08/10/2026
Cape York - salt-fly paradise!
Store co-owner Dave Scott enjoyed an amazing experience over in Cape York recently. Not only did they catch several permit, one of the hardest fish to catch on standard fly-fishing tackle, they caught all sorts of other amazing tropical predators, including some good barramundi, tarpon and giant trevally - check out this video, and if you like what you see, read the back-story to it, also written by Dave below...
CAPE YORK - IS THIS THE MOST AMAZING FISHING DESTINATION IN THE PACIFIC?!
David Scott and good mate David Akeroyd had an absolute ball, catching 20 different species on fly, including GTs, barramundi, tarpon, queenfish, jacks and archerfish.
But the primary target was the Anak permit — and Cape York certainly delivered.
For David Scott, it was his first time chasing permit. David Akeroyd, on the other hand, had been chasing these unicorns for 20 years and was absolutely over the moon to finally land one after several close encounters over the years. On previous attempts, a shark had spoiled his efforts, and on another occasion he lost one after a long and arduous fight.
Buck Fever
Buck fever is that combination of overexcitement, nerves and anticipation that can cause you to completely fluff the shot. Permit do this to you!
Taking a shot at a permit — casting to a fish that may be your only opportunity of the day — is often messy. You can stand on the fly line as you cast, not have enough line out of the reel to make the cast properly, cast too far, have the wind wrap your line into a knot, misjudge the wind, or simply put the fly straight on top of the fish and spook it. The possibilities are endless. And the more times you fluff a shot, the more nervous you become. Even the guides get seriously excited during the build-up, despite seeing these fish every day. That alone shows just how unique and frustrating permit fishing can be.
Both Davids are very experienced fly anglers, and they both came away saying the same thing: “It’s really difficult to catch permit.”
And there are plenty of reasons why. First, you have to spot the fish. Some days you may not see a single permit. If you do spot them, you then have to work out which direction they are travelling and position the boat so you can cast the fly to where you think the fish will be 5–10 seconds later, once the crab fly has sunk.
This was often in wind gusting up to 25 knots, while casting heavy sinking-tip lines and heavily weighted crab flies. It was a real challenge. Next, add a constantly moving target, deep water of up to 10 feet, working out the respective current and boat drift directions, as well as needing to accurately judge where the fly will end up. So often you had to recast because the fish changed direction, or the original cast simply didn't come off. This was a real test of keeping your cool, because you couldn't just pick up and recast immediately; instead, you had to strip the sinking line back to a position where you could effectively load the rod first, then shoot the line back out.
Then came the retrieve. Stripping a crab fly to such spooky fish had to be perfect. You needed to stay in contact with the fly so you could feel the bite, but at the same time make sure you weren't stripping too quickly and making the fly look unnatural.
A permit doesn't necessarily smash the fly like a snapper. They can inhale the crab, crush it in their gill rakers and spit it out almost instantly if they don't like what they've tasted. More often than not, you don't even feel the bite, so by the time you realise something's happened, the permit has already rejected the fly — leaving you with a crushed and often ruined crab pattern. Some bites were nothing more than a strange sensation on the line.
And then comes the final piece of the puzzle: the hook set. You have to strip-set hard, keeping the rod low and stripping the line quickly and firmly until you feel a solid connection. If you try to set the hook by lifting the rod — the traditional trout-style strike — you simply don't generate enough pressure to drive the hook home.
And if you do manage to stick one, the battle isn't over. These fish fight incredibly hard, and you need to get them under control as quickly as possible before the hook works loose.
Apart from all that, they're pretty easy to catch… 😂
That’s permit fishing. Buck fever, wind, current, sinking lines, heavy flies, spooky fish, split-second decisions and one very unforgiving target.
And when it finally all comes together, there’s nothing quite like it.
Finally, a special thanks to Aussie Fly Fishing for a fabulous week in Cape York, as well as the guys at the lodges for their great hospitality, and to Chris and Wylee for the two days they guided us around Weipa. Thanks also to Cooper Watson for his amazing photography and assistance on the mothership missions, and a big shout-out to Max, the chef on the mothership, who kept us very well fed.
