Permit Merkin Madness

The first Merkin Madness Permit Invitational Tournament was held last week in Key West, Florida, with angler Jon Ain and guide Doug Kilpatrick taking first place with two permit caught. (Guide Mike Guerin and angler Moe Slaton came in second, and Mike told me that their two fish were “only an inch or so short.”)
Other than a politically correct definition of ‘merkin,’ John Geiger’s article in the Florida Keys Keynoter offers the first accurate detail in print of the development of Del Brown’s killer permit fly. “Then Brown saw Isley’s deer-hair crab fly that had little dumbbells for eyes, which made the fly sink just like a real crab does to get out of harm’s way. But Brown couldn’t spin deer hair on a hook if his life depended on it. Instead, Brown figured yarn would work just as well.” (Thanks to reader David Dalu for this link.)