Peacock Bass October 22nd

[RastaSteve]

i just posted a new report today guys, if u have any questions just ask.

[vitamin cee]

Steve, I got a few questions

Wheres your best spot? haha lol just kidding.
Can you give us some of your observations?
You say water temp affects them, at what temps do you see them slow? what baits do you use for lethargic fish?
Do you fish structure or depth more?
I have a few more but I'll let you answer these first. Thanks

[RastaSteve]

1.) I will say for freshwater peacock bass I have several good spots. And to be honest I would give you the location of my best spot where ive caught three 7+ pounders this summer.... which i will tell you why bc it answers question 2.

2.) Ive gained alot of knowledge this past year on peacock bass. Imagine fishing them 4-7 days a week, sometimes mornings and afternoons.

There are two ways to fish these guys of course; A) Use lures that make alot of noise (what alot of people do) and cover ground and try to intrude their territory. or B) Figure out/ Imagine feeding patterns that peacock will re-enact. (this is wat I do) more finese

The biggest thing I have noticed and capitalize with are feeding patterns. The most recent Monster Ive caught I actually missed twice, both times 30 minutes before sunset during a high pressure where earlier in the day it was cooler than normal. There is a 4.5 pounder that my friend has caught twice, we watch him come from the depths at apprx 7:30am everyday, he sits outside a very steep ledge. and he casts his lure at the same angle every time. If we wanted we may have goten him today as well. What I am trying to say is if you can, pick 2-3 spots and hit them hard, and figure some of these guys out, and then they are yours.

I go to other places as well and have success just based on my lure selection and presentation of the lures. I use realistic colors and patterns, and use the best Rapala. However I wont tell you exactly what I use. lol. But I will say I reel them in at a moderate speed and with sporatic action. If the lure is more of an oval I put high sporatic action. If its a more sleek lure then I jigg in order of 3. Boom boom boom reel while doing that. boom boom boom , " " ".... and so on.

Your best bet is to fish for these guys during a high pressure. You will find them closer to the shore, and have greater success spotting them, which is a huge advatage. aND DONT FISH THE FULL MOON. LOL They act like they dont care about anything. from the new moon to the full is the best time from what ive seen.

3.) I notice a change in behavior once the water temperatures fall below 75. The fishing becomes slower. You have to fish mornings at daylight, or fish the last 2 hrs of daylight.

Lethargic fish are tough to catch.... i can answer this in question 4.

4.) On a high pressure I fish finese. On a low pressure they are lazier. So i switch to my deep runner, which makes alot of noise. Believe it or not, I fish both depth and structure. Its the best bet... why not do it. I do find the most success by structure though. I havent caught any peacock deeper than 7 ft before. generally they are close to shore somehow whether they are active or not.

shoot me some more questions

[vitamin cee]

Thanks Steve, Great info for this thread. Do you know how far North they have them here in Fla?

[RastaSteve]

i dnt know of anyone catching them north of boca. to my knowledge. They could very well be north of that area. but i highly doubt it. West palm is about 6 degrees cooler during a cold front, so i doubt theyd even survive there, it means a huggge difference. they are thick starting in plantation/sunrise and south. all the way thru homestead. there are some canals in homestead that are ridiculously good if you can find them. but that would require time.

[dolphindude]

Sick Peacocks.

[vitamin cee]

Haven't been around for a while, any peacock fishing?