The Curse Is Lifted:  Dave Finally Lands A Permit! 

Posted under fly fishing reports by Will Benson

 

After 301 days of going permit-less the talented Mr. Teper finally managed to wrap his hands around another vertical silver flounder!  It all began the day after our first film premier.  Dave, Capt Mark Phillips and I were out taking some much needed shots at fish following a nearly six week editing binge.  Late in the day, we spotted some tailing fish cruising off the flat with the tide.  Dave jumped in the water while Mark polled me into position with the camera.  What ensued was pure documentary magic.  Dave caught the fish and I captured the best shot of my life.  And with that, the curse of the magic shot began.  Over the months Dave managed to connect with a few but never got one to the boat.  He threatened to nail the next one to my wooden door, which only exasperated his already miserable luck. The darkest hour came when he and Capt. Jeff Legutki accompanied Bill Houze and I on a shoot in mid July as we were preparing our entry for the Drake Magazine Video Awards.  Dave managed to pass his bad luck on to Bill as Bill’s biggest permit to date came boat-side.  A freak bend was put into the edge of the reel spool during one of the last ditch efforts to escape from Bills Gold Cup-grip.  The line popped and the Captain lost his cool.  It made for awesome film, but we didn’t know it at the time.  It just seemed that Dave’s miserable luck was plaguing our efforts.  

At the Fly Fishing Retailers Convention this September, Dave had his moment of revelation as we stood at the back casting pond and threw a little known line of rods called Fetha-Styx.  As dave began his trademark left-handed relaxed cast, he turned to me and said, “this is the rod!”  Sure enough, first time out in the keys, first tailing fish in his sights, Dave’s hunch paid off as his new Fetha-Styx made short work of a nearly 20 pound permit.  As we all rendezvoused at Marvin Key for a picnic later that evening, Dave and Jeff broke the news.  Since I was fishing the rescheduled S.L.A.M. earlier that day and didn’t manage any fish to the boat, I was sincerely impressed if a bit jealous.  Maybe the good luck rubbed off because my Anglers Ron Walker and Joe Weaver managed to land 4 the next day.  Since Ron caught his last fish first, he took home most permit releases.  Congrats to Troy Pruitt and his guide Brian Helms for their overall win in the event.  For all the details on the 2008 Mercury S.L.A.M. check out the press release at ESPN Outdoors.