Feathers To Fins

Lurking in the arid jungles of the Yucatán peninsula, the brilliantly colored ocellated turkey is more myth than typical game bird. Named for the eye-shaped, blue-bronze spots, or ocelli, at the end of its feathers, both male and female ocellated turkeys have stunning bronze and green iridescent feathers that stand out from their cousins in the United States. But what really sets them apart is their unique vocalizations, unlike anything we hear north of the border.

Nearby, in the warm, inviting waters of the Caribbean, elusive permit drive more fishermen to madness than any other saltwater species. With excellent hearing, vision, smell, and a serious stubborn streak, permit are incredibly easy to spook and, as you might imagine, incredibly difficult to catch. They’ve been described more than once as a “dishonest fish”, and sometimes simply spotting one counts as a good day.

Although the habitats of ocellated turkeys and permit neighbor each other, these two species don’t interact—and most people don’t consider one when thinking about the other. Then again, most people aren’t as obsessed with pushing the boundaries of the pursuit as Beau Brooks and Max Erickson. Addicted to the challenge of luring and stalking turkey, Beau is a world champion caller who’s chased toms all across the lower 48. Max is a visionary filmmaker whose skills with a fly rod rival those of his with a camera.

Together, they concocted a wild scheme. What if they could track down one of these tropical turkeys—no easy feat in itself—and then use the bird’s stunning iridescent feathers to craft a custom fly that would trick notoriously picky permit? This would be a challenge unlike any either of them had faced before.

It was the distinct sounds of the ocellated turkey that drew Beau to the Yucatán in the first place. A video of these turkeys sent from a friend in the region opened Beau’s eyes to their wildly different calls, and from that moment he knew he had to find out if he could crack the code to draw one in. Beau speaks turkey fluently north of the border, but the question remained if he’d be able to overcome the language barrier when trying to fool these unfamiliar family members.

Not only do ocellated turkeys make totally unique sounds, they’re also rarely called to by hunters. That meant Beau would have to create his own custom call to recreate their vocalizations. And that wouldn’t be the only challenge. Life in the jungle keeps them on high alert at all times—jaguars, pumas, and other predators stalk them night and day, making for a very wary and elusive bird. This left Beau wondering if he’d be able to call one in at all, let alone shoot one. But harvesting an ocellated turkey was essential if the permit-fishing phase of the trip was to go ahead.

It’s hard enough to get permit to bite with field-proven flies. Max was planning to make his using the untested feathers of the ocellated turkey, if Beau could provide them. He would also need no small amount of patience, skill, and persistence to draw the eye of a permit, let alone hook into one.

And so, the two of them set out for Mexico to chase their unlikely dream.

Before leaving, Beau estimates he built 15-20 versions of calls before he found one he was satisfied with. Now it was time to find out if his intuition was correct. Once he found a spot to hide in the jungle, he started to call and, almost right away, a turkey popped out. For Beau, to whom calling in an animal is the ultimate test, this was already a mission success.

“It was like getting to hunt for the first time again,” Beau told us. The call was the culmination of all of his knowledge gained from a lifetime of obsessing over animal sounds. However, he still needed to get one to the right spot to take his shot, so that the feathers could be handed over to Max for the permit pursuit. After a couple more days of trial and error, he was finally able to get a flock into perfect range and claim his hard-earned prize.

Once Max got his hands on the beautiful turkey feathers, he considered his options. How would the iridescence look on the water? Would the color draw a permit’s discerning, skeptical eye?

After testing a few different fly options, he decided that his best bet was a Strong Arm, a famous fly known for its prowess in saltwater flats—the exact habitat he’d be prowling for permit.

Once the flies were tied, it was time to hit the water. With his local guide expertly poling the boat into place and spotting fish with his razor-sharp eyes, Max got to work. And hard work it was. It required perfectly placing flies on dinner plate-sized pockets in the face of relentless winds, and he would need to do it hundreds of times a day.

With his shoulders aching and his resolve firmly tested, Max finally hooked into the fish he’d been pursuing so relentlessly. After a lengthy battle, he was able to bring it to boat and felt the overwhelming relief that only comes when your mind and body have been pushed to their limits.

This was a sweet victory for both Beau and Max, who set out to take on two of the most elusive species in the Yucatán, and, against the odds, succeeded. The team closed out the trip by feasting on fire-roasted turkey tacos and dancing the night away on the beach with the local guides and their families.

While the ocellated turkey and the permit may never meet in the wild, the two are inextricably linked by a shared history in the Yucatán and the challenge they pose to hunters and fishermen. Bringing them together in this unique way was an unforgettable experience that blurred the boundaries between different ecosystems and pursuits.