Written by: Sarah Thies, Manager of Orvis Travel

When it comes to permit, landing one of any size is a real accomplishment.
Photo by Sy Traub
Above is a photo of an accidental permit. Darren Traub and his father, Sy (from Allentown, Pennsylvania), have been fly fishing together for years throughout the U.S., including Montana and Alaska. Last month, they took their first saltwater trip to El Pescador in Belize in search of their first bonefish. Darren was casting into a school of bones, when he accidentally hooked a permit. It was certainly no trophy, but it counts! He landed some bones, too, but he was grinning ear to ear at the dinner table as he retold the story of his accidental permit.
It took me many years and many thousands of dollars spent to catch my first permit on a fly rod in Belize. Any permit is a good permit…lucky or not. Congrats.
Luck is where opportunity meets preparation. That’s a fish to be proud of.