Del Brown Invitational Permit Tournament 2009
Del Brown caught more than 500 permit in his lifetime. On July 22-24, 16 anglers and their guides took on the task to pursue permit on a fly. Some had a lot of shots, some had a lot of luck, and on day 1 Capt. Will Benson and his angler Mike Allen of Key West came back to the dock with 4 permit releases under their belt.
For anglers that regularly fish tournaments there is a lot to be said about first day fish. There is no way to seal the deal unless you can keep up that stamina and come back on day 2 and day 3 with more permit releases.
For Capt. Justin Rea and his angler Greg Vincent of Grand Bahama Island they took their one release on day one with stride. After all there were two more days of fishing. It just so happened that day one the weather was more condusive for permit fishing - a breeze and lots of sunlight.
Vincent and Rea came back to the dock on day 2 with 5 fish. This was a personal best for Vincent and in a tournament no less.
Allen and Benson answer with one permit the second day. These two teams are keeping everyone in suspense for the third day.
Day three rolls around and it’s a typical summer day. Flat calm. Not exactly perfect for hooking permit unless you can cast nearly into the backing. Rea and Vincent struggled all day to find a fish that would eat. They finally got one boated at nearly 2:45 PM. Benson And Allen had their final fish early in the day.
Congrats to Capt. Justin Rea and Greg Vincent for a tremendous three days of permit fishing. Winning the Del Brown is one of the ultimate victories in fly fishing competition. My warmest congrats to Capt. Will Benson too, a great job guiding Mike Allen in both permit tournaments this year. You two make a great team!
Press Release from the Monroe County Tourist Development Council
KEY WEST, Florida Keys — Greg Vincent of Grand Bahama Island caught seven permit on fly to win the 2009 Del Brown Invitational Permit Tournament honoring the late angling legend.
Vincent earned the title of grand champion angler fishing with Captain Justin Rea of Sugarloaf Key, Fla. Rea was named the tournament’s grand champion guide.
Vincent’s permit ranged from 18 inches to 30 inches, with a total of 166.25 inches of fish. The 30-incher was the tournament’s largest permit.
Mike Allen of Key West was named the 2009 runner-up grand champion. He caught six permit, for a total of 137.75 inches, while fishing with Captain Will Benson of Key West.
Next in the standings was the team of Scott Crippen of Port St. Lucie, Fla., and Captain Geoff Quatraro of Fort Pierce, Fla. The duo captured four permit measuring a total of 75.5 inches.
Crippen was named the tournament’s best new angler.
Anglers on 16 boats caught 27 permit in the tournament named for Brown. The internationally acclaimed angler, who died in 2003, caught more than 500 permit during his lifetime.
Comments off
