South FL?

[rboat]

Hey guys, just wondering if the peacock bass survived that last cold blast. I hope to get down that way and try to get one someday.

[mattd]

I haven't seen any floaters in the waters I fish.  I'm sure the population took a hit though.  Will let you know when the weather warms up.

[salmicropterus]

90%+ kill rate north of Alligator Alley

50% kill rate at Dade/Broward line

30-40% south of there

It's pretty bad but they will come back!

[SirSnookalot]

We are having another cold snap, the outlook IMO is not good for the near term.

On the bright side, sails, dolphins and kingfish are hot offshore, and catching a lot of snook inshore.

[I.rar]

havnt been out too much lately but i havnt seen any floaters down my way.

[South FLA]

Up in Northern Palm Beach county, not only are Peacocks floating or lining the bottom of canal systems dead, but also spotted tilipia, and plecos.

Here is a recent article on the effects of the cold snap here in S. FLA:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2011039078_snakes11.html

Don't you love when someone gives a % of mortality rate, where do they get their numbers? I for one haven't seen any live exotics in my canal system after the January cold snap other than Blue Tilipia, but I hope some of the Peacocks lived, I will see this summer.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Finally saw the first floater in my lake.  Was a decent size Bluegill.  Other than that I've seen none.  I've seen a few peacocks roaming around the lake, but nowhere near the numbers I used to.  That could mean they're still hiding way down deep with the new cold fronts that rolled in.  I'm on a deep lake, so who knows.  I did finally see a largemouth sitting on a bed in my lake, so I guess the spawn may be coming around soon, or I just had a plain dumb fish.

Heres to hoping for warmer, more fishable weather...

[SirSnookalot]

I don't know where these statistical numbers come from regarding fish kill, only to say since the cold snap I have not caught a peacock in my area.

I did notice in the article that pythons are dying which I think is a good thing, but will the survivors and their off spring be more tolerant of colder weather?

[GLADES]

90%+ kill rate north of Alligator Alley

50% kill rate at Dade/Broward line

30-40% south of there

It's pretty bad but they will come back!

Living in the area and fishing Dade, Broward, and Palm beach counties, I would say that these stats are generally correct based upon the amount of dead fish I have observed floating and dead below the water in various areas. I have not seen a official report though.

[GLADES]

I don't know where these statistical numbers come from regarding fish kill, only to say since the cold snap I have not caught a peacock in my area.

I did notice in the article that pythons are dying which I think is a good thing, but will the survivors and their off spring be more tolerant of colder weather?

The cold put a nice dent into the python population down here. The snakes are hunted, and there were news reports of lots of huge dead snakes. I don't think the genie can be put back into the bottle, but hopefully with continued hunting, the larger surviving snakes will be caught and killed.

[etommy28]

on the west coast in the few places they are they had a very small amount killed. many mayan and talapia but few peacocks because they like the deeper water here.

[salmicropterus]

The source of those estimates I gave were from a peacock specific guide who is on the water 300+ days a year everywhere from PBC down to the C-100 and south near Homestead. He in turn spoke to a person from FWC and got some estimates from them that was worse than even his observation was. Up in Palm Beach Gardens I'd be surprised if near any survived that far north. There have been surprises though as some were caught in the Alley out west at MM41. What has been amazing was how bad Dade has been hit. It has been believed that canals down there drawing off the Biscayne Aquafir would maintain water temps at least high enough to have a decent survival rate but the water like in the C-4 got into the mid 50s and pretty much held there 4-5 days back in January. It remains to be seen about the "resi" lakes. I live on one in Cooper City and I am seeing lots of mayans and tilapia swimming around and not a lot of floaters-it's never been a great peacock fishery so I can't speak to that. The lake has some 25-30' holes in it. The guide I referred to is finding some fish but the catch rates are more like 10-12 a day rather than 30-40 or more. Whether that's an indication of mortality or sluggishness-only time will tell