Del Brown Permit Tournament

Dates: Jul 21, 2010 to Jul 23, 2010

Location:  Key West, FL

Contact: Charlotte Ambrogio

(305)-942-0428

In the late 90's when legendary permit fly angler Del Brown was first approached with the idea of a permit fly tournament, his first response was, "you must be crazy!"  After some thought, Brown warmed up to the proposal, and even became excited about such a difficult and unique competition.  Then when the final bomb was dropped that the tournament would proudly carry his name, Del (the godfather of permit fly anglers with over 500 to his credit) humbly admitted he couldn't have been more honored.

The late, great Del Brown would certainly have called this year's field "crazy".   Participants faced 25-30 plus mph winds and nearly total cloud cover, making the already tough job of fooling a permit on fly even more challenging.

Mark Richens of London, England, teamed up with extraordinary flats guide Captain Mark Krowka, made the most out of only a handful of shots by landing two permit of 23 and 26 inches to become the 2010 Grand Champion.  The 26 incher also won the Largest Fish Award.  Richens fired crab flies with a 10 weight clear floating line and fluorocarbon leaders. Capt. Mark Krowka is based out of Islamorada.

Last year's defending champion Greg Vincent from Grand Bahama Island teamed up with local Key West Capt. Justin Rae to take Second Place with a pair of 18 inch permit.  Vincent and Rae experienced some misfortune on Day One, with several fish coming off on the bite, and a snapped pushpole while trying to slow momentum of the boat against a formidable breeze.  Peter Schneirla from New York, N.Y., took Third Place with a 24 incher while being poled by lower keys Capt. Bill Houze.  Mark Krowka (l), tournament coordinator Charlotte Ambrogio and angler Mark Richens (r).

This event was headquartered out of the very accommodating Hurricane Hole Restaurant/Marina/Bar.  Extraordinary kick-off dinners were enjoyed at the Azur Restaurant in downtown Key West. All awards were original oils and water colors by Jorge Martinez of Miami. Permit caught in the Del Brown are measured to the fork of the tail and photographed on a tri-colored ruler.  Fish up to 18 inches are worth 100 points, 18-30 inches are 150 points, and 30 plus big silvery discs are 250 points.  Ties are broken by total inches.  For more information about the Del Brown, contact tournament director Charlotte Ambrogio at CSASUN@aol.com, or call her at 305-942-0428.