Peacock bass on fly rod in Palm Beach County

Took a short drive up to Boynton Beach today to try the canal system north of Lake Ida.  I did very well in this spot four weeks ago, also when we were in the "new moon" period. Some anglers swear fresh water fish are affected by the moon cycles just as salt water fish are.  I've been somewhat skeptical, myself, since there are no tides in fresh water to cause lakes, rivers and streams to rise and fall, which in turn causes bait fish and predator fish to move from one location to another.  However, I did so well a month ago that I wanted to see if I could repeat that experience today.

The sky was pretty overcast when I arrived at the boat ramp.  Another front is headed our way, so in addition to the clouds, I also was dealing with pretty strong winds out in front of the approaching weather.   I'd say today the wind was blowing between 20 and 25 mph, coming from the east-southeast.  My best tactic was to hug the south bank of the canal I was on, allowing the bank itself and the houses built above it to block the wind a bit.  I started out throwing a chartreuse and white clouser-type fly.  After an hour of no action at all I switched to the tiny green popper fly that's caught so many fish for me lately. That didn't produce either, for a bit, but then something took it hard and began pulling line off of my reel.  Since the fish didn't surface, I was pretty sure it wasn't a largemouth bass.  It could have been a mayan cichlid.  But if it was, it would have to be a sizable one. When I finally pulled the fish to the surface I saw that it was a peacock bass.  Peacock bass are not related at all to largemouth bass; in fact, I believe they're a kind of cichlid, like the mayans, though they grow quite a bit bigger.  The one I caught was about 12 inches, maybe a pound or two.

Peacocks are an exotic species here in south Florida, first stocked in canals in the Miami area back in the 1980s.  They've since migrated northward, as far as central Palm Beach county, although almost all in this region were killed off several years ago by an intense cold spell.   Peacocks are native to the Amazon basin in South America and can't tolerate water much below 60 degrees.  I've been hoping for a while that they would make a comeback here in Palm Beach County.  Now I've got confirmation that they have.  This one may only be a couple years old, born after the cold snap of 2010.

A little while later, I caught a second peacock, a little smaller than the first.  By then, the clouds had dissipated and I had full sun, although the wind seemed only to be getting stronger.  As often happens in this location, the action improved as the day grew warmer. Between noon and one-thirty I caught a nice largemouth bass and quite a few bluegill. So all in all, it was a pretty good morning.  Maybe there's something to those lunar cycles in fresh water after all!