South Florida (Nov 5 to Nov 8): Bullseye Snakeheads, Peacocks Bass, Sailfish, Kings,

[JDTuna]

I decide to finally take a few days and head down to South Florida to see friends and do some fresh and saltwater fishing. I lived in the area for about 9 years for college and grad school, and hadn't been back to visit in years. The plan was to bank hop various canals and condo ponds looking for bullseye snakeheads and peacock bass. Then, I was set to either fish for swords or sails on Mon/Tues, depending on the weather.

Freshwater:

I brought a reel with me, and i stopped at Bass Pro to pick up a cheap rod and a few lures. I headed to a canal that used to hold large snakeheads. I saw a few that wouldn't eat and spooked when they saw me, so I decided to move on.

Next spot was a pond that held good numbers of snakeheads and largemouth. Since it had been 8 years since I'd fished it, I didn't remember exactly where it was. A little guessing and Google mapping and I found it. After a few casts, I saw the wake behind my topwater and subsequent explosion of a snakehead. Unfortunately, the fish missed the hooks. However, a few minutes later, I found another fish that annihilated my topwater and was hooked solid. The fish fought hard, pulling drag and tailwalking like a tarpon. It ended up being a pretty good one. After a few pics, the fish was safely



I didn't end up having a lot of time to bank hop the rest of the trip. I stopped by a canal on a way to my friend's house that had held peacocks. Sure enough, they were still there eager to hit plugs.



I managed to stop by the snakehead spot before I had to head back to NJ and had a bunch of blowups and landed and released another nice snakehead, and had a decent largemouth slam the lure.




With regards to snakeheads, much of the negative press is a bunch of hype and fiction. They have been in a small section of Fort Lauderdale for at least 20 years. Florida Fish and Wildlife's invasive species lab has researched the species, and determined they have caused no harm. They are an incredible gamefish that blast topwaters, fight very hard and are very spooky. It takes some specialized techniques to catch them consistently. Definitely one of my favorites in freshwater.

Saltwater:

Monday and Tuesday both ended up being too windy and rough to get offshore for swordfish so we stayed close and kite fished for sails. Monday was very rough, with 30kt E/NE winds. We still managed some fish and I caught 1 sail and missed another, got a bunch of King mackerel, mahi mahi, barracuda and false albacore. Tuesday was a little nicer, and I ended up releasing a sail and catch cobia, blackfin tuna, and bunch of skipjack and false albies. Lots of variety and a great trip!