Permit

Trachinotus falcatus

Depth0–5 ft

The flats between South Bimini and the eastern cays are rated one of the planet's best fly-permit fisheries.

Typical15–30 lb
Largest recorded79 lb4 ft
Depth range0–98 ftspecies-wide
IGFA all-tackle60 lbIlha do Mel, Paranagua, Brazil · 2002

How big, really

A permit and a six-foot adult, drawn to one scale.

A six-foot adult man standing for scale, drawn to the same scale as the fish — Both drawn to one scale from the sourced length below. The fish is an illustration, not a photograph; the human figure is a stipulated 6 ft (1.83 m) reference, not a measurement.

Permit drawn 4 ft long beside a six-foot adult at the same scale — Both drawn to one scale from the sourced length below. The fish is an illustration, not a photograph; the human figure is a stipulated 6 ft (1.83 m) reference, not a measurement.

The permit year

Twelve months around the dial, straight from the island's season data — peak months reach the outer ring. Pick a month to see what else is running. Peak: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug.

Field notes

How it is fished: Guides pole shallow-draft skiffs across sand and marl flats — often following stingrays that stir up prey — and anglers sight-cast small crab-pattern flies (hard-epoxy or 'Woolhead' crabs, Avalon permit flies) or live crabs/shrimp on spin tackle to cruising or tailing fish. Permit are considered among the hardest sight-fishing targets due to extreme wariness.
What it eats: Adults eat mollusks, crabs, shrimp, small fishes, and sea urchins; juveniles feed on plankton and small benthic invertebrates such as amphipods and mole crabs.
Depth: Permit are sight-fished on flats often under 2 ft deep, but the species also ranges to about 30 m (98 ft) around reefs, wrecks, and other structure.
Worth knowing: Permit can live 23+ years. Their acute vision and lateral-line pressure sensitivity let them detect an angler's shadow or a skiff's wake before a cast is even made, which is what makes them one of the most difficult gamefish in the world to catch.
Conservation & rules: IUCN Red List: Least Concern (assessed 2012) — corroborated only via secondary summaries; primary IUCN page could not be directly fetched (403 error). Same 2017 Bahamas Flats Fishing Regulations that cover bonefish also name permit explicitly: catch-and-release only on the flats, commercial flats fishing banned, angler license required.

The record

60 lbIGFA all-tackle world record

Angler Renato Fiedler · Ilha do Mel, Paranagua, Brazil · 2002 · 3 ft 5 in long · 37 in girth

Source

Where it lives

The island's relief model with the flats lit — 0–3 ft, gin-clear over white sand. Drag it to change the angle.

4 of 8 mapped — 4 without usable coordinates, all listed belowEvery charter and guide the directory holds. Which boats work which water changes with the season and the weather — ask when you call.Seabed: GMRT · Coastline: © OpenStreetMap contributors

The Bimini story

The flats between South Bimini and the eastern cays are regarded as one of the best fly-permit fisheries anywhere, per longstanding Bimini fishing-guide reputation — though no specific IGFA record or documented tournament milestone tied to Bimini permit could be verified.

Sources

What we could not verify (3)

Typical angler-catch length range (no academic min-max table found).
Exact year of the IGFA all-tackle record (2002 vs. 2004 conflict across sources).
Primary IUCN Red List page (403 error on direct fetch; status corroborated only via secondary sources).