Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) fisheries biologists certified a new state record jaguar guapote, weighing 2.78 pounds and measuring 16.7 inches long. It was caught by 14-year-old angler Jerry Martin from Miami. Martin was thrilled to catch his jaguar guapote in the Snapper Creek Canal (C-2) with live bait.
“When I caught it, I freaked out,” said Martin. “I was excited because I knew it could be a state record.”
Martin has never targeted jaguar guapote before. He most often fishes for largemouth bass and peacock bass.
“It was an accident to catch the state record jaguar, but now I’m planning to start fishing for more records,” he said.
Jaguar guapote are primarily known to exist in the urban canal systems of southeast Florida, ranging as far north as West Palm Beach. The species was first reported in 1992 from a photograph of two specimens caught in a farm pond near Miami Canal. The jaguar guapote was made eligible for state record status in 2012, and this is the first confirmed record for this species.
Jaguar guapote is one of 34 nonnative freshwater fish species that have become established in Florida. The FWC strongly encourages anglers to catch, keep, and eat nonnative fish (except legally-introduced peacock bass and triploid grass carp) as many nonnative fishes provide excellent table fare. In addition, releasing fish from aquariums or moving them between water systems is illegal and could produce detrimental effects.