Mission Accomplished - Permit on Fly — Mike Stevens

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Mike Stevens with one of the World’s most sought after fish on a fly — the permit.

Mike Stevens

You do not start fishing with a bucket list of fish to catch, but one often comes along.

Sight fishing to target species fish has always made my heart beat a little faster. Only those that choose to chase this style of fishing really understand. Tasmania’s 19 Lagoons, Western Lakes, Great Lake for ‘sharks’ and few other places are home to this style of fishing. New Zealand rivers rate highly as do other crystal clear fresh water fisheries. In salt water, think of bonefish as the most talked about species, but it is not the only one. Giant trevally, tarpon and many others rate highly as well.

If there is one place in the world Australians constantly mention it is the Republic of Kiribarti and its famous ‘Christmas Island’. This is a bonefishing and sight fishing haven.

Closer to home though, Weipa is one of Australia’s top salt water fly fishing destinations and there are tremendous sight fishing opportunities here. According to, arguably Australia’s most experienced salt water guide, Allan ‘Fish’ Philliskirk, the top three fish, if there was an Australian Grand Slam, would be Permit, Black Spot Tusk and Blue Bastards.

On a trip to Weipa in September to fish with Fish’s guiding team I had these fish in mind. Permit was at the top, followed by the Tusky and Blue Bastard. If you are a ‘sight fisher’ you know persistence is on the top of the list, time on the water, weather conditions and luck. The order varies, but weather is vitally important as only good vision will allow you to complete your task. Blue sky, clear water and some breeze all open more opportunities. Good polaroids (I use Tonics) are also needed and importantly time on the water. Experience is essential and the more sight fishing you do the better you (should) get.

My discussion with one of Fish’s guides, Bargy (Mark Bargenquast, was ‘I want a Permit’ and am happy to watch and wait for as long as it took. Fortunately I was with my good friend Tony Stent, who has patience and generosity in his DNA. He was patient and generous enough to forgoe chasing many other fish to let me chase just a few. He is a very good angler and had caught all the fish I was chasing before, and has had many trips with ‘Fish’.

Pretty much all the fishing is from a boat, although I did have half an hour fishing from the shore. That was not successful. Fish’s boats are 6.8 metre custom made Hookers and are superb for the Weipa area. They are narrow, stable and deep vee. They ride superbly in the short chop that afternoons seem to dish up every day. A good run home is welcome rather than a bash into confused seas.

Well, mostly the first part of the fishing did not go to plan and after two days with Bargy I had managed quite a few shots, but not caught a Permit. Apparently I hooked one that fell off due to my ‘Trout Strike’, but I am not sure on that. However I had caught a Blue Bastard and a Black Spot Tusk fish. The Blue Bastard was a good fish and I had been warned to hang on and not expect to land them. They fight dirty and are rarely found too far from reef and structure. The fight is usually – hookup, screaming line burn, round some reef, bustoff……. Mine was – hookup, screaming line, round some reef, back around reef undoing itself, hang on, screaming line, really hang on and then after a short while into the net. A lot of luck and I had my first Bastard.

Now the Bastard is not just a good description, nor a common name, but also part of its scientific name Plectorhinchus caeruleonothus.

Day three we looked for Blue Bastards and hopefully Permit, but day four and five were Permit only. Tony caught a little Permit on day four, we saw plenty, presented our flies to many, but just a result for Tony - me nothing. Day five – of five and a half day’s fishing was starting to cut it fine for me to catch a Permit. Many people have chased them for years without success, whilst others seem blessed and catch one pretty quickly.

We had seen plenty on day four, so with the tide an hour later and with more run we were confident we would see plenty and get a lot of shots.

Eight, nine and ten o’clock all came and went with very few Permit showing up. Most were travellers going for a casual swim and not really feeding. It was getting disheartening and the shots I got were too far left, right or too close, on top or behind, according to old mate Philliskirk.

Then we had a good sized school come and feed, heads down and mooching around close enough to get a number of casts in. The light was good and my nerves were settled as I put in cast number 1083. The school hoovered their way and the fly was put in their path. A slow draw and it came tight. I didn’t trout strike, and gave it a good hard strip strike as instructed by the guru ‘Fish’.

‘Well that was all good’ he said, ‘but it is a Goldy’ (Golden trevally). Bugger!

It took off and I wound up the drag hoping to get it in quickly, so I could get some more Permit shots. Then larconic ‘Fish’ says in a slow drawl ‘keep fighting it like a Goldy, but it is a Permit’. Bloody hell that man knows how to throw you off balance. He said ‘it is hooked and won’t come off now’.

And so it came to be that my first Australian Permit was landed net after a hard fight, photographed and then released, hopefully for another angler on another day.

Philliskirk thumps you when you get it wrong, gets angry and abusive in a fun way when you get your cast wrong, trout strikes instead of strip strikes, won’t eat your lettuce in the lunch, but when it goes right he is as excited as the angler. He is an outstanding guide, with first class boat, gear and advice, with extensive knowledge and great eyes for polaroiding fish. He has fished with many of the great anglers and fishing authors all around the World.

Sight fishing for three species is what I went to Weipa for. It was not easy and if we didn’t stick to the plan it would not have succeeded. Many hours went by without a fish, and that often happens with the most rewarding fishing. Persistence paid off. Thank you Tony and Allan ‘Fish’ Philliskirk.

If you want a great Weipa fishing experience check out weipaflyfishing.com.au and make sure you like lettuce in your lunch.

Fish’s Hooker boat is fast, stable and a joy to fish from.

Mike Stevens

Extracted from an article in the Guardian (theguardian.com) ‘Blue bastard’: newly recognised fish is blue when adult and ‘a bastard to catch’

Queensland scientist Jeff Johnson, who identified species from photos, formally christens combative reef fish Plectorhinchus caeruleonothus.

The ‘Red Cliffs’ south of Weipa are part of the Weipa Bauxite Plateau - a series of both large and smaller bauxite and kaolin deposits on the west coast of Cape York. The kaolin clay deposits can be seen clearly below the upper red bauxite layer. Bauxite is used in the production of Aluminium.

The blue bastard’s 12 dorsal spines make it utterly different from a sweetlips species it had previously been confused with.

The “blue bastard”, an elusive and uniquely combative reef fish from northern Australia, long known only in fishing folklore, has been recognised officially by science.

Queensland Museum scientist Jeff Johnson, who identified the species from photos taken last year by a Weipa fisherman, has formally christened it Plectorhinchus caeruleonothus – a direct Latin translation of the colloquial name anglers bestowed on a fish famously difficult to land.

“Caeruleo is blue and nothus is bastard. That was the origin of the name applied by fishermen for many years and I thought, why should I argue with that? It seemed like a perfect name for me,” Johnson told Guardian Australia.

“I wondered what the reviewers of the paper would say about it but they both agreed it was quintessentially Australian and we should go ahead.”

He used photos from fly fisherman Ben Bright to show that the blue bastard’s 12 dorsal spines make it utterly different from a sweetlips species it had previously been confused with.

The blue bastard is distinctive in that it changes colour from yellow, dark and light stripes as a juvenile, to a silvery blue in adulthood, when it can grow up to a metre in length.

But it was the adult males’ propensity for “serious combat” through locking jaws and grappling at the water’s surface, in a spectacle dubbed “kissing” by anglers, that really sets the fish apart from related species, Johnson said.

Johnson has no anecdotal evidence on how the fish tastes but ventured it would not be its finest attribute.

“I haven’t tried it myself and most of the fly fishermen practise catch-and-release so I haven’t spoken to anyone that’s eaten one,” he said. “It’s probably only fair edible quality, I’d suspect, going on the closest relative.”