Packing light does not mean you are not packing right.
Over the years we have seen our clients bring unnecessary fishing gear. With the ever increasing airline charges for additional luggage, we put this fishing tackle list together to help you cut down on what you bring, however making sure you bring the essentials.
Fly Fishing Tackle
Rod Weight:
- Tarpon:12 wt rod with intermediate sink WF fly line with extra spool WF full floating
- Permit: 10 wt rod with WF full floating line
- Bonefish: 8 wt rod with WF floating line
Tarpon leader material:
- 20 - 40 - 50 or 60 pound test disappearing pink flora
Bonefish and permit leader material:
- 8 - 12 - 16 pound test taper leader or spools of the same sizes to make leaders, disappearing pink if possible
Tarpon flies/lures:
- gummy minnow with silver side and gray back 1-0 hook preferably- clouser minnow chartreuse and white 1-0 hook preferably
Permit flies:
- Merkins: brown, tan, tan and brown, olive green
- Sexy Sixties
- Mantis shrimp
- Beaur Flies
- Rag Head
- Or any other that you might like
- All should be tied on # 4 hook with Minnie dumbbell eyes or hallow bead chain eyes with weed guard
Bonefish flies:
- Crazy Charlie: gold, pink, white, chartreuse and crystal flash
- Clouser: chartreuse and white, full chartreuse and full white, all with hallow bead chain eyes and tied on # 6 hooks.
Other Fishing Tackle
Trolling equipment:
- Ugly stick: 7 ft stand up rod for little big game with 4-0 10 reel with 30 lb test line
Bait Casting (snook fishing):
- Ugly stick: 7 ft medium to fast casting rod with reel equivalent to 3500 Shimano Reel, with 17 lb test line.
Bait casting for permit and bonefish:
- Ugly stick: 7 ft fast tip flex with ultra light reel, 8 lb and 12 lb test line, extra spool.
Trolling Lures:
- assorted 4 inch to 5 inch Rapalla, Yozuri, Bombers all Divers
Casting Lures:
- Assorted 3 inch to 4 inch Rapalla, Yozuri, Mirror Lures slow sink, Buck tail Jig, Sassy shad, Zara Spook
Permit and Bonefish:
- Assorted colors, wiggle jig on # 2 hook
Other Fishing Hardware:
- Hard steel leader
- braided flex steel leader
- all 70 to 90 lb test
- Barrel swivel 70 to 90 lb test
- 1-0, 2-0 and 3-0 single hook

