Peacock Bass Fish Kills

[South FLA]

Have seen many stressed and floating peacock bass and oscars in my canal system and adjacent neighborhoods! Nature's trash collectors are out in full force picking up the carnage, brown pelicans, snake birds, egrets, buzzards, and ospreys are in much higher numbers around the area. I saw a snake bird yesterday who looked distorted he was so full of fish. I guess in the end it may be good since a thinned out population of exotics will allow Bertha to have less competition, but it is sad seeing so many dead fish.

[bocabasser]

went to my sister in laws on sunday. as i walked to the lake, i could smell the death. there were at least 50 dead peacocks and most of them were between 3 and 5 pounds. i only saw a couple of little ones that were dead. there were also a lot of dead cichlids.

on a brighter note, the cold has killed many iguanas. mother nature has a way of fixing things.

[salmicropterus]

From what I am hearing from my sources, it sounds pretty much like a near total wipe-out north of the Alley-marginally better but not much south of the Alley in Broward and not so bad in Dade. Exceptions might be residential lakes with some depth and maybe a bit warmer water down deep. The biggest problem beyond just the dip in water temps is how prolonged this has been and will be. The days are sunny but windy and there is not any daytime warming of the water so it has been about 10 days now with water temps below 60

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Luckily I haven't seen any on my lake yet, but I'm sure that there are some in this water system.  Several lakes in the area are all ajoined, so who knows.  My uncle has some lakefront property as well, and he's got massive fish kills in the shallower water he has.  Really stinks, his lake was some good fishing.  Thank god this cold snap is starting to end.  I know I can't take much more of it, I'm sure whatever fish are left alive are on their last legs.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

You know, now that I think of it...the only good thing to come out of all this cold is that I got a chance to re-spool and re-lube all of my reels, clean up my rods, and restock on some tackle.  The big problem is that I've ended up at one of the two Bass Pro shops every day for like the last week just out of boredom.  The cold really needs to go, it's starting to hurt my wallet as well as the fishing...

[I.rar]

reading this thread has been very depressing. im heading back to miami in a few days and was hoping the pea's wouldnt suffer like this.

any idea how long it would take their population to 'bounce back'?

[SoFlaBassAddict]

No idea.  I hope it's not as bad as it seems and most of them found some deep water to hang out in.  I doubt Fish and Game down here is too worried about restocking them.  They weren't supposed to last here that long to start with.

[I.rar]

No idea. I hope it's not as bad as it seems and most of them found some deep water to hang out in. I doubt Fish and Game down here is too worried about restocking them. They weren't supposed to last here that long to start with.

i hope not too. i would imagine they would do something about it. maybe not though...

when is the last time we had weather like this?

[salmicropterus]

reading this thread has been very depressing. im heading back to miami in a few days and was hoping the pea's wouldnt suffer like this.

any idea how long it would take their population to 'bounce back'?

Two things-their growth rate is somewhat faster than a largemouth and more importantly, many of them spawn more than once a year. The fishery can get restored pretty quickly. These fish were introduced by FWC to control the invasive tropicals that were in the water system done south. Over time, with warm winters, they migrated northward and westward but the intent, in picking the peacock to be the predator of choice was to be sure, through nature's temperature control, to never let them get into Lake Okeechobee. So, in a sad way, the theory worked. Someone else also posted about them not getting too big due to these kills-offs. That is because when they were introduced by FWC, they introduced the smallest subspecie of the 4 that exist. The grandes of Brazil are a different subspecie. These down here in SOFLA are called "butterfly" and they are the smallest, even staying somewhat small in comparison to the others down in Brazil

[Krzkev]

Part of what he just said is true, they introduced two species of Peacock bass in the 80's. Yes, one of them was the Butterfly, and the other was the Speckled which gets fairly big like 20 lbs or so, and for some reason other than temp they all croaked, I guess none of them survived. Fortunately the Butterflies did make it, and hopefully they will still be around.

[flyboy]

I live in SW Broward near Pines and I 75.  The lake behind my house is loaded with Peacocks and I have not seen any distressed fish; the Iguanas in the area look like logs though.  I may go out tomorrow and see if I can hookup.  Usually a cast or two with one of those Rattletraps with the through hook and blade does the trick.

[Thai]

Pbass in optimum conditions can grow extremely fast reaching 6" in about 5 months from hatching and can grow over 2" a month until about 16" then it slows a bit but is still considerably faster than LMB, by then they are usually sexual mature and capable of spawning every 2 months or so, I wouldnt worry much about them being decimated, it only takes one pair to start a breeding population, esp with both parents gaurding the eggs and fry

[SoFlaBassAddict]

I live in SW Broward near Pines and I 75. The lake behind my house is loaded with Peacocks and I have not seen any distressed fish; the Iguanas in the area look like logs though. I may go out tomorrow and see if I can hookup. Usually a cast or two with one of those Rattletraps with the through hook and blade does the trick.

Hell, you're right down the street from me.  I'm on Miramar Pkwy and 75.

[SirSnookalot]

Hearing lots of bad reports regarding floaters, went out yesterday and didn't see any but that doesn't they didn't parish around here. Have seen many mayans gasping at the surface.

Keep an eye out for the buzzards, seeing them all over the banks feasting.

[A.Do?]

reading this thread has been very depressing. im heading back to miami in a few days and was hoping the pea's wouldnt suffer like this.

any idea how long it would take their population to 'bounce back'?

Two things-their growth rate is somewhat faster than a largemouth and more importantly, many of them spawn more than once a year. The fishery can get restored pretty quickly. These fish were introduced by FWC to control the invasive tropicals that were in the water system done south. Over time, with warm winters, they migrated northward and westward but the intent, in picking the peacock to be the predator of choice was to be sure, through nature's temperature control, to never let them get into Lake Okeechobee. So, in a sad way, the theory worked. Someone else also posted about them not getting too big due to these kills-offs. That is because when they were introduced by FWC, they introduced the smallest subspecie of the 4 that exist. The grandes of Brazil are a different subspecie. These down here in SOFLA are called "butterfly" and they are the smallest, even staying somewhat small in comparison to the others down in Brazil

Excellent info there! There are actually more than 4 subspecies of pbass but you are correct that FL ones are smaller, not necessarily the smallest, than those big boys you see in South American fishing trips. A lot of people also believe that the florida strains are actually hybrids of two subspecies.

They should bounce back in no time, whether that is a good or bad thing is up to you.

[I.rar]

Excellent info there! There are actually more than 4 subspecies of pbass but you are correct that FL ones are smaller, not necessarily the smallest, than those big boys you see in South American fishing trips. A lot of people also believe that the florida strains are actually hybrids of two subspecies.

They should bounce back in no time, whether that is a good or bad thing is up to you.

i love catching peacock bass , so thats a great thing to hear.  ;D

im sure from when they were first introduced to now , there has been a few cold snaps similar to this one , they will bounce back.  i guess its just a matter of how long it would take.

btw , was there any reason they never brought the larger specie over here? or was this one the hardiest?

[A.Do?]

I believe this strain/species is more tolerant of the cooler temps.

[South FLA]

Fish Nerds Rejoice!

Most comprehensive site on Peacock Bass I have found.

http://www.acuteangling.com/taxonomy/peacock-bass-species.html

Florida Fish and Wildlife Publication about Peacock Bass

http://www.myfwc.com/docs/WildlifeHabitats/Nonnative_FW_PeacockBass2008FlWildlifeMag.pdf#search=%22peacock%20bass%22

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Nice read in that article.  I saw several largemouths cruising the shoreline on my lake this afternoon.  Hopefully the peacocks won't be far behind.  Yay for warmer weather!

[TimJ]

before all of this cold weather and its ramifications, how far north were there fishable populations of peacocks? not that theyre gone but could be damaged now.

TJ

[Bassn Blvd]

They were as far north for certain as Belvedere Rd in West Palm Beach and I believe even up to Palm Beach Gardens.

[SoFl-native]

Yup. Buddy of mine caught some off of Northlake. That was the furthest north i ever heard of them being......besides transplants.

[bocabasser]

date=1263568209]The peacock bass are most likely gone in Palm Beach, Broward County and most of Dade.

There are major kills reports as far South as Homestead.

If you are not seeing them, understand a healthy fish sinks to the bottom and lays there until something eats it or it float to the surface as it rots. The main reason we have not seem this yet is because of the water temps, as the water warms over the next couple of weeks the death will rise unfortunately.

there is no way they are "gone". i believe the population has suffered a huge loss, but no way are they gone. those fish are more resilient than most think. even if one male and one female survived in each body of water, they will flourish again. this isn't the first peacock kill i have seen nor will it be the last.

[XsnakeheadhunterX]

I haven't seen anything yet in my lake.

I did see some disoriented plecos and snakeheads.

Haven't caught any largemouth. Fished a senko slooooow for hours too.

[SirSnookalot]

I have seen many on line photos of dead peacocks in Dade and Broward, very bad winter kill. For me the bass have been off since the weather has warmed, I did very good on the colder days.

From what I hear the snook are fairing better, a few caught off the beach couple of days ago.