Peacock Bass Fishing

You've heard of many types of bass that you can find in the many lakes and rivers of the United States. There are striped bass, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, black bass, white bass, and a number of others. However, you may not be familiar with the sport of peacock bass fishing because you may never have heard of such a creature. Here is some information on this less commonly caught type of fish and some areas where you can go for good peacock bass fishing.

A peacock bass is similar in shape to the largemouth bass, though it is definitely not a member of the largemouth bass family. In fact, these babies are part of the "cichlids" family, which includes more than 1,000 species worldwide and is well known to tropical fishermen. These fish pick out a vantage point that keeps them well hidden and ambush unsuspecting prey that happens by. They eat opportunistically and are gluttonous in their appetite. At this point, their similarity to largemouth bass ends.

Peacock bass fishing is largely popular due to the fact that the peacock is very eye appealing. The Florida peacock is shaded in blues, greens, oranges, and golds, while the similar species from further north is not nearly as colorful. However, the peacock bass also provides quite a challenge as the toughest freshwater species in the world. Four distinct species of peacock bass are from Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, and Brazil in South America (known here as pavon), but at least two of these have also migrated up to Florida as a regular habitat. They have come to be known as "peacock" because of a common feature on all of them: there is a black circular "eye" rimmed in gold on the base of the caudal fin that resembles the markings on the tail plume of a male peacock. The average fish you'll catch while peacock bass fishing will be between two and four pounds, though they can be found much larger.

Peacock bass fishing is a hard fought battle, as this species is strong and doesn't reel in easily. You'll be getting your daily workout fishing for these puppies. Most peacocks are found in small lakes, canal systems, and in deep water structure. The basic method of angling for peacock involves simple topwater baits and tactics, though you can also find excellent results at times with hard stickbaits, plastic worms, and rattle traps. If it's quantity you want, you can even try live bait, which will increase quantities, if not size. Fly fishermen will also get their workout, with peacock putting fly fishing equipment to the test with their struggles. The peacock strikes with bone-jarring strength, performs impressive aerial acrobatics, and can affect line stripping runs. These specimens will routinely break lines and destroy lures and tackle.