Peacock bass in Florida

[Uncle Jesse]

Wanting to take a trip to South Florida and get in on some Peacock bass. Anybody here done that?

 

[Soft Talker]

Third world fish, in what now is a third world country, sad.

 

[cbhunter]

I have not but always wanted to
https://fishingbooker.com/blog/peacock-bass-fishing-in-florida/

 

[TheLBLman]

Interesting.

 

[Pilchard]

Wanting to take a trip to South Florida and get in on some Peacock bass. Anybody here done that?

I can help. Do you want to fish Naples or the East Coast?

 

[TheLBLman]

General question.
On average, do these typically run larger, smaller, or about the same as what one might expect to catch in Florida fishing top-water lures for largemouths?

 

[FourWFarm]

I did a 4-hour guided trip out of Ft. Lauderdale back in January. Probably caught a dozen about 12 -16 inches in length.
Also, caught a few Oscars. Both fish fight like saltwater fish.

The guide said they had a cold snap back in December 2022 that took the water under 60 degrees for a few days. That caused many to die, so the fishing had been tough in the area.

 

[Pilchard]

General question.
On average, do these typically run larger, smaller, or about the same as what one might expect to catch in Florida fishing top-water lures for largemouths?

Biggest I ever encountered was about 8lbs but I didn't fish for them often. They certainly don't have them north of 20lbs like some parts of the Amazon.

You are normally fishing small, fast-moving lures. Not giant topwaters like you've seen in the jungle.

 

[killingtime 41]

Learn 5 different languages and bring a sombrero. That and a New York license plate on the car. I'd say your already getting accustomed to seeing that in TN especially the last few years.

 

[Setterman]

My advice if you want to catch them is save your money and go to South America. Apparently the south Florida ones are really small and you're essentially fishing ditches around houses

 

[Uncle Jesse]

I can help. Do you want to fish Naples or the East Coast?

I'll be at Pompano beach on father's day weekend with a friend. The guide she's been using has been injured and canceled all upcoming trips.

 

[Pilchard]

You'll want to be considerably more south than Pompano. Are you married to the idea of peacock bass?

If so, I would either DIY around Lake Ida or contact Kevin Cannon who specializes in this stuff.

 

[Pilchard]

Normally Pompano is fine but the freeze mentioned above hurt things worse the further north you go.

 

[Pilchard]

It's worth mentioning that every roadside ditch and community pond has a good chance of having peacocks in it in that area.

Take a suspending jerk bait with you and pull off the road at any ditch, bridge or pond and you are likely to find a peacock bass.

My sister lives in Miami and they have all sorts of crazy fish in her community pond. Peacocks, knife fish, giant weird catfish, all sorts of colorful exotic stuff.

 

[Uncle Jesse]

You'll want to be considerably more south than Pompano. Are you married to the idea of peacock bass?

If so, I would either DIY around Lake Ida or contact Kevin Cannon who specializes in this stuff.

Got a number for Kevin?

 

[Uncle Jesse]

9313089644 if you want to text it to me

 

[Pilchard]

Got a number for Kevin?

http://www.peacockbasspro.com/

 

[TheLBLman]

On 2nd thought, forget the Peacock bass and go for Tarpon with Captain Darcy!

 

[Grnwing]

If you have access to gear, there is a pit/lake that has some nice peacocks in it. Its deep so the cold temps are less likely to impact them. I lived off McNab Rd when we first moved to Florida and figured out the peacocks. Pitching a shiner was a sure fire way to catch them. There is a refrigerator in about 8 ft of water that always had a couple on it as well as a shopping cart. The C-14 canal also has them and a lot of times you can walk the edge and sight cast to them. You can catch them on cranks but a shiner and float will give you a lot of action and you ll catch bass and oscars. Good luck.

 

[redblood]

The creek fishing guy on youtube been catching them and oscars and cichlids in the everglades on his youtube show. But they are pretty small

 

[Chickenrig]

My advice if you want to catch them is save your money and go to South America. Apparently the south Florida ones are really small and you're essentially fishing ditches around houses

Any dam canal has them now . Drive South on 95 South of Boca Raton and get off an exit , find a canal and start walking the banks casting small shallow crank baits ,
Just my $.02
Oh yeah and learn how to speak spanglish