustacean on the ocean bottom. But, it has been years since I have even seen a permit.
These two worlds united serendipitously yesterday on a shallow reef off the Caribbean island of St. John. I was underwater photographing a living stand of elkhorn coral in the Virgin Islands National Park when I sensed movement behind me. I swirled around, saw the shadow of a fin, and found myself face-to-face with the lucid eye and the goofy rubber lips of a mature permit. My heart was apparently beating faster than this fish’s heart because while I hyperventilated, the permit merely looked on in curiosity. In all my years of fishing for permit, I have never seen one not flee from contact with a human being. This permit allowed me to photograph it for 30 minutes while it foraged and actively fed in front of me.
Sometimes wild fish, especially those in a protected environment, acclimate to human contact. They hang out with snorkelers in tourist locations because they are being fed junk food. The location of this reef, however, is not a marked dive spot where tourists swim and chum fish for photographs. I never saw another person in the water during the three days I swam on that reef. What is also unique is that this encounter was in national park waters where sport fishing and the taking of fish is allowed. This permit should have been wary of being caught, like every other permit I have seen.
Instead, this was truly a rare moment of coexistence with a wild creature. I’ll mark this day in the logbook of Stella Maris as a reunion with an old friend.
As always, sailing is not just about the wind and the sea; the places, the flora, fauna, and people encountered along the way are equally important.
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Text, Photography, and Videos © Jeffrey Cardenas 2024
Let this be a time of grace and peace in our lives – Rev. John C. Baker
Stella Maris Sail 
great pics and story . Summer is coming to an end here in NZ and we are going out in chameleon for a last hurrah before returning to the gulf harbour radio net. No cyclones this year and little rain due El Niño so it was good to be on Chameleon for a few months with a water maker. Stay well.patricia and David
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Thank you Patricia and David.
Oh, how I would love one more voyage to New Zealand to experience again the natural wonders there.
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So cool
Debbie Cardenas; OCEAN SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL
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Thank you, Debbie. Your love for our family allows me to wander like this.
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How very very special for you to encounter this permit and to then have it stay near you with curiosity. You live the best life with the best perspective and I know you have saltwater in your veins. Thank you my dear friend, enjoy the National Parks, we found STJ to be a real treasure.
Hayden
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I appreciate your comments, Hayden. There is so much natural beauty around us. Sometimes it is difficult to know where to look. I am grateful for serendipitous moments like this.
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Wow! What an adventure to unite with old friends…even fish have spirits! This one had something just for you to treasure. How lucky are we all to gather among friends we have not seen for years. Safe travels, and may each day bring you joy and happiness. You are my favorite old salt, very young at heart, and yet quite a part of the sea that surrounds you.
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How lucky indeed! The Virgin Island National Park flora and fauna guide does not even list permit as a fish to be encountered in these waters. Maybe this one was just a ghost of days past 🙂 Thank you for following, Debbi, and best wishes to Tom.
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Truly moments to be treasured! You taught and showed me how very special a Permit is in terms of intelligence, beauty, and heart! Your ability to transition from pursuer to fixated observer with the prowess of now capturing the essence of the creature in your own quintessential prose truly strikes a chord! Your powers of observation and you innate ability with the written word are beyond compare my friend! You have our well deserved attention!
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Thank you, Alan. Your words mean a lot to me. Passions change over time. What is enduring, however, is the fish–and the people who shared that time with me.
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This post leaves my heart happy for you and longing for that wiggle and flash on the calm flats that inspired me as a backcountry kayak guide so long ago. Continued fair weather and memory-making adventures to you, Jeffrey.
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That “wiggle and flash” are things that dreams are made of, Sherab. Thank you for the memory. The sails are up and trimmed for the horizon. There is so much ahead for both of us.
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Jeffrey my friend – Please Permit me the permitsion to thank you for your continued award winning writing / photography of your mini-adventures aboard Stella Maris!! I was fortunate enough to meet you at UF back in the mid-seventies and we soon became surfing buddies….We tried sailing together to Bimini and got rejected(to use one of my basketball terms!)We’ve had some other successful trips together though and I cherish those outings. Each time I read one of your articles (or blogs or vlogs to be hip) I am reminded of how fantastic Carribean life can be. I am currently battling Cancer # 3 and when i defeat it I want to spend some time going back and re-visiting some of our old surfing stomping grounds!!! Go Gators!!
dave
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First of all, Dave, you are going to beat cancer #3 because you are bad ass. Stay healthy by continuing to surf. It will be good for your body and mind. Our history goes back a long way—50 years to be exact. There is power in that. Thank you for all of your kindness and stay strong.
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Jeffrey, To have that experience with a permi, and to have the opportunity to take an up close video is beyond comprehension. Maybe your vacation from the species gave you a Harry Potter wand. Fair winds, my friend.
Brian Hays
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Thanks Brian. Magic works for me!
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