DIY Saltwater Fly Fishing Rule Number 342
I escaped the business of running an Xcalak lodging and went fishing again for a couple of hours. Yeah, I should make a habit of this ;). Went back to my favorite DIY permit flat. This time, I did have the right fly on as opposed to Rule 326, the Acocote Drum Majorette. Wading out into the flat, I see a group of about 5 tailing permit about 100 feet off. So I try stealth wading to intercept them. Problem is, when I am wading quietly, I can’t make up distance on them, but if I wade faster, it spooks them. Crap, didn’t even get close enough to cast to them before they heard me. Ok, keep wading the flat. About 20 minutes later I see another group of permit in the turtle grass, 80-90 feet out. Again, same problem. I can’t seem to gain ground on them if I wade quietly. And when I try to hurry up, they hear me and bolt.
This is in about mid-thigh deep water, so the stork stepping technique for bones is not going to work. Also another problem is there is coral in the turtle grass so it crunches when you walk on it. I’m sure the permit can hear it a mile away.
Rule 342: Practice stealth wading at speed.
OR
Rule 342 A: Work on getting that 100 ft cast..
