In search of peacock bass

Fished the canals north of Lake Ida yesterday in search of peacock bass.  I know they're up there - I caught some a couple weeks ago.  Since the water temperature is getting warmer, I've been hoping it would make the peacocks more active, since they like the water hot and sun-shiny.  I've been having some success of late with a chartreuse "sqwirm-worm" fly.  I can't imagine it looks like anything in the water that these fish would actually eat, but they can definitely see it and the way it moves seems to trigger strikes.  I was hoping I'd find peacocks in the bright shallows close to shore and around boat docks in the canals where I was fishing.

First fish I caught was a bluegill.  A little later I hit a spot where some largemouth bass were lurking and caught a couple of those.  I worked my way down the canal toward Lake Ida.  There's a lateral canal I've found that makes a loop away from the main canal and then rejoins it a bit to the south, after passing through a residential neighborhood.  You'll know you've found it if two dogs run down to the seawall to give you a piece of their mind.  One of these looks to be a cross between a Rottweiler and a Bull Mastiff. Apparently neither likes to swim, which is lucky for me, so they just stand there barking their heads off as you pass by about 20 feet away.  No doubt there are lots of fish in that loop canal but it's pretty small and I can't seem to avoid spooking fish long before I reach them.  I did manage to catch one oscar as I was passing beneath a bridge just before re-joining the main canal.

I had been fighting the wind coming up from the south on the main canal on the way down to to the lateral.  That meant I had the wind behind me going north.  I was able to keep my kayak pointed to the shoreline as the wind pushed me along, which made for good casting.  I caught several more largemouth this way, including this one.  I'd estimate it at about 18 inches, the biggest fish I've caught so far on the sqwirm worm.

Not long before I quit for the day I hooked a fish that felt like it might be a peacock, as it was quite strong and refused to jump, as a largemouth bass would have, until the very end, when I had it close to my kayak.  Unfortunately, when it jumped it was somewhat behind my right shoulder and I only caught the briefest glimpse of it.  It had coloration that suggested it could be a peacock but I can't say for sure that it was.



Some video I shot can be seen here:

http://youtu.be/jsLOSRdC1Sk