Spring is Here!
This seems to have been one of the coldest winters we have had in South Florida in a long time. Back in the winter of 2009-2010, we had extended periods of cold weather resulting in major fish deaths. With the cold temps starting super early this year, a lot of us were afraid of the same situation happening again. Every time I'd go out looking for peacock bass in our South Florida waterways, it would be a ghost town; not a fish in sight. I came across a peacock corpse on the bank at one of the spots, which was a sign of a major fish kill back then. However, the next day things started to change. The weather suddenly became warmer. The cold front that was sweeping across the nation stalled out north of us and never made it's way across South Florida. And just like that, the fishery started to come to life. Every day that has passed, the fishing has gotten better and better. It first starts off with big schools of peacocks coming up to shallower water feeding on prey, then they start to pair up, and start their spawning rituals. That's usually a good sign that spring is here.
We have been CRUSHING it. Big peas are feeding super aggressively right now. It seems all species in our brackish waterways are starting to wake up, too.
Throughout the years, I had only ever caught one Peacock at night, yet it has happened several times this year already. It's looking to be a good year for peacock bass fishing in Miami! Great timing, too; as we film our peacock bass episode of the 5wt Chronicles!
Until next time!
-Eric