Miami Peacocks, thoughts?

RangerAndBass · April 03, 2017, 09:00:56 PM

A buddy & I want to head down there as we're told that's the place to go for good peacock fishing. Problem is neither of us have been there. Where should we launch? Will we be fishing seawalls, docks? Lg suggested chrome jerkbait & traps. I was ready for the jerkbait, but hadn't considered traps, thanks for that.
Any other thoughts?
Any other general tips on what the water will be like we will be fishing? ie trolling motor only? Canals? Man made lakes? Seawalls & Houses on shoreline? Deep water? Anything will help.
I promise to report & if all goes well, with pictures!
Thanks.

rchiuz · April 03, 2017, 10:52:57 PM

The peacocks tend to be more active when the sun comes out in comparison to bass that hide.

I have caught them on jerkbaits, squarebill cranks and poppers.
Jerkbaits seem to work the best for me.

If you YouTube peacock bass and captain Shane. You see them using propeller type surface lures working them fast

Good luck and have fun, they are great fighters.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

LgMouthGambler · April 04, 2017, 04:18:10 AM

Just be careful down there in Cuba, the people tend to be pretty sketchy depending on where you go. Apparently there is a park on the South side of the blue lagoon area that has a boat ramp you can launch from. Make sure you disable your car, and trailer is locked pretty good to the car. I've heard stories of no vehicles upon returning to the ramp. Pretty much the reason I won't go there.

<")))>{

FlatsNBay · April 04, 2017, 04:52:02 PM

Ranger, I by no means am any bit of expert on Peacocks. I followed LMG's advice a couple of years ago and caught my first one. Since then I've been back to SFL a few times and have done well. Last month I caught my biggest ever 3-9 on a drop shot believe it or not! She was bedding in the canal along flamingo Rd and smoked the robo worm when I stuck it in her bed. Ive done pretty good down there on a Rapala Skitter Pop fished fast and steady. Also chrome jerk baits. Good luck!

RangerAndBass · April 04, 2017, 06:22:31 PM

Quote from: FlatsNBay on April 04, 2017, 04:52:02 PM
Ranger, I by no means am any bit of expert on Peacocks. I followed LMG's advice a couple of years ago and caught my first one. Since then I've been back to SFL a few times and have done well. Last month I caught my biggest ever 3-9 on a drop shot believe it or not! She was bedding in the canal along flamingo Rd and smoked the robo worm when I stuck it in her bed. Ive done pretty good down there on a Rapala Skitter Pop fished fast and steady. Also chrome jerk baits. Good luck!

Thanks Flats. Where did you launch?

FlatsNBay · April 04, 2017, 07:04:30 PM

I bank fished

RangerAndBass · April 04, 2017, 08:33:05 PM

Gotcha, thanks.

Canesfan · April 06, 2017, 07:49:43 AM

Quote from: FlatsNBay on April 04, 2017, 04:52:02 PM
Ranger, I by no means am any bit of expert on Peacocks. I followed LMG's advice a couple of years ago and caught my first one. Since then I've been back to SFL a few times and have done well. Last month I caught my biggest ever 3-9 on a drop shot believe it or not! She was bedding in the canal along flamingo Rd and smoked the robo worm when I stuck it in her bed. Ive done pretty good down there on a Rapala Skitter Pop fished fast and steady. Also chrome jerk baits. Good luck!

Where on Flamingo Rd. if I may ask? Not too far from my house.

FlatsNBay · April 06, 2017, 05:44:45 PM

Canesfan, I was fishing in front of the shopping center at Sheridan and Flamingo Rd.

West6550 · April 07, 2017, 04:24:43 PM

Flats was working and fishing probably.. perks of the job right? Lolol jk jk

Good luck, I want to come get one or 50 some day. Maybe next year!!!

SFL BassHunter · April 07, 2017, 06:03:32 PM

Quote from: West6550 on April 07, 2017, 04:24:43 PM
Flats was working and fishing probably.. perks of the job right? Lolol jk jk

Good luck, I want to come get one or 50 some day. Maybe next year!!!

Why next year dude? Seems like a long time to wait for some peas.

BTW Ranger I would love to give you some advice on Peas but I have never fished for them from a boat. Or from land specifically. I don't target them. They just happen to stumble upon them from time to time.
If you want some trophy sized peas you might want to bring some live bait with ya. I am sure shiners can get you some big peas. The big ones like big lmb are harder to catch on the fake stuff. A big peacock will come charge at full speed within a mm of your bait and turn away and disappear. They have incredible instincts.

Capt. BassinLou · April 07, 2017, 06:58:38 PM

I haven't chimed in because I don't specifically target Pea's. Every canal system down here have Pea's. As far as ramps are concerned. There are only 2 I know of. One is in Miami, Blue Lagoon ramp, and the other is deeper down south. The way some guys protect their vehicles at Blue Lagoon is buy passing a few bucks to the park attendant. This is what well known guides do. I haven't been by the ramp further down South.
I have a good buddy of mine that only targets trophy Pea's and he mainly throws various juvenile exotics as live bait with excellent results. I have shown Rick several of these pics. As far as artificial baits are concerned if you can get your hands on jerkbaits with brighter colors that resemble various juvenile exotics, the greater your chance of landing a nice Pea. Move the baits fast and wear a great pair of Polarized glasses.
Good luck on your outing. Looking forward in reading about your experience. Have fun!!

SFL BassHunter · April 07, 2017, 08:06:45 PM

Yeah they don't seem to care much for slow moving, or stopped baits. Fastest way to turn a Peacock off is by stopping your bait when you see them coming. Unlike a bass who will many times hit a stopped bait.

LgMouthGambler · April 08, 2017, 05:01:44 AM

I lost a nice Pea yesterday afternoon. Stopped on the way home at a place in N Coral Springs. Had a jig tied on, and was looking for bass. Wouldnt ya know there is a nice Pea about 4lbs under a drafting pipe. So I start flipping the jig at it, and it banging it. Finally after about 15 minutes, wham! Nails it good, and set the hook, snap! Mother fffffffff! My 30lb braid just busted! Probably from the pipe, and that fish took off! So I decided to walk the bank and scout it a bit. Sure enough there wasnt a shortage of them. They sure are making a comeback.

<")))<{

Capt. BassinLou · April 08, 2017, 07:20:27 AM

Quote from: LgMouthGambler on April 08, 2017, 05:01:44 AM
I lost a nice Pea yesterday afternoon. Stopped on the way home at a place in N Coral Springs. Had a jig tied on, and was looking for bass. Wouldnt ya know there is a nice Pea about 4lbs under a drafting pipe. So I start flipping the jig at it, and it banging it. Finally after about 15 minutes, wham! Nails it good, and set the hook, snap! Mother fffffffff! My 30lb braid just busted! Probably from the pipe, and that fish took off! So I decided to walk the bank and scout it a bit. Sure enough there wasnt a shortage of them. They sure are making a comeback.

<")))<{

I hate it when that happens...

But yeah, there are Pea's all over the place.

RangerAndBass · April 08, 2017, 01:18:46 PM

Thanks guys for all the good advice. We are heading down there Monday So i'll let you know how it goes. I did hear that Blue Lagoon has a parking attendant. That makes me feel better...
I have seen the lack of results from pausing the jerk bait! LOL!
Thanks.

Capt. BassinLou · April 08, 2017, 01:30:44 PM

Quote from: RangerAndBass on April 08, 2017, 01:18:46 PM
Thanks guys for all the good advice. We are heading down there Monday So i'll let you know how it goes. I did hear that Blue Lagoon has a parking attendant. That makes me feel better...
I have seen the lack of results from pausing the jerk bait! LOL!
Thanks.

Good luck R&B. These bright skies will help locate the fish better.

Wizard · April 08, 2017, 02:36:42 PM

So, what happened to the Peacock bass? I fished in a canal a decade ago and the water was filthy with them. I was on a business trip but took some shorts and sandals with me. I walked into a bait shop and asked if there was anyone to guide me. A Cuban guy said he would take me out for a few hours for gas money and beer. We put in and caught a lot of peas though they were small. The guy had a 14 ft. tin boat with a 7 hp.motor and small troller. We fished for 4 hrs. and he charged me $25. I tipped him another $25. A heck of a good time, AND all 4 tires were still on the rental car when we got back.

Lipripper · April 08, 2017, 02:43:47 PM

Wiz that was a decade ago and as you know things are a whole lot different these days.

That was a good trip and he was more than likely very happy with the $50.

FlatsNBay · April 08, 2017, 08:56:44 PM

Great story Wizard

RangerAndBass · April 09, 2017, 04:54:04 PM

We opted to fish today instead of Monday as the winds were going to be high tomorrow. Today the water temp was 76. It was mostly cloudy & the wind did pick up in the afternoon. We launched at Blue Lagoon & headed west. Long & short of it was that we caught 3 peas & one cichlid. When I say "we" I mean Tyler. I had one pea follow for a few seconds & that was as close as I got. The ones he caught all came in the same area and all on a Whopper Popper. I didn't have one with me, though I threw a popper that behaved similar. I was throwing at the bank behind him all day too, which didn't help, either. We couldnt get them to bite a jerkbait or a crankbait or swimbait or a walking top water.
We talked to some others and all said it was slow.
I was surprised to be fishing in such deep water. We were sitting in 15 to 20 FOW regularly throwing at rocky shorelines mostly. I also thought there would have been more docks but there were very few.
All and all, I doubt we will be back! LOL! Call me a quitter if you want.

Oh and we thought we saw a tarpon surface a couple times in one open area & talked to a couple guys who said they caught one. He give us the old

showing 30" or so. I did see they were fishing with live bait earlier when we saw them.

Thanks to all for the advice.
R&B

Lipripper · April 09, 2017, 05:04:17 PM

Thanks for the report R&B sounds like a tuff day of fishing out there.

Capt. BassinLou · April 09, 2017, 05:08:05 PM

Quote from: RangerAndBass on April 09, 2017, 04:54:04 PM
We opted to fish today instead of Monday as the winds were going to be high tomorrow. Today the water temp was 76. It was mostly cloudy & the wind did pick up in the afternoon. We launched at Blue Lagoon & headed west. Long & short of it was that we caught 3 peas & one cichlid. When I say "we" I mean Tyler. I had one pea follow for a few seconds & that was as close as I got. The ones he caught all came in the same area and all on a Whopper Popper. I didn't have one with me, though I threw a popper that behaved similar. I was throwing at the bank behind him all day too, which didn't help, either. We couldnt get them to bite a jerkbait or a crankbait or swimbait or a walking top water.
We talked to some others and all said it was slow.
I was surprised to be fishing in such deep water. We were sitting in 15 to 20 FOW regularly throwing at rocky shorelines mostly. I also thought there would have been more docks but there were very few.
All and all, I doubt we will be back! LOL! Call me a quitter if you want.

Oh and we thought we saw a tarpon surface a couple times in one open area & talked to a couple guys who said they caught one. He give us the old showing 30" or so. I did see they were fishing with live bait earlier when we saw them.

Thanks to all for the advice.
R&B

Thank you for the report R&B. Sorry you didn't get into them, but the good news is, you got this trip under your belt and down the line when you try again, the outcome will probably be better.

Wizard · April 09, 2017, 05:22:31 PM

Question: a decade ago the Peas were all over the canals. Did something happen to reduce their numbers? They weren't trophies but were a sustainable population. It appeared on a newscast that some of the Miami streets have gone underwater with the climate change which the government said isn't happening.

Capt. BassinLou · April 09, 2017, 05:29:37 PM

Quote from: Wizard on April 09, 2017, 05:22:31 PM
Question: a decade ago the Peas were all over the canals. Did something happen to reduce their numbers? They weren't trophies but were a sustainable population. It appeared on a newscast that some of the Miami streets have gone underwater with the climate change which the government said isn't happening.

Miami streets going under water? Only time I see this happen during the year is during the high tides of the October full moon.

As far as Peacock populations go, their populations have exploded. There are more Trophy Pea's being caught now than 10 yrs ago. But like fishing goes, you have good days and bad. R&B's seems to have been a slow day.