Fishing for Albino Permit in Key West

Weird happens sometimes, not everyday or even monthly but.

I was fishing ocean side flats west of Key West with two brothers on spring break, looking for
big floater schools of Permit that I knew had to be in the area.

We found some Permit as we poled the area but, the boys were having trouble seeing the fish,
not uncommon for newby sight casting anglers, or young men on spring break that have their
vision blurrrrrrred by Budweiser and Key West's beach bikini's.

We ? I managed to make a cast over the skiff and the bobbing heads of the sightless to a pair of Permit crusing down the flat.

Hooking up and handing the rod to one of the boys, he landed a nice Permit 20 mins. later.
So we needed another even if I had to do the poling, sighting, casting and hooking!

It was a nice day and we were laughing and exchanging, the way bad boys do when discussing the various talents and charms of the co-eds that were in town for some spring break fun!

Poling along now over a mile from our starting point, I spotted a large school of Permit floaters
a hundred yards away.

The light was good and I could see that they were bobbing, tail tip out of the water and the occasional face showing above the surface as they were inspecting small clumps of Sargassas
weed.

They do this to try and root out the small crads and shrimp that hitch hike on the Sargassas
as it moves in and out with the tide.

The Permit school was guite large, maybe 60 fish in the 10-14 lb size and moving very slow, at times circling as a unit back to the next drifting clump of grass and oblivous to our approach and intentions.

Ofcourse, the boys couldnt see them , "see the tails out?" ahhh no "see the floating grass?"

ahhhh no " do you see the dark shadow spot about the size of four flats boats?" ahhhh no.

OK OK do you see the white spot, looks like a paper plate in the water? errr yah

The school of Permit is just right of the white paper plate, throw a crab just right of the white paper plate!!

Whoa! thats left and short, throw the other crab right of the white paper plate!

WAIT! thats not a white paper plate!....thats a Albino Permit! Shite cant believe it, never in all these years !

Throw a crab at the white paper plate/Albino Permit............not even close but, another Permit eats the crab and we drift off fighting him, myself straining to keep a visual while we drift further away.

We release the common, everyday kinda Permit and I get back on the push pole and huff my way back to the school and Albino, found them and the other brother made a cast near the
Albino but, another Permit beats the Albino to the crab, soooo off we go again hooked up
and fighting the second, plain jane, caught a million ov um Permit!

I cant waite to get back to that school and another shot at that Albino!


Huff , huff, huff back again but this time I'll make the shot, I want a photo of that Albino Permit,
My Albino Permit!

I had gotten a good look at him and saw that like other Albino's he had a mother of Pearl
pinkish, bluish cast to the white, like the white alligators at the New Orleans marine zoo.

I wanted to touch him, kiss his fat lips, get a photo, and put him back.


My cast was good, one foot from the Albino and infront of his pretty pink lips, " here he comes"
we all exclamed.

Then from six feet away another, plain ol , pain in the ass , who gives a shite Permit beats the Albino to the crab and devours it.

The tide turned by the time we got back to the area and my Albino was .......gone.