FWC biologists certified the first state record Mayan cichlid in late November. Jonathan Johnson, of Fort Myers, caught the 2.37-pound fish from a Collier County canal on a lipless crankbait.
“I looked up the record about six months ago and saw that it was vacant,” said Johnson. “I have caught hundreds (of Mayan cichlids) but only a couple that I thought were large enough. I was targeting them specifically that day and caught about 25—this being the largest one by about half a pound,”
Johnson took the fish home where his scale confirmed that it was eligible for the vacant state record, which had a minimum submission weight of 2 pounds. Johnson then called the FWC offices Monday morning to get his record fish certified.
“I am also targeting the blue tilapia and peacock bass records, but since I use only artificials it will be a challenge,” Johnson said.
The FWC made the Mayan cichlid, a nonnative species from Central America, eligible for state record status in 2012. But, the record has remained vacant until now. The Mayan cichlid was first reported in Florida in the early 1980s. During the mid-1990s, the fish began expanding its range and has become common throughout south Florida’s freshwater lakes and canals. Both local and out-of-state anglers target the now-popular fish using methods similar to those used for sunfish. The bright red coloration and scrappy disposition of the Mayan cichlid when caught caused FWC biologists to nickname it the “atomic sunfish.”