Pacemaker Fishing Forum

I was attending a conference in Miami on the 20th so I got in town in the PM of the 19th and hired Capt. Mark Hall so that I could do some Peacock Bass fly fishing which I had never done before.

We hoped in Mark's 17' Flats Skiff and headed west on a canal near 154th St SW.

Peacock Bass are aggressive eaters and they are very territorial which is good for a beginner fly fisherman like me. We came up on a couple of bass I started throwing a clouser with my 7wt Mancini rod. A few casts later and I had my 1st Peacock ever…..man do they fight! It was only a 2 pounder but he seemed much bigger!

After a couple more catches, we spotted a nicer one (@ 3lbs) in a little cove. The fish kept looking at my fly and would not take it. The guide wanted to move on but I told him to hold on and I must have cast 40 times before he finally took my fly. The fight was on and after a few minutes he was landed.

We were throwing short casts but to very tight surroundings. I was dropping the fly right where it needed to be....right on their nose. This was sight fishing at its best!

Then...as it always does in Florida, it started to pour so we got under a bridge and waited for 20 minutes. Sure enough, it stopped and we proceeded to fish some more. I hooked a nice one by playing the fly a bit and as I was landing him, we heard a noise like a fan. It was the rain coming at us up the canal. This time, it got us soaked before we could get to the bridge. But this rain did not let up and after a 1.25 hour delay, we called it quits.

Total tally in 2 hours of fishing was 5 Peacock Bass!

Awesome experience!

Ernie