Key West; Key West Fishing - A Sportfishing Guide to Key West and The
Florida Keys - Key-West-Fishing.com
Permit
Family:
Jacks & Pompanos
Similar Fish:
Jacks & Pompanos
Habitat:
OFFSHORE on wrecks and debris.
INSHORE on grass flats, sand bars and in channels. They can be found in both
mucky and reef bottoms, and in either deep, offshore environs or shallow
flats.
Size:
25 lb - 50 lb.
Description:
This is an extremely adaptable
fish. Young permit school but become more solitary with age. On the
flats, permit feed much like redfish, rooting around the bottom in search of
food. They will eat shrimp, crabs, mollusks, and urchins. The roof of a
permit's mouth has a hard plate that is used to crush the shells of crabs
and crustaceans. It often mashes many anglers' hooks completely flat.