At just 16 years old, Miami angler Xzavier Peon has already made his mark in the Florida fishing record books.
Peon recently landed a 3.02-pound, 16-inch jaguar guapote from the Westwood Lakes area of South Florida, earning the new Florida state record for the species.
Peon was targeting fish with live bait when the jaguar guapote struck. At first, he thought he had hooked a peacock bass, but when the fish surfaced, he quickly realized he had something special.
“Once the giant jaguar came up I knew that it was a state record almost instantly.”
The catch breaks a nine-year-old Florida state record for jaguar guapote. The nonnative species is now established in several South Florida canal systems and has become a popular target for freshwater anglers.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission encourages anglers to harvest nonnative freshwater species when regulations allow, helping reduce potential impacts on Florida’s native fish and ecosystems.
For Peon, though, the biggest reward is having his name attached to a Florida fishing record at only 16 years old.
Not a bad way to make your mark.