Your Guide to Catching South Florida Peacock Bass

Explosive topwater action and the thrill of landing exotic tropical fish species might be closer to home than you realize. In South Florida, you can sample thrilling South America style fishing!

There’s no need to travel to far-off destinations if you are yearning to scratch a peacock bass off your bucket list. Grab a pair of shorts and flip flops and head to the subtropical climate of South Florida. 

Peacock bass, famous for their explosive strikes, strength and brilliant coloration, were introduced into South Florida canals by the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission from 1984 to 1987 to help control populations of unwanted invasive fish species. This introduction has helped control invasive forage that were illegally introduced and were thriving in South Florida waters. The project has been extremely successful, reducing invasive fish and providing sportfishing opportunities for anglers that create more than $8 million a year in revenue to the state of Florida. 

Where & When

The peacock bass population has successfully reproduced each year and has rapidly expanded its range to many bodies of water in South Florida. Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties are ground zero for locating peacock bass, with healthy populations also occurring in some areas of Collier and Lee counties in southwest Florida. Most freshwater urban canals, ponds, and lakes in South Florida as well as the Florida Everglades have excellent populations of peacock bass. 

Peacock bass can be caught all year long. However, this warmwater species is most active during warmer months. May through June are the best months as peacock bass will be at peak of aggression levels and will spawn multiple times. The annual cycle of afternoon summer rains often increases water levels throughout the region and can create a challenge for anglers locating fish during the late summer and fall months of August and September. 

For visiting anglers, if time and budget permits, it’s well worth hiring a guide who specializes in peacock bass fishing. Capt. Lou Lagrange from Arti-Fish-ial Entertainment Guide Service specializes in peacock bass and largemouth bass fishing with artificial lures in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties, including the expansive Florida Everglades. He has been targeting peacock bass since the late ‘80s and enjoys teaching his clients about peacock bass and creating the fishing trip of a lifetime. 

“South Florida is a very big place, and, yes, there are peacock bass all over the place; however, hiring an experienced guide will increase your chances in both quality and quantity of fish,” Capt. Lou said. 

If you lack the time or budget to hire a guide, you’ll have to do some due diligence to research canal systems and bodies of water that are accessible to the public and allow fishing. Many urban areas are posted as “Closed to Fishing” or “No Trespassing” and access can be challenging without local knowledge. The Metropolitan Southeast Florida Canals section of the FWC website is an excellent starting point for research.

Peacock bass are often located in areas with rocks, drop offs, limestone ledges, canal intersections, culvert pipes, bridges, or docks. Overhanging trees adjacent to deep water can be excellent places to find peacocks. Move until fish are located and then slow down and saturate the area with multiple casts. There is often more than one peacock bass in an area.

Capt. Lou keeps it simple and recommends fast-moving lures, including topwater baits, small hard jerkbaits and small soft-plastic jerkbaits and swimbaits. He recommends experimenting with different lures, colors, retrieve speeds, and cadences as the attitude of the peacocks can change daily. 

“Most of the time, fast-moving baits will get the attention of peacock bass. However, depending on the situation and their mood, don’t discount pausing your lure,” Capt. Lou said. “When a peacock bass wants to hurt your lure, it will make itself quickly known regardless of the speed of the bait.” 

Topwater Lures for Peacock Bass

Capt. Lou recommended the Heddon Super Spook Boyo as an excellent topwater lure that causes heart-stopping explosive strikes from peacock bass. “The 3” long size is the perfect size for peas, and it comes in a host of colors” he said. 

The small Boyo weighs 3/8 ounce and can be easily cast with spinning or baitcasting tackle. The side-to-side walking action and internal single lead rattle creates an appeal that peacock bass often can’t refuse. 

“The best thing about the Boyo is the hardware,” Capt. Lou said. “It will hold up to peacock bass because it is rated for saltwater species.” His favorite colors for peacocks include Black Shiner, Okie Shad and Wounded Shad. 

Another topwater lure high on Capt. Lou’s list of peacock bass lures is the Heddon Baby Torpedo. The Baby Torpedo is 2 1/2 inches and rocks a single prop that spins and spits water. “The Bay Torpedo is the perfect size for peas,” Capt. Lou said. He recommends a fast stop-and-go retrieve while varying the pause speed and cadence. The Baby Torpedo can be easily cast with spinning or baitcasting tackle. Lou’s favorite colors for peacock bass include Black Shiner, Brown Crawdad and Bullfrog. 

Capt. Lou recommended two different popping lures for peacock bass. The BOOYAH Boss Pop comes in 2- and 3-inch sizes, and both can be excellent for peacock bass. It has a concave popping mouth and a rear feathered treble hook. It can be retrieved in a variety of ways including popping, chugging, spitting and walking the dog, all of which can be attractive to peacock bass. Lou’s favorite colors for peacocks include Chrome Black, Ghost Shiner, Bone and Z Shad.

A second popping lure that Capt. Lou uses for peacock bass is the Rebel Super Pop-R. This 3 1/8-inch lure weighs 5/16 ounce and can be easily cast during windy conditions. The Super Pop-R produces a loud splashing pop and can be retrieved with a walk-the-dog action. The Super Pop-R contains premium components and hardware that withstands the tackle busting power of a large peacock bass. The Super Pop-R comes in Rebel’s G Finish which is an ultra-realistic baitfish finish that produces light reflections resulting in a realistic bait like imitation. Capt. Lou’s favorite colors include Silver Shiner, Baby Bass and Sun Perch. 

Subsurface Lures for Peacock Bass

The Rebel Tracdown Minnow TD10 is an excellent jerkbait for peacock bass. “The Tracdown Minnow comes in just the right size for peacocks,” Capt. Lou said. 

The Tracdown Minnow is 3 1/2 inches long and at 3/8 ounce can be easily cast. The TD 10 is slow sinking and provides an erratic slashing action when retrieved with a variety of jerks from a rod. Capt. Lou’s favorite color for peacocks is called Slick Brown Trout, which is a gold mirror with multicolored spots that suggest many of the exotic forage fish that peacock bass prefer. 

Capt. Lou likes two different small swimbaits for peacock bass. “Peacock bass love them! With a little 3-inch swimbait you can go to town,” he said. Capt. Lou rigs his soft plastic swimbaits on a 1/8-ounce jighead with a stout 2/O hook. 

Lou’s preferred swimbait of choice is a 3 1/2-inch YUM Pulse, which has a solid, ribbed body and thumping tail. He uses a variety of retrieves and will occasionally pop his rod tip to create a darting action that will turn on peacocks. If Capt. Lou is catching smaller unwanted species of exotic fish, such as Oscars or Mayan cichlids, he will increase his speed to keep it away from them while still attracting peacock bass. Capt. Lou’s favorite colors include Watermelon Red, Houdini and Summer Gill. 

The Gene Larew Long John Minnow can be excellent for peacock bass. This lighter swimbait can easily be floated and suspended over cover and has a slimmer profile that peacock bass occasionally prefer. Excellent colors include Threadfin Shad, Monkey Milk, and Screamer. 

For fishing around vegetation, a weightless Texas rigged YUM Break’n Shad can be easily retrieved through snaggy cover. “You can catch a lot of good fish on a soft-plastic jerkbait” Capt. Lou said. He rigs his soft-plastic jerkbaits on a 4/0 Extra Wide Gap hook. His preferred style of retrieve is a twitching, back-and-forth cadence. He’ll vary his retrieve speed and pause length to determine what the peacock bass prefer that day. Excellent colors for peacock bass in the Break’n Shad include Pearl White, Smoked Shad, and Watermelon/Red Flake. 

Capt. Lou noted that baitcasting or spinning gear works for peacock bass. For spinning tackle, a 2500 series spinning reel with a 7-foot rod is ideal. For baitcasting gear, a standard baitcasting reel with a 7-foot medium to medium-heavy rod is perfect for peacocks. He recommends 12- to 15-pound mono, 15- to 20-pound braid, or a 15- to 20-pound braid with a 15-pound mono leader.

Other Exotics Species

The subtropical climate of South Florida provides the opportunity to catch a variety of exotic species. Anglers may encounter an Oscar, which is a common aquarium species. Mayan cichlids are a frequently caught aggressive fish and are a common forage species for peacock bass. A jaguar guapote is similar in appearance to a small mangrove snapper and is found on many bodies of water. Various species of cichlids thrive in the warm waters and are excellent food for peacock bass. Bullseye snakeheads are highly invasive and are found in many central and south Broward canals.

Fishing for peacock bass in south Florida can be such a rewarding and memorable experience. Try Capt. Lou’s recommended baits and techniques to open the doors to a unique sport fishing opportunity. Scratching this species of fish off your bucket list can be easier than you think!