The Peacock Bass bite has been really good lately despite the cooler temperatures. On three trips into the Miami - Ft. Lauderdale areas this week Sun Coast Kayak Sport Fishing clients produced high numbers of Peacock Bass. Surprisingly enough the northern most canals up and around Ft. Lauderdale have produced the best numbers of Peacocks this week while the southern most canal systems in and around Miami have been producing larger fish.
In the northern canals this week we found great numbers of Peacocks in many of the finger canals that stem off of the main canals. On two trips into this canal system Sun Coast Kayak Sport Fishing clients produced catches of 43 and 51 Peacocks. The bite was slow during the cooler morning hours but by mid morning we were seeing an improved bite as the sun warmed the surface waters. Most of the fish were in the 2# range with a few around 4#. The Largemouth bite in these areas was greatly improved from even just a week ago and in addition to the Peacocks clients saw catches of 20 to 30 Largemouth a day. The average largemouth was small, around 1.5# but on each trip Bass of 5# or larger were caught. The Snakehead bite in this canal system has slowed a bit but this is still a great time to target these fish. We caught upwards of 10 or more Snakeheads a day with the average fish weighing 6# and 30" in length. These are awesome fish on light tackle and have a vicious topwater bite that is a true spectacle to behold.
On one trip into the southern Miami canals Sun Coast Kayak Sport Fishing clients saw good numbers of Peacock Bass but the average size was much bigger than up in the northern canals around Ft. Lauderdale. The average fish was around 3# with Peacocks up to 7# caught and released. The numbers of Largemouth in this area was significantly less than in other areas but the size of the Peacocks more than makes up for it.
In both areas the best bait for Peacocks was a small shiner free lined along the canal edges or submerged vegetation. Largemouth were keyed in to small Rapala Shad Raps and topwater baits such as Heddon Baby Torpedos and Rapala Skitterwalks. The Snakeheads were very receptive to Zoom Horny Toads worked fast over the tops of submerged Eel Grass.
Out in the Everglades Canal Systems along Alligator Alley Sun Coast Kayak Sport Fishing has been taking huge numbers of large Oscars up to 2# and Mayan Cichlids along the canal edges. The key to huge numbers has been to slow troll small Rapalas along the edges until fish are found and then turn and make repeated casts into the area to catch any other fish. Good numbers of Largemouth have been caught as well but the average size is down a bit. Most fish were in the 1# to 2# range but bigger fish are around with some frequency.
DON'T MISS THE SUN COAST KAYAK SPORT FISHING SALTWATER REPORT FOR THE SARASOTA / TAMPA BAY AREA.
D.C. Bienvenue
Sun Coast Kayak Sport Fishing
www.fishwithdc.com
dc@fishwithdc.com
