| May 7, 2010 | |
Most First-Time Permit Ever! |
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Our group at The Palometa Club this week is the Gorge Fly Shop, back for their third year in a row. These guys have fished everywhere but a few of them were still permit virgins. That is until...
...shop owner and group leader Travis Duddles landed his first palometa on Saturday and lost a second one Sunday after his leader fouled. Rumor has it another Oregonian, Jack Hammond, breathed the rarified air of permit success for the first time Sunday as well. It's hot and sunny down there but it's been "blowin' like stink" for a couple of days, according to manager Dick Cameron. Lots of wind can make the water chalky which makes crossing the Bay tough and fooling fish even tougher.
Monday the wind dropped a bit allowing everyone the chance to venture further into the Bay. "A lot of fish were seen," reports Travis. "but they were pretty spooky." Didn't stop Steve Lewis from getting on the board with a great permit. Good on ya, Steve! There were a few other follows and one other hookup so everyone is pretty pumped for the next few days, particularly since the weather report calls for almost perfect conditions.
We gotta relate one great story. Wild On The Fly's Steve Jensen and Grizzly Hackle Fly Shop owner Dan Shepherd are at the club for a few days this week covering for Dick and Kaye who are in the Florida Keys fishing in the Keymorada Tournament at the invitation of our great clients Mitch Widom and Bobby Balogh. Dan is obviously a very experienced trout angler but he has never fished saltwater before. On his first day he goes out and catches two bonefish, then sees two enormous permit tailing together. The guides estimate one fish at around 20-lbs and one closer to 30-lbs! Dan casts to the two fish and hooks up, commencing to fight one of them -- nobody knows for sure which one ate -- for about twenty minutes until his leader unfortunately breaks. Welcome to the salt Dan, and the magic of Ascension Bay!
We knew it was going to happen. Everything was lining up, and besides, it was Cinco de Mayo! Here's Travis' report verbatim: "Fishing has been excellent, Jack Hammond got his second permit on Tuesday. Today (Cinco de Mayo) Don Hull my fishing partner got is first permit and his second. While he was fighting his second I hooked up and we landed a double. Steve and Debbie Turner both got permit today. Debbie got a grand slam!" Oh yeah...
Final day for the Gorge Fly Shop Group and Tom Grainger got his first permit. Right on Tom! Acting host Steve Jensen found the magic as well and filed this late night report: "I got my first permit today, Wow I am off the snide!! It was great. Dan hooked another one today but broke him off. He is just now getting back to where he can speak again. I believe that makes seven people that have caught their first permit this week. Dan also hooked a baracuda that launched itself at the boat like a torpedo. It jumped from about seven feet out and made it halfway into the boat and flopped around inches from my face as I was bent over trying to get a camera going. It sprayed blood all over me and the boat as it hit going thirty miles an hour. It was an amazing moment!"
And one last piece of equally amazing breaking news. We told you that Steve and Dan were standing in this week for co-managers Dick and Kaye Cameron who were taking a few days off in Florida and fishing the Keymorada Tarpon Tournament. Well, wouldn't you know it but Dick went ahead and WON IT! He took Grand Champion Honors for the Fly Division, AND Biggest Fish AND Most Combined Weight in a day.