Written By Steven Wisner

f you are visiting Rocky Point Permit Camp for the first time, you might be wondering what to bring in order to have the best experience. I’ve been fortunate to fish the water around the camp on quite a few days over several years and I feel qualified to share what works for me. 

Boots: I just retired a pair of Simms Flyweight Access Wet Wading Boots. I walked a lot of miles in them and liked everything about them except that the design allowed a bit of sand to get between the outer layer and the inner layer of the boot, which was not a deal breaker but kind of a pain to clean out at the end of the day. They finally wore out and I replaced them with a pair of NOS Patagonia Marlwalkers. We’ll see how they hold up. 

Inside of these boots, I wear a pair of midweight Smartwool socks. Some people prefer neoprene socks, but I like the wool better. What matters is that you have something to keep your feet from rubbing on the boot. Bare feet in the boot is a bad idea. 

At RPPC you need to have a pair of sturdy wading boots that will protect your feet from sharp coral rocks. The front yard of the camp, especially to the north, is rocky and dive-style flats booties will not protect your feet. You need real boots! 

Pants: I wear lycra tights with a pair of Birdwell board shorts over the top. I could probably just wear the tights and be a MAMIL (Middle-aged Man In Lycra), but it’s not a good look for me, so I add the shorts. I have tried wearing baggy fishing pants and I don’t really like them because they act like sails on my legs when I’m wading and make it more difficult to wade all day, but I know a lot of people wear them. Consider the tights/shorts combo. It’s pretty awesome. Or, if your legs are totally bronzed, just go with the shorts. 

Shirt: The Simms Solarflex Hoody is my choice here, but any fishing hoody with good UV protection will work. The sun is a beast in Belize and getting burned is a drag, so I wear this shirt and use the hood. I can’t stand having a Buff over my mouth and it makes me feel like I’m about to rob a bank, so I don’t use one, but a lot of people love them and they are probably a smart choice to avoid having to have parts of your face cut off later in life. 

Hat: I wear whatever my current lucky hat might be. Hats bring good luck and then, for some reason nobody understands, become unlucky. At this moment my lucky hat is a foam-front with “IT’S A BAD DAY TO BE A HOTDOG” written on the front. If I have two rough days in a row, I’ll need a new hat. I always pack a spare. 

Sunglasses: For DIY flats fishing, or any fishing, honestly, sunglasses are your most important piece of kit. Seriously. This is where you want to spend your money. If I had a choice between a great rod and a great pair of polarized sunglasses, I would choose the sunglasses every time. A great rod is no use if you can’t see fish.

I use prescription polarized Oakleys with a copper tint. I also have a pair of polarized yellow-tinted glasses for low light and overcast days. 

What you want is a tint that emphasizes contrast. When spotting fish, you are looking for movement, but also any sharp edge or distinct color difference. On sunny days, this is where brown or amber lenses shine. Grey lenses aren’t great, IMHO. Sunglasses that aren’t polarized are close to worthless. 

Sunscreen: I want to give a shout out to the Sun Bum Facestick. It’s basically sunscreen in a deodorant-looking dispenser. It works great, is reef-safe, doesn’t get on your hands, and you can bring it on the airplane. I hate most sunscreens, but love this stuff. 

Sling Pack: This may be a controversial choice, but I really like my Ozark Trail 9L sling pack. Yes, from Wal-Mart. It’s a great pack, is well constructed, holds all my stuff in an organized manner, and has a cool lycra pouch for my phone. It’s going to set you back a whopping $14.97. The downside is that it isn’t waterproof, but the upside to that is that it doesn’t have one of those annoying waterproof zippers. I just don’t put anything in it that absolutely needs to stay dry. I’ve used this pack for a lot of days on the water and it has held up like a champ. 

You need to carry flies, tippet, leaders, nippers, hemostat, sunscreen, a raincoat, and water. Any pack that can carry those items will probably work great as long as you can comfortably carry it all day and it doesn’t interfere with your casting. 

Rods: I carry one rod if I’m fishing in the front yard and two if I’m using a canoe or SUP in the backyard. 

The rod I’m never without is my 9-weight Winston Boron IIX. It’s a great rod with a deep-loading, slightly slower action that I like. 

If I’m in a boat, I carry a second rod, an 8-weight St. Croix Imperial, also a rod that’s a tiny bit on the slower side, but a cannon if you use it correctly. 

If you are only going to bring one rod, make it a good 9-weight. You can catch bonefish, permit, baby tarpon, barracuda, and jacks on a 9-weight and it has the backbone to handle all of them. 

When I’m heading out into the backyard, having two rods is nice. If I’m planning on going back into the mangroves, I rig the 8 weight with a do-it-all pattern for bonefish/permit and the 9 for baby tarpon. If my plan is to stay out on the more open flats, I rig the 8 with a smaller fly for bones and the 9 with a crab pattern for permit. 

I used to bring an 11-weight for big tarpon or ‘cudas, but I never used it and I have just stopped bringing it. You might decide you want one though.

Reels: I have a Nautilus #8 that I put on my 9-weight and a 1980’s era Fenwick World Class that I put on my 8-weight. 

What matters most about your reel is that it has a sealed drag. Non-sealed bearings are fine for fresh water. I own a bunch of these reels and they work great in Wisconsin, but they will corrode and seize overnight if they are exposed to salt water and aren’t carefully washed off at the end of each day. I know myself well enough to know that I will screw this up at some point and have an unusable reel in the morning. Get whatever reel you like, but if it were me, I would make sure it has a sealed drag. While you’re at it, make it a large arbor. Oh, and it needs to hold at least 150 yards of backing in addition to your fly line. 

Backing: I use gel-spun, which is actually just fancy fly fishing talk for what conventional anglers call braid. I use Cortland 30# braid, as much as I can get on my reel, but at least 150 yards. 

Fly Line: My reels are both loaded with Cortland All Purpose XP. After experimenting, I’ve found that these lines work great for DIY wading situations where you are usually making shorter casts than you would from a skiff, but where you need to be quick because the fish are often quite close before you see them. Because my rods are a bit on the slower side, I don’t overline them and the XP series has a shorter/heavier head so the overlining is already baked in. 

Rio and Scientific Anglers make short-head saltwater lines similar to the XP and I suggest going with whichever line you like and can purchase at your local fly shop. Just remember that you need a tropical line. A cold-water line is going to tangle like crazy. Also be aware that short-head lines are less delicate in presentation than standard lines so you’ll need to make some adjustment in your cast if a soft presentation is called for. 

Leaders: Because I’m cheap and have time on my hands after the Wisconsin smallmouth/musky season is over, I tie my own saltwater leaders using Seaguar Blue Label Fluorocarbon. 

I use the same leader for bonefish and permit. I put a perfection loop on the buttend and blood knots for all the rest of the knots. The formula is: 

5’ of 40# 

1’ of 30# 

1’ of 20# 

3’ of 15# 

This leader turns over in the wind and works great for me. 

For tarpon, I use 9 feet of level 30#. Put a perfection loop on it and call it good.

For Barracuda, I add 18” of 26# AFW 7X7 wire to the above tarpon leader. Use a double surgeon's knot to attach the wire. Trust me, I’m a musky guide and this knot is a bombproof way to connect wire. 

You can save yourself the trouble of making bonefish/permit leaders by buying them. You’ll want to buy 9’ 15# tapered leaders and spools of 15# and 12# tippet. A spool of each and six leaders will be more than enough to get you through a week at RPPC. 

Since most of the tarpon you’ll encounter will be under 60#, it is highly unlikely that you’ll be setting any line-class world records, so if were me, I would dispense with IGFA compliant leaders and use the the level 30#. Just buy a spool of 30# Seaguar and you’re good to go. 

Flies: Man, this is where things get really subjective. Everyone has her/his favorite flies. I have my own weird flies that I created for myself, but here are commercially available patterns that I like at RPPC. For colors, I lean toward tans or light pinks in everything: 

Bonefish: Crazy Charlie, Veverka’s Mantis Shrimp, Squimp, Borski’s Chernobyl Crab, Denbow Super Slam Shrimp 

Permit: Morrish Grab Crab, Avalon, Veverka’s Mantis Shrimp, Denbow Super Slam Shrimp, Borski’s Chernobyl Crab, EP Floating Crab 

Tarpon: Dread Pirate, EP Peanut Butter, Redfish Crack, Bart-O-Minnow, Gurgler 

I hope this helps you prepare for a trip to Rocky Point Permit Camp. Remember, DIY fishing is an adventure and you’ll learn what works for you along the way. Use the above, not as gospel, but as a rough guide to point you in the right direction. Have a great trip and enjoy the ride!