SoFlo: In search of Peacocks

by | Mar 21, 2016 | Blog

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Slaying Peacocks on The Brain”][vc_column_text]With out fail, procrastination got the best me and there I was the night before a trip south to Miami, packing gear, tie lines, and not sleeping. But lets be honest, how do you sleep with the thought of slaying peacocks on the brain. IMPOSSIBLE. With a 3:30am alarm set and it being already way past midnight and I knew the drive down would be brutal, but worth it. By 4am we were on the road cruising south down the Florida Turnpike. We knew with minimal stops, and light traffic we could be at our first little honey hole by 7:30 just in time for the sunrise bite.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]

Our first spot did not disappoint! With in minutes we each were hooked up with multiple fish on fly. Its is an exciting site seeing a fish hit a fly, especially a peacock bass and their hard hitting, unrelenting pursuit to destroy whatever they eat! During the first couple of hours, fish were landed on both fly and jerk baits. At one point we hooked up with a little peacock bass on fly that got run down by a nasty big ole peacock bass that wanted an easy snack. It was a pretty amazing site seeing that big fish chase after a meal and splash around. About 10am, we were getting hungry and ready for a change in location. So we made a move to our next spot, a little Cuban bakery for some pastelitos and cafe con leche.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”420″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”421″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]One of our favorite parts of going to a city we know little about, is exploring and finding new spots to fish. Spot number was two of those spots. We had heard about this place from a local on a previous trip, but had only had the opportunity to fish from shore. This trip we came prepared with our kayaks. We hadn’t even finished unloading all our gear when a peacock started tearing up some bait and Chase grabbed a rod and threw a Flats HQ Flats walker at it. 2 pops and boom! Explosion! Peacock on topwater![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]

It was a great way to kick off our 2nd spot of the day for sure.  And after that fish, we were fired up to be on the water as quick as possible! Kayaks are awesome for exploring the canals, ponds and small lakes of south Florida. They’re lightweight, easy to take care of, and fairly inexpensive. And they enable you to get to places most people cant go in their large boats. We were the only ones on the water and that’s the way I like it! It was as if we owned the place.
We spent the rest of the day their fishing between two different lakes. With multiple fish, both largemouth and Peacock bass and ciclids on fly and jerk baits. Peacocks are exciting fish to catch and our just a beautiful fish to look at it! We stayed their till sunset and it was well worth the view! Not much better than watching the sun set on the water!

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”422″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1465921726693{margin-top: 4% !important;}”][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”423,425,426,427,428,429″ img_size=”medium”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1465921744720{margin-top: 4% !important;}”]Day 2 we made our way closer towards the coast, in search a mixed bag of peacocks and snook. We were out the door way before the sun was up, google maps open on the phone and some promising spots were found. Growing up in Orlando and being an hour from either coast, makes catching both freshwater and saltwater fish in the same brackish water feel a little weird. We get to a spot and we see fish activity right away and the mullet are jumping so we know we are near the right area. It didnt take long before we were hooked up with peacocks.

We fished that area and few other spots near by for the rest of the day. We saw ciclids, peacocks, oscars, largemouth bass, bluegils,barracuda, mangrove snapper, and jacks all in the same area. It was a pretty awesome fishery.
If you haven’t had a chance to fish for peacock bass, get after it! Their fight, determination, and beautiful colors are worth the drive to south Florida! Tight lines friends and as always, its always an adventure!
Capt. Jonathan

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]