Permit fishing in south Florida offers an excellent opportunity to develop your angling skills. There are three hotspot areas to target these smart and hard fighters:

• Biscayne Bay - flats on the eastern side from about Soldier Key down to Sands Key and mangroves on the western and southern side of the bay
• The Lower Keys - rocky flats from Upper Harbor Key down to Jewfish Channel; asides from combing the bottom, Permit here often feed on the surface of the water as well
• Key West - the vast flats of the Lakes region; this is where the biggest Permit in Florida are

* Of course, the strip of islands in between the Lower Keys and Biscayne have their fair share of flats hosting an abundance of Permit, too.

Some excellent guides that can take you out for Permit will be: captain Dave with Grateful Dave Charters or captain Mike with C Hawk out of Key West; captain Ted with Skins and Fins or captain Matt with Bamboo Charters out of Islamorada.