DEL BROWN 2026 TOURNAMENT
July 12-16, 2026
Stalking Permit Since 2001
The Del Brown Permit Tournament is the original permit fly fishing tournament in the Keys and the longest running tournament of it’s kind in the world. This invitation only tournament memorializes the late Del Brown who caught 513 permit on a fly rod in his lifetime. The first Del Brown Permit Tournament was in 2001 in Key West. The tournament has been held annually ever since.
| ANGLER/GUIDE | 0-46cm | 46-76cm | 76cm + | DAY 1 | 0-46cm | 46-76cm | 76cm + | DAY 2 | 0-46cm | 46-76cm | 76cm + | DAY 3 | GRAND TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bendele, P | Register | 150 / 53cm | 150 | 150 | ||||||||||
| Bolander, I | Friedman | 150 / 70cm | 150 | 150 | ||||||||||
| Carruthers, E | Benson | 300 / 46cm, 46com | 300 | 100 / 43cm | 100 | |||||||||
| Christian, S | Huff | |||||||||||||
| Cruz, A | McKay | 150 / 61cm | 150 | 150 | ||||||||||
| Del Bosque, T | Irvine | |||||||||||||
| Dudlar, G | Hamlin | |||||||||||||
| Harkins, S | Thompson | |||||||||||||
| Henderson, W | Snell | |||||||||||||
| Katski, T, | Odell | |||||||||||||
| Kaufman, S | Rust | |||||||||||||
| Lee, M | Stells | |||||||||||||
| Lichstein, P | Horn | |||||||||||||
| Lynch, M | Phinney | |||||||||||||
| Morrissey, D | Sellers | |||||||||||||
| O'Brien, T | Dini | |||||||||||||
| Packo, C | Becker | 150 / 56cm | 150 | |||||||||||
| Ucan, J | Rea | 100 / 43cm | 100 | |||||||||||
| Vallilee, K | LaBadie | 200/43cm, 39cm | 200 | 200 / 35cm, 33cm | 200 | 200 / 42cm, 37cm | 200 | 600 | ||||||
| Ward, M | Cyr | 300 / 58cm, 73cm | 200 / 79cm | 500 | 500 |
South of the Seven not only is a wondeful place to enjoy dinner, it`s the perfect place for a fishing tournament! Thank you so much for your hospitality this week! @southoftheseven #tomahawksteak #delbrownpermittournament #delbrown #southoftheseven
South of the Seven not only is a wondeful place to enjoy dinner, it`s the perfect place for a fishing tournament! Thank you so much for your hospitality this week! @southoftheseven #tomahawksteak #delbrownpermittournament #delbrown #southoftheseven
Congrats to all - permit fishing with a fly is not for the impatient at heart ❤️ thanks to everyone who came out to fish! #permitonfly #delbrown
Congrats to all - permit fishing with a fly is not for the impatient at heart ❤️ thanks to everyone who came out to fish! #permitonfly #delbrown
@simmsfishing @yeti @patagonia @southoftheseven @drinkallhands @scientificanglers @bonefishtarpontrust @jerseymikes @bajiosunglasses @chittum_skiffs @blacktip_fabrication @thebeachymermaidart @turtleboxaudio @hatchoutdoors @thomasandthomasflyrods @travislutherart @sunbum @squaregrouperbarandgrill @carbonmarineoutdoors @johnkobald @captainsforcleanwater @papaspilar @jmartinez_art @saltwateranglerkw @theanglingcompany @sevenmileflyshop @signofthetides
@simmsfishing @yeti @patagonia @southoftheseven @drinkallhands @scientificanglers @bonefishtarpontrust @jerseymikes @bajiosunglasses @chittum_skiffs @blacktip_fabrication @thebeachymermaidart @turtleboxaudio @hatchoutdoors @thomasandthomasflyrods @travislutherart @sunbum @squaregrouperbarandgrill @carbonmarineoutdoors @johnkobald @captainsforcleanwater @papaspilar @jmartinez_art @saltwateranglerkw @theanglingcompany @sevenmileflyshop @signofthetides
Check out @freeflyapparel and their new line of apparel made for the tropics. Free Fly offers apparel for men, women and kids with sun protection in mind. #freefly #freeflyapparel #flyfishinglife #permitfishing #delbrownpermittournament #OutdoorApparel
Check out @freeflyapparel and their new line of apparel made for the tropics. Free Fly offers apparel for men, women and kids with sun protection in mind. #freefly #freeflyapparel #flyfishinglife #permitfishing #delbrownpermittournament #OutdoorApparel
Thank you @simmsfishing! #delbrownpermittournament #fishitwell
Thank you to @thomasandthomasflyrods for supporting the Del Brown! T&T donated an #excocett fly rod for our raffle. #therodyouwilleventuallyown #thomasandthomasflyrods #delbrownpermittournament
Thank you to @thomasandthomasflyrods for supporting the Del Brown! T&T donated an #excocett fly rod for our raffle. #therodyouwilleventuallyown #thomasandthomasflyrods #delbrownpermittournament
Huge thank you to @scientificanglers for providing the tools for successful permit fishing! #permitfishing #scientificanglers #launchpad #flyline #magnitudeflylines #delbrownpermittournament
Huge thank you to @scientificanglers for providing the tools for successful permit fishing! #permitfishing #scientificanglers #launchpad #flyline #magnitudeflylines #delbrownpermittournament
Jersey Mike`s provided lunch to all our anglers and guides this week. Thank you for your support! @jerseymikes #jerseymikeskeywest #delbrownpermittournament
Jersey Mike`s provided lunch to all our anglers and guides this week. Thank you for your support! @jerseymikes #jerseymikeskeywest #delbrownpermittournament
The 2023 Del Brown Invitational is a wrap! Very warm weather made this tournament extra tough but several teams prevailed. A total of 12 permit were released over the 3-day event. The field consisted of 22 anglers and guides.2022 Tournament Results
Congrats to all our winners and so many thanks to everyone who came out to fish! The final results are: 19 permit released and one bonefish over the three day event. Seventeen boats participated this year. Grand champions Mike Ward and Capt Brandon Cyr with 900 points and 6 fish, second place went to Robert Dougherty and Capt. Nick LaBadie with 600 points and 4 fish, third place went to Clint Packo and Capt Simon Becker with three permit and 450 points. Third place went to a tie breaker by total inches. The largest permit was awarded to Robert Dougherty and Capt Nick LaBadie with a fish measuring 30.25” to the fork. The bonefish release category was won by Tom del Bosque and Capt Scott Irvine.
Grand Champions
Mike Ward, Spokane, WA
Capt. Brandon Cyr, Big Pine Key, FL
6 Permit Released – 900 points total
First Runner-Up
Robert Dougherty of Dallas, TX
Capt. Nick LaBadie of Key West, FL
4 Permit Released – 600 points total – Largest permit – 30.25″
Runner-Up
Clint Packo of Littleton, CO
Capt. Simon Becker of Cudjoe Key, FL
3 Permit Released – 450 points total
Largest Permit
Robert Dougherty of Dallas, TX
Capt. Nick LaBadie of Key West, FL
30.25″ to the fork
Most Bonefish Releases
Tom del Bosque of Boca Raton, FL
Capt. Scott Irvine of Key West, FL
2025 Del Brown Dates
July 7-10, 2025
Sugarloaf Key, FL
Many thanks to YETI, Patagonia, Papa’s Pilar and Simms Fishing for being our title sponsors along with our gracious hosts for the event at South of the Seven restaurant on Sugarloaf Key. #delbrownpermittournament
Many thanks to all the supporters of the Del Brown, both past and present. We appreciate your generosity greatly!
About Del Brown
The Del Brown Permit Tournament is dedicated to the man who made permit fishing with a fly rod famous, the late Del Brown. Brown caught 513 permit on a fly rod in his lifetime. Brown tied a fly called the “Merkin” that was a close enough representation of a crab that permit rushed to eat it. Today there are many styles of the Merkin fly, most of them are a representation of Brown’s crab. The Del Brown Permit Tournament was established in 2001 and continues to honor the late Del Brown with this annual event in July. The Del Brown makes a contribution to Bonefish Tarpon Trust annually to the Jon Ain Memorial Fund for continued permit research.
