When I fished the Amazon a couple of years ago, I was faced with the difficult choice of either targeting payara which love fast deep water out in the main river, or heading north in search of peacock bass which favour the slower quieter parts of the system and its jungle lakes. This being a trip of a life time I obviously wanted to fish for both. But due to the distances involved commuting between sites, that wasn't possible, so I chose the payara, and ever since with all the hype now coming out surrounding the fighting abilities of the peacock bass, I've felt as though I'd missed out. Well, up until recently that is, because due to a combination of sheer chance and family commitments, that 'missing out' situation has now been rectified.

Interestingly, the trip that produced my peacock bass wasn't to the Amazon this time. In fact it wasn't even to South America. It was to Florida some 3000 or so miles north of the ancestral home of the peacock bass. My wife had been getting on to me to me to do a family holiday taking in Disney and all the other theme parks while the grand kids were still at the right age to enjoy them. So I agreed to go, but only on the proviso that I could take some time out to fish. But for what. I'd done all the inshore and offshore stuff several times already and was looking for a different challenge. So I typed the words 'Florida freshwater fishing' into Google. When it came back with peacock bass I was both intrigued and surprised. That triggered further investigation and my introduction to a fishery I previously wasn't aware existed there.

With its near tropical climate and abundance of freshwater locations, Florida is the perfect location for alien species to establish themselves, something they have done to such an extent that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) have been forced to take decisive and quite radical action to try to keep these invaders under control. The 'problem' stems from fish enthusiasts releasing exotic species that have become too large for their indoor aquariums. So much so that native species were coming under very real competitive habitat threat from species such as oscars, cichlids and tilapia which were quite literally taking over the place. Native predatory species such as the large mouth bass were simply unable to cope. So the FWC came up with the idea of making an alien introduction of their own that could, the Amazonian peacock bass.

Peacock bass coincidentally just happen to also be regarded as one of the premier fighting game fish of the freshwater world. For many years, American sport fishermen have been organising specialist trips to Brazil, Peru and Venezuela to target the species. But now they don't need to, because between 1984 and 1987 the FWC introduced 20,000 fingerling butterfly peacocks, and 100 of the potentially bigger speckled or three barred variety to the metropolitan Miami canal system. This isn't a canal system as we in the UK would know it. It's more of a controlled drainage network similar to the Fens, excavated from believe it or not, solid land locked coral, and used to drain suburban surface water from Miami and the surrounding area. So why go to the trouble of fishing it from a boat. Well the simple answer is that some of the more affluent residential areas of central Miami back onto these canals, so the only access to much of the system is by going afloat.

Another important point of difference not only between the Miami canal system and that of the UK, but also between it and the rest of the US, is that it lies on top of the Biscayne aquifer which even in winter rarely drops below 65 degree's. This is crucial to both the well being and the containment of peacock bass. Not only can peacock's not spawn in water below 60 degree's, they also struggle to survive. This then has been crucial to their spreading and prospering throughout the 330 miles of the system. But more important still, it also confines them too. The FWC were very careful not to introduce another alien species they could not contain which might exacerbate the problem of exotic introductions still further. And the experiment has been a complete success. Numbers of other exotic species have fallen off dramatically since the peacocks started munching their way through them, and the peacocks themselves have prospered as a result. So much so that the 12.6 pound world record from Venezuela was toppled from the Miami area, just before my arrival which now finds itself at the centre of a brand new multi-million dollar sport fishery.

As a visitor to the area, I not only needed to buy in the use of a boat, but also the services of an experienced guide, so I booked a day with peacock bass expert Frank Carbone who operates 'Hawg Hunter' Guide Services. 'Hawg' is the local term for a super sized bass. When it comes to equipment and professionalism, they don't mess about in this part of the world. Even though we were 'only' going canal fishing, Frank still turned up with a 21 foot flying machine with 250 hp of engine clamped to the back. A little OTT at face value. But when you consider the size of some of the lakes he also guides on for large mouth bass you can see the need. So with drinks in the cooler and 6 dozen roach like live baits they call shiners in the live well, it was off to the suburbs of Miami to slip the boat from its trailer and start working our way through the system.

Peacock bass differ from endemic species of North American bass such as large mouths in a number of ways, the most important of which being that despite their build, name, and aggression, they are in fact not actually bass at all but members of the cichlid family. They also fight much harder than the resident varieties and will feed when other species of fish would prefer to get their heads down and sulk. Large mouth bass for example prefer over cast cooler weather and hate flat calm sunny days. Peacocks on the other hand are at their best when, as was the case this particular day, you feel like you are literally going to melt in the boat. They are not too demanding when it comes to tackle either. A nice light outfit, a single size 1 hook tied directly to the end of the line, and a small shot above it to take the live bait down is all it takes. Oh, and a good pair of polarized sun glasses to see them with because this is all about spotting individual fish and sight casting the baits right onto their nose.

This is the other big reason why you need a boat. Even it you could get shore fishing access it wouldn't be much good as you need to search the length of the canal for individual fish. As it was spawning time, many of the fish were either paired up or guarding egg clumps in the margins along the tops of the coral shelves, in and around drainage pipes, or lying in ambush under the edges of over-hanging vegetation. At first I had difficulty picking them out, particularly at distance. But you soon start to get your eye in. Frank on the other hand could spot them from incredible distances. This is where the Minn Kota electric outboard on the bow of the boat came in to its own. Controlled completely by a foot operated peddle, Frank was able to both power and steer the boat quietly to within casting range without any undue disturbance.

The idea was to cast the shiner just beyond the basking bass and let it swim down past it. These are exceptionally aggressive fish which would more often than not gulp the shiner down within seconds if the cast was right. If it wasn't, you simply had another shot, and another... Most would eventually take the bait, though a few that were guarding eggs swam at it and simply 'blew' it away from their territory. Watching a fish approach a bait then take it brings an adrenalin rush that no other approach to fishing can match. All heart in the mouth stuff, and boy do these fish go once the hook is set. Rather like rainbow trout they can take off at a good rate of knots and will not give up until they are safely inside the landing net, if you can get them to go in. The smaller ones were lifted aboard, but the better fish do need the net, as I found out to my cost when I parted company with the best fish of the day through not waiting for the net. I won't be making that mistake again. And after careful unhooking, plus a few photographs, each one was taken back to the exact point it came from for release so that it could get right back to its egg guarding duties or defending its patch.

The peacock bass project was never intended as a challenge to South American supremacy. But that's what its developed into as well as being a highly successful biological control mechanism, and nobody, least of all American anglers are complaining about that. It's just a pity that the hundred or so fingerling barred peacocks didn't follow through to share in the story, for these fish can easily grow upwards of 20 pounds. Perhaps that is something the FWC will take another look at in the future. But for the moment they are looking to conserve the success of the project as it currently stands by encouraging catch and release for all peacocks caught, with a mandatory take home bag limit of two fish per day. In addition to this, only one fish may be greater than 17 inches to preserve the spawning integrity of the species and success of the project, because as it turns out, peacock bass appear only to prey on the undesirable exotic species leaving the smaller native species to be controlled by the indigenous large mouth bass.

No need then to journey south to the jungles of the Amazon region with so many fish, some of which are already achieving world record proportions, available to be incorporated into the luxury of a Florida sunshine holiday. For this reason, peacock bass are one alien invasion that nobody stateside is keen to repel.

SEE THE VIDEO VAULT – Miami Peacocks