PERMIT are easily spooked therefore, your fly selection should be easy to cast, land softly with little disturbance, resemble a local, sink properly and imitate a crab since that is the preferred dining for PERMIT.  

The pass difficulty in catching PERMIT has recently been minimized with the creation of a fly that appeals to the PERMIT.  This crab imitation, called THE MERKIN, is a soft base crab pattern tied with acrylic, yarn, wool or similar material.   

The Merkin fly is so successful some feel this fly tied in various sizes, eyes (size of eye determine weight of fly) legs and ambulation design may be all you need for PERMIT.

This creative fly pattern was the design of  DEL BROWN who has caught over 350 Permit on variations of this fly.  You may wish to stay away from crab flies made from epoxy or any hard material because the slightest splash will spook this nervous fish.  If crabs are swimming near the surface use an unweighted fly.  Use a lightly weighted fly for shallow water and heavily weighted for over 2 feet deep.

When a PERMIT approaches a crab the prey tilts to one side and heads for the bottom in a steep decline. Your crab imitation will need to behave the same way.

Continue to permit tactics ...