Peacock bass are held in high regard by anglers all over the world for their aggressive nature and hard fighting ability. When talk of peacock bass fishing arises most people immediately start talking about South America and the Amazon. However, many people don’t realize peacock bass are much closer to them than they think. Peacock bass can be caught here in the United States and it’s as simple as traveling to Miami, Florida.

Butterfly peacock bass were introduced into the Miami area man-made canals in the mid 1980′s by the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission to help control the spread of non-native exotic species that were being released into the Miami canals. The spread of these exotic species went unchecked for many years as the native fish population didn’t feed on them. The introduction of butterfly peacock bass was the perfect solution to this growing problem as peacocks would feed on these non-native fish while increasing sport fishing opportunities in south Florida. Since its introduction, the peacock bass population has exploded in the south Florida canals and has provided anglers with exceptional peacock bass fishing!

Peacock bass are a tropical species and do no tolerate colder water temperatures below 62 degrees. Unlike Florida’s natural bodies of water, the water temperature in the canals never dip below the mid-60′s. This is due to a few different factors, but the main factor is due to the Biscayne Aquifer. The aquifer lies only a few feet below the grounds surface and helps the canals maintain constant tropical temperatures year round. During the winter, warmer water from this aquifer flows into the canals and keeps the water temperatures in the mid-60′s and above.

Exploring the Miami Canals

We left Georgia around 12 a.m. and arrived in Miami a little after 8 a.m. We drove through the night and while we were excited, we were also tired. But, a little tiredness wouldn’t stand in our way to hopefully land a colorful peacock bass or two. We stopped by a local McD’s for some caffeine and were on our way to explore the city. Although we had been on the road for over 8 hours, we decided it wouldn’t hurt to spend another hour or two in the truck and set out to scout a few locations before making our first cast.

The canals around Miami are extensive and travel through the heart of the city. Averaging around 50-70 feet in width, the canals go under city streets, next to neighborhood houses and right by large shopping centers. Access is plentiful by foot and in many places it’s as simple as stepping off the sidewalk. However, boat ramps are limited.

The lack of boat ramps typically doesn’t impede a kayak fisherman since kayaks can be launched from practically anywhere. However, being from out of town and this being our first time here, we decided to play it safe by scouting out locations that were clearly marked for recreational uses. This meant city parks. Although we probably could have, we didn’t park at the local Publix Supermarket parking lot and then drag our Coosas 50 yards to the canal.

According to numerous internet websites, there are a few boat ramps or makeshift ramps spread throughout the canal system, but there is only one public concrete ramp. That ramp is at Antonio Maceo Park and it’s located on a large lake called the Blue Lagoon. The canals flow into the Blue Lagoon and while it can get crowded there, the recreational motor boat traffic mainly stays in and around the lake. Kayak fishermen that decide to use the park to put in should be happy to know that the canals are only a short 1/2 mile paddle away from the boat ramp.

We visited the park, but decided against putting in there on our first day and sought out another location. There was just too much boat traffic in the Blue Lagoon for our liking. It wasn’t much longer before we settled on another park a few miles away. This park was located right on the canal and deep within the canal system so we didn’t have to contend with motor boats. Being off the grid river fishermen, this suited us well.

Fishing for Peacock Bass in Miami

My first peacock bass caught in a very 'scenic' location.

As we were unloading our Coosas and about to put them into the water, we took another look and decided they wouldn’t be necessary. We could use them, but didn’t need to as the canal wasn’t wide here and we could cast clear across it from one side to the other. Instead, we grabbed our rods and stomped up and down the canal bank by foot.

The water was clear enough to see peacocks swimming next to the bank. This was exciting. We saw what were we looking for and seeing the peacocks swimming below us confirmed we were in the right place. That excitement didn’t last long as we found out it would take a little work to get a peacock to bite. We would make casts down in their direction, but nothing. Again, and nothing. This was an ongoing trend, but wasn’t going to deter us too much since we knew there were peacocks here.

We kept at it and slung lure after lure with little success. Finally, I managed a dink largemouth on a Rapala X-Rap, but it wasn’t what we were looking for. I can catch these in Georgia, I thought as I released it back into the canal’s water.

A short time later Glenn figured out the pattern like he always does. He tied on a white Zoom Super Fluke and started to have blow up after blow up on it. The Super Fluke is a versatile lure and I have often said it can any fish anywhere. It was proving me right again on this occasion. However, although Glenn was getting peacocks to explode on his fluke, he was having one major problem. He couldn’t hook one.

Seeing this, I decided to tie on a fluke, but made one small addition. I added a small stinger hook to my fluke. The stinger hook would give me a greater chance to hook up with a peacock, especially if they weren’t necessarily feeding and were only being territorial. The stinger hook would give me a better chance to hook up even if they simply swiped at the fluke.

I walked over to where Glenn was standing and zipped my fluke into the canal. Two twitches was all it took before the water boiled underneath the fluke and it disappeared! I reared back to set the hook and felt my line grow tight as I hooked into my first peacock bass. It wasn’t big, but it didn’t need to be as it was my first ever peacock!

It wasn’t a monster, nor colorful as the wall behind me, but it was still a peacock! We took a few pictures and admired the fish before returning it back to the water.

Shortly thereafter we decided it was time to head on. We were tired and needed a little rest. We headed towards a hotel and got some rest before hitting the town for a some much need food and ‘relaxation.’ After all, we were in Miami!

Antonio Maceo Park

After a good night’s rest, we woke sometime before day break and enjoyed a watered down cup of coffee on the patio of our hotel as we made our plans for the day.

The plan was to a catch a few more peacocks. We wanted everyone to be able to land at least one. Although they had plenty of blow ups, neither Brian nor Glenn was able to land one on the first day. Since we had an early start we headed over to Antonio Maceo Park and put our kayaks in there. There were a few motor boats there, but not as many as we saw on the first day. However, it was a very windy day. We were undeterred by the wind as we were set on landing a few peacock bass.

After putting in we paddled away from the recreation boaters and towards the canal system. The healthy 20 mph wind made paddling a little more difficult, but we made it to the canals faster than I originally thought it would take us. Once in the canal system we were somewhat protected by the wind and could get some down to business.

The canal system here was fun. The canal took us through the city and we could almost knock on the back doors of homes that lined the canal. We paddled by the Canon building, by Publix and by the neighborhood children jumping on their trampolines in their backyards. Paddling by I thought this is what they must mean when they say city fishing!

We paddled as far as the next lake connecting the canals before we decided it was time to turn around. We had a few fish blow up at our lures, but we were sitting on a goose egg. The plan was to tackle the spot where I caught my first peacock the day before. We didn’t have all day, but we felt familiar enough with the spot that Glenn and Brian could land one before the end of the afternoon.

Once arriving Glenn proved himself once again. The fish weren’t biting, but he found one spot where they were still active. Of course I moved in next to him and Brian was not far behind. It wasn’t too much later before I landed another small peacock bass. That made two for this trip, but we were still searching for something bigger and more colorful!

Brian broke out the Lucky Craft Sammy. The peacocks would attack a fluke so Brian thought they would definitely attack a Sammy, too. Plus, he thought, the Sammy has a set of treble hooks and will hook anything that breathes near it. Only a couple casts in a large colorful peacock exploded on his Sammy.

We were on a high bank and this peacock was such a ferocious fighter that I thought it might have a chance to break loose. Wanting to help out as much as I could, I slid down the steep embankment through some briers and into the water. I was only there a second before Brian came down himself with his rod in hand! A trooper, he didn’t need any help and landed this powerful fish all by himself!

Brian’s color peacock was in the 3 lb range and was exactly what we were hoping to catch. A few pictures were snapped before the beautiful peacock was released back into the waters below.

At this point we were running low on time. There was some action, but the fishing was slow for the most part. Glenn was the only one left without a peacock and as much as he tried, he wasn’t able to land one. He had the most action and the most blow ups by far, but those peacocks wouldn’t swallow his lure enough for a good hookset to be made. He went home empty handed and couldn’t cross peacock bass off his list, but I’m sure it won’t be much longer before he does.

The Surrounding City

During our time scouting the city streets and canals we quickly learned that we were the minority. Spanish was the primary language and it was spoken everywhere from the McD’s to Wally World. Everyone assumed we could speak too, but they quickly found out that wasn’t true even though we weren’t wearing t-shirts that read, “Three Rednecks from Georgia.” We managed, and luckily for us most people spoke broken English or directed us to someone that could.

It was actually fun being in a place where everyone spoke another language. Sometimes it even felt like we were in another country. This made the trip even more fun and the language barrier made simple things such as ordering food or asking for directions more challenging. Even though there was a language barrier, the people there were still very nice to us and went out of their way to help us out whenever they could. Good people as we say in Georgia!

Look into Miami next time you’re dreaming of peacock bass, but can’t make it to the Amazon. The scenery might not be as primitive, nor will the peacocks be as big, but it’s still a fishing adventure worth looking into. Peacocks aren’t the only hard fighting fish that can be found in those Miami canals either. Anglers also target snook and juvenile tarpon there, too! See for yourself, in Miami!