Permit Alley Belize

Nestled within the turquoise waters between the villages of Placencia and Hopkins, in southern Belize, is the area known by the local fly fishing guides as Permit Alley. This region is also renowned among fly fishing enthusiasts for its perfect permit habitat and world-class angling opportunities. This extraordinary fishing destination offers a unique blend of pancake flats, ocean meadows of turtle grass, and stunning sections of the Meso-America barrier reef. Permit Alley is one the world’s top places to catch a permit on the fly.

Where is Permit Alley?

Permit Alley, as a region, is located in the South Water Caye Marine Reserve near the picturesque villages of Placencia and Hopkins. It is famous for its expansive pancake style flats - shallow water flats with deep water edges - that create the habitat permit love. Many of the flats in this region are wadable, with anglers easily able to navigate the ankle to mid thigh depths. The flats are often guarded on the eastern flanks by large coral heads - these can create an extra element of challenge, if a hooked permit swims to the safety of deeper water on the eastern edges of the flats. Many permit have been lost due to fly lines being wrapped or stuck in the coral.

The origin of the name Permit Alley is of some debate, even with the locals. For some, Permit Alley is a specific flat, not the entire region. For others, it is the area on the east and west sides of the Queen Victoria channel, that runs through the heart of the South Water Marine Reserve. Over the years more and more guides have begun to refer to the entire fishery as the fabled Permit Alley.

If the team at Blue Horizon Lodge was asked to define the boundaries of Permit Alley, the northern most point would be an unnamed flat, just north of Thatch Caye and the southern most point would be just north of Gladden Split. That’s approximately 25 miles north to south. At the widest point, there is about 10 miles between the barrier reef and the inner most flats. So there is approximately 250 square miles that encompasses Permit Alley. Literally, there are hundreds of flats for permit to cruise and feed on.

What Makes Permit Alley Special?

A Rich Biodiversity:

Permit Alley isn’t just about permit; it is also home to a variety of other species including other fly fishing targets - bonefish and tarpon. The eastern boundary is confined by the Meso-American barrier reef, which boasts some of the highest concentrations of marine diversity in the Caribbean. Countless other species including triggerfish, snapper, grouper, jacks, and barracuda, as well as conch and lobster take refuge in these waters.

The Perfect Permit Playground:

Permit Alley is nothing short of breathtaking, but the draw for a permit is the ideal habitat of safety and feeding grounds. Many of the flats in Permit Alley are narrow with deep edges. These deep drop offs can stretch to depths of 100 feet, offering confidence of a quick exist when exposed to danger on the knee flats.

Lots of Tailing Permit:

By far the biggest attraction to fishing in Permit Alley is the opportunities to hunt, cast, and catch tailing permit in shallow water. When contrasted with fishing for permit in other areas of Belize, Mexico, Cuba, and the Bahamas, the fishery in Permit Alley is relaxing. Often, permit are spotted from a great distance away, and tend to stay in the general area feeding. This allows the guide and angler team, to assess the best approach and stealthily get into the best position for a great presentation. Fishing to tailing permit in this region, is much less taxing that the rushed fishing that can be common in other permit fisheries.

When to go fishing in Permit Alley?

Fishing in Permit Alley can be productive 365 days per year, but certain times of the year are consistently more productive that other months on the calendar. In general, when the weather is “good”, meaning light wind (mostly from the east) and clear, sunny skies, the fishing will be great! Weather is not the only important factor to consider, the tides also play a crucial role for success in Permit Alley.

Best Months in Permit Alley:

Mid February through early September are the months that we tend to have the highest catch rates for permit. November is a great month too - commonly there is a week or two of the ‘best’ fishing weather of the year that occurs in November. By mid February, the winter’s cold fronts start to become less frequent, the water temperature warms, and permit move onto the flats in big numbers. March through May, the permit numbers are very consistent, and it is common for each boat to have 10+ good shots at permit per day, with some days our guides getting many more that 10. Late May into June, marks the start of the best time for a Grand Slam. The larger tarpon have migrated into our region and are quite consistently found, nearly everyday (NOTE: these large tarpon can show up as early as late March, but are nearly guaranteed to be around by the end of May). June through August is one of our team’s favorite times of the year in Permit Alley. The flats are nearly empty of angling pressure and the permit are much less bothered by our presence. As a plus, the reliability during the summer for tarpon (and bonefish) mean this is the interval of the year that we see the most Grand Slams caught.

Best Tides in Permit Alley:

It is very valuable to understand the tides and how they impact the productivity in this fishery. As an accepted rule of thumb, the best tides will occur 3-4 days before and after the new and full moon phases each month. The reason our team likes these 8-9 day tide windows, is because the high tide will range from around 7 am to 1 pm. This allows for our team to fish the maximum amount of the high tide window, both the incoming tide and the top of the outgoing tide. The flats in Permit Alley can actually go dry in areas during the lowest of the low tides, and if the fish don’t have enough water to get onto the flats, there is no way they can feed. Equally as important, or maybe more important to when the high tide occurs, is how the water moves across the flats. There is often a dramatic difference in the number of fish that come up to feed, when the tide is causing a current to “rush” over the flats. When the tide current is strong, we often see many more fish, and they feed much more aggressively. While the 3-4 day on either side of the new and full moon, is a great time to have the rushing currents, there are other factors that play into how the tide moves. Wind and barometric pressure have the biggest influence. A day with high pressure and light winds from the east is ideal. North winds are the worst and move the tide so that little to no current moves across the flats.

Planning a visit to Permit Alley?

Fly fishing in Permit Alley is more than just another fishing trip to Belize. It is an surprisingly comfortable experience at Blue Horizon Lodge, while not out on the water in one of the world’s most productive permit fisheries. Our lodge offers anglers quick access to some of the most famous permit flats in the region: Home Flat, Umbrella Flat, Pan Reef, Permit Paradise, Will Bauer’s Flat, Channel Caye, Elbow Caye, and many more are only 10-15 minutes by boat.

Each of the 5 guest rooms are furnished with two full sized, extremely comfortable beds, air conditioning, private bathroom with hot water showers, and plenty of room for all the gear you travel with.

Our island is a modern oasis, with island wide, high speed internet. You’ll be able to stay in as much or as little contact with the “real” world as you want. Some anglers who join us, tell their teams back at the the office that they’ll be ‘off grid’ during their stay. Other anglers, take advantage of the connectivity to stay in touch and work during their fishing vacation.

The menu at Blue Horizon Lodge incorporates local classics combined with savory worldly favorites that include seafood with each meal. All our fishing packages include all the local beer and spirits you care to indulge in, with plenty of mixers… hard to beat an ice cold Belikin at the end of a great day of fishing!

For more information about booking a stay at Blue Horizon Lodge and fishing in Permit Alley, email info@bluehorizonbelize.com or call 800-313-1672 or Book Now.