Permit Trachinotus falcatus

Seasonality:

Habitat:
Shallow seagrass, sand flats and backreefs, lagoons, and deeper reefs and wrecks.
Geographical distribution:
Massachusetts to Brazil, including the Caribbean and Bermuda. Most abundant in tropical and subtropical regions.
Major prey items:
Crustaceans (crabs, small lobster, shrimp), bivalves (primarily clams), gastropods(snails, conch), and sea urchins.
Bait, lures:
Small live crabs, pieces of crab, small sea urchins, conch, and hermit crabs.
Flies:
Crab, shrimp, and urchin patterns. Try a Del Brown yarn crab, Sculpinwool crab, Felt crab, Bonefish slider, and a black deerhair and hackle urchin.
What to look for:
As permit dig into the bottom with their mouths rooting for food, their tails often come out of the water. The tips of their dorsal fin and tail may break the surface of the water as they feed or cruise the flats. Permit will feed in water so shallow that they must swim sideways or swim with their backs are exposed, but they prefer water deeper than 16 inches.

Bonefish Albula vulpes

Habitat:
Backreef, shallow seagrass, sand flats and mangrove lagoons.
Geographical distribution:
Bay of Fundy to Brazil, including the Caribbean and Bermuda. Most abundant in Bahamas, southern Florida, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.
Major prey items:
Bivalves (primarily clams), crustaceans (crabs and shrimp), worms, gastropods (snails), small fish, and urchins.
Bait, lures:
Live shrimp, small jigs often baited with shrimp or crab.
Flies:
Various small flies tied to imitate shrimp, crabs, and worms. Try Craft Fur Clouser minnows, McVay Gotcha, Crazy Charlies, Fernandez Snapping Shrimp, and Del Brown's yarn crab.
What to look for:
As with permit, bonefish dig their mouths into the bottom rooting for food, often exposing their tails. Bonefish will often feed in water so shallow that their dorsal fins and backs are exposed. Trails of mud or other bottom sediments may indicate bonefish digging in the bottom in search of prey. These mud trails are especially helpful in locating bonefish in deeper waters. With some practice you should be able to spot the ghostly forms of bonefish as they swim over the flats.

Click here to see a graph showing the relationship between length of bonefish in the Florida Keys and age. (Recent research has revealed that bonefish grow faster in the Keys than in the Caribbean.)

Tarpon Megalops atlanticus

Habitat:
Mangrove lagoons, bays, harbors, deeper water channels adjacent to shallow flats, around offshore cays.
Geographical distribution:
Nova Scotia to Brazil, including Bermuda. Most abundant in southern Florida, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
Major prey items:
Fish, crustaceans (shrimp and crabs).
Bait, lures:
Silver spoons, white jigs, live baitfish.
Flies:
Deceivers, Seaducers, and a great variety of specialized tarpon flies. Try deceivers in various colors, usually size 2/0 for the local tarpon..
What to look for:
Tarpon can be seen rolling at the water surface gulping air (they are able to utilize oxygen from the air via a lung-like bladder) or feeding on smaller fish. Tarpon occasionally swim just below the water surface with their dorsal fin exposed. An experienced angler with polarized sunglasses may be able to spot tarpon cruising in deeper water, or sheltering in the shade of mangrove branches during the heat of the day. During the late spring to early summer on St. Croix, groups of tarpon often herd large schools of sardines against some beaches. The commotion usually gives their location away.

Jacks Family Carangidae

Habitat:
Fore-reef and back-reef, channels adjacent to shallow water, mangrove lagoons and bays, back-reef flats, seagrass flats, offshore cays.
Geographical distribution:
The 30 or so species of jacks in the Western North Atlantic are present in tropical and warm-temperate waters. They can be found from estuaries to offshore.
Major prey items:
Fish, shrimp, small crabs.
Bait, lures:
Squid, shrimp, cut bait, small spoons, spinners, jigs.
Flies:
Small streamers, clouser minnows, shrimp and crab imitations. By far the most productive pattern for me has been a chartreuse and white clouser minnow, size 2.
What to look for:
Jacks can be seen cruising the fore-reef and back-reef areas in search of food. They also feed in lagoons, over seagrass beds, along beaches, and even on shallow seagrass and sand flats. Small jacks may be seen in small groups while feeding. Larger jacks become more solitary. Jacks can be seen feeding on schooling baitfish at the surface when in deeper water. When on the flats, jacks often leave a wake as they pass through the shallow water in search of food, and can be seen splashing or tailing as they pursue prey.

Barracuda Sphyraena barracuda

Habitat:
Fore-reef and back-reef, channels adjacent to shallow water, mangrove lagoons and bays, also offshore reefs.
Geographical distribution:
Massachusetts to southeast Brazil. Most common in tropical, subtropical, and warm-temperate waters.
Major prey items:
Larger individuals primarily eat fish, but smaller barracuda will take a bite at almost anything that is the right size.
Bait, lures:
Live fish, baitfish imitations, silver spoons, feathers.
Flies:
Baitfish imitations (Deceivers, Clouser minnows) and needlefish imitations
What to look for:
Barracuda are often seen suspended motionless in the water, waiting for the chance to attack unsuspecting prey. Smaller fish can be found in water just a few inches deep. Larger fish can be found just about anywhere it is deep enough for them to pass. Although large barracuda prefer the deeper waters around reefs and in lagoons, they can also be spotted cruising the flats in search of prey. A school of baitfish jumping from the water as they flee a predator may indicate a feeding barracuda.