Peacock Bass

[krizia829]

Just showing off how beautiful our south FL peacock bass are!! This one is small, but they sure are mighty!! Caught a few over the weekend with my husband and our girls! It's amazing the amount of people who come down from all over the US just to catch these!

 

[Jdmb123]

nice! My son caught four in Okeechobee county this weekend. Really cool for some north ga folks.

 

[Ruger#3]

Just beautiful, I’d certainly make a trip to catch those.

 

[belle&bows]

It is a pretty fish!

 

[Big7]

Canals around Homestead are full of them.

 

[WOODIE13]

We caught them in Panama at Gamboa and Gantu lakes, great fighters

 

[Nicodemus]

How are they when fried like normal fish?

 

[WOODIE13]

How are they when fried like normal fish?

Great, grilled too

 

[lampern]

Apparently the species stocked into Florida are butterfly peacock bass and they rarely top 10 pounds

They are the one species of non native fish stocked on purpose by the state of Florida

 

[bfriendly]

Just beautiful, I’d certainly make a trip to catch those.

This^^^ what a gorgeous fish! I’m from Bradenton and I’ve fished for bass my whole life, but never caught one of those.

 

[kmckinnie]

Apparently the species stocked into Florida are butterfly peacock bass and they rarely top 10 pounds

They are the one species of non native fish stocked on purpose by the state of Florida

Thanks you saved me from googling it.

 

[flconch53]

The theory is they will eat the fry of other invasives, tilapia being the most common

 

[krizia829]

How are they when fried like normal fish?

They taste great! We don't normally keep them. We prefer to release them and let them grow and reproduce. They help control the invasive species but they do taste good. Flaky too

 

[krizia829]

Apparently the species stocked into Florida are butterfly peacock bass and they rarely top 10 pounds

They are the one species of non native fish stocked on purpose by the state of Florida

Yup they were introduced in the 80's. They're EVERYWHERE it's insane! I'll tell you one thing though.. The largemouth population has gone down from what we've seen in our spots. There's still a ton out there but much less ever since the peacock were brought in

 

[krizia829]

This^^^ what a gorgeous fish! I’m from Bradenton and I’ve fished for bass my whole life, but never caught one of those.

They're a blast to catch. They fight hard and they're very aggressive! I never weighed my biggest but I estimate it to be about 5lbs

 

[krizia829]

The theory is they will eat the fry of other invasives, tilapia being the most common

They eat it all. If it fits in their mouth and they're near their nesting area, they're done for lol

 

[WOODIE13]

They eat it all. If it fits in their mouth and they're near their nesting area, they're done for lol

Anything

Smithsonian Insider – Peacock bass invasion Had devastating, long-term impact on Panama’s Fish | Smithsonian Insider

 

[Dustin Pate]

That is on my short list to come do!

 

[Nicodemus]

That is on my short list to come do!

I`d like to try them on a flyrod too.

 

[ryanh487]

I need to haul the boat down there soon. Peacock bass fishing is a dream trip.