When my good friend and frequent fishing partner, Adam Walker, asked me if I wanted to head south to fish for peacock bass I jumped at the chance. I have always marveled at the beautiful colors of the peacocks and always told myself that was one exotic freshwater fish that I need to have the pleasure of catching.
Adam informed me that his friend Sarah “Sasinator” Servant, owner of AR Lures US, had recently transitioned from fishing her proven wooden baits for largemouth bass to enticing their more glamorous cousins, the peacock bass, with her AR Lures.
Since they had been having more success sight fishing for them we decided to meet at the ramp at 9:00 am so we could take advantage of the sun being high in the sky. We launched into the canal and made a short run east so we could work with the wind. We were aboard Adam’s Canyon Bay flats boat. This area is also great for kayaks as there is not a ton of distance to travel and not too much boat traffic to make it dangerous or annoying. For my first trip I wanted to go in the boat to get the lay of the land and it proved to be a wise decision. When I go back, I will know exactly what to expect.
We all tied on AS crank baits as the fish were on the beds and we needed baits that would get down to them. According to the research Sarah and Adam had been conducting, it is important to look for couples sitting on their beds; it is an extra bonus if you can spot the fry they are protecting. This time of year, they are more trying to chase intruders from their fry than looking to cash in on an easy meal. Sarah, who is great at spotting the peacocks, jumped up on the poling platform to get the best vantage point and it did not take long to spot our first orange tail. The first grouping we saw was towards the bank near a bridge. We tried to ease up on them but they were just milling around mixed in with cichlids and tilapia. They kept diving into deeper water out of sight. We moved on and started working the edges searching for beds. These fish tended, like many species, to gravitate to structure. We mainly found them around docks, rock piles and downed trees. The fishing, while exciting, was a bit hit or miss. This is truly patience fishing. The peacocks will attack time after time if you stay with it and drag that small AS Lures crank bait through their bed, you will eventually hook up. Once you do the excitement begins. The domestic peacocks are quite smaller than their cousins in the Amazon. The Florida state record is 9.08 pounds but the fish we were catching were in the 2 to 4 pound class. If you decide to go in search of P’s make sure you load up on top water and crank baits. If you like live bait, small shiners are the ticket. We used our normal redfish tackle with 20lb fluorocarbon leader. We had a little issue with the sun playing peek- a- boo, which made the sight fishing a little tough, but we saw plenty of fish including largemouth bass and snook. I cannot wait to get back down there with my Pro Angler 14.
About our host: We fished with Sarah “Sasinator” Servant. Her website is www. arluresus.com. Their email is: arluresus@ gmail.com. Her facebook page is sarah. sasinator@facebook.com. If you want to find out more about her hand-painted wooden lures, don’t hesitate to contact her.