An Easter Miracle: Free Fly and Twin Peacock Bass
It was early spring. March, I think. Sunday, March 27. March 27, 2016. I'm awful with dates, but I know this one because it was Easter Sunday, and I'll never forget the fishing trip I enjoyed on that particular day. My wife had suggested that we do something Easter-y, like a fancy brunch or something. I counter-suggested that on the first Easter, ol' JC was probably super hungry, and since he was a fisherman, he probably went down to the canal and caught some peacock bass for lunch. She rolled her eyes. I told her that I would take her to brunch, as soon as she decided what she was hungry for, where she wanted to go, and got herself dolled up for the occasion. I figured that meant I had plenty of time to leave the house with my fly rod. Obviously I didn't tell old wifey where I was going, as I didn't want to interrupt her thought process.
There was a small bridge near my home that covered a narrow passage connecting two local lakes. The bridge was one of those pretty bridges with an archway, and either side of that archway was covered in thick vegetation, making it difficult to get underneath said bridge. It was quite picturesque for the homeowners directly across the lake, and I assume they just didn't WANT anyone climbing down under the bridge; but anyone crossing this bridge could see numerous peacock bass cruising among the lily pads that covered this passage of water. So I risked life and limb, slid down the very steep embankment, and came to an abrupt stop, narrowly avoiding a head-first trip into the drink. There was a concrete ledge below the bridge that allowed relatively comfortable standing, but with all the trees and bushes on that embankment, any back cast had to be done sidearm- either out toward the main lake, or back under the bridge. It's a tricky place to fly fish, but it just looks so fishy, I tended to hit this spot several times a year.
On this day, the peacocks were in pre-spawn. Anyone who has ever fished for peacock bass knows how they get during the spawn- some are so whacked out on spawning that you can catch them with a bare hook, let them go, and catch them with a bare hook again. (Side note- I hate seeing the fish that have been harassed this way- in populated South Florida, there are easily accessible spots that support a lot of foot traffic, and the fish in those areas often look like they've been hit by cars. When fish are on their beds, one should try to leave them alone.) Anyway, these fish were in PRE-spawn. This is a great time to see the larger fish in your area, as they are moving around looking for mates and places to bed. And they are aggressive in defending whatever area they are in. They won't necessarily eat whatever they see, but they'll get mad at it. On this day, there were two large male peacocks shooting out from under the bridge, cruising around the lily pads, chasing other fish out of the way, and then zooming back under the bridge again. It was fun to watch. Once I could see their pattern, I cast my streamer into the deep water in the middle of their preferred path. I waited for them to cruise into the area, and then stripped quickly out of their way, hoping to trigger a chase response. Surprisingly, I was successful almost immediately. One of the larger males inhaled my fly, and then shot into the lily pads. My line was cut within 3 seconds of the take. (Peacock bass don't have large teeth, but as they grow, they develop very sharp plates that can slice through your leader material- in my experience, if a large peacock gets that hook deep into their large mouths, they often cut you off instantly. I only see this happen with peacocks over about 4 pounds, so something changes around that size that exposes a sharp edge, and it snot unusual for a bigger peacock to break off almost instantaneously.)
I regrouped. Tied a fresh leader, tied on a new fly, and began again. This time around, it was as if the first fish has advised all the other fish that the goofy old man who waves a stick had returned, and not to eat anything until dinner. They complied. I continued my prior approach, letting the fly sink to the bottom, waiting for indication that a fish was heading that direction, then stripping the fly out fast. And finally, wham! I was on again. After a nice fight, a few brilliant jumps, I landed a 5 pound peacock bass. But even better, it's challenger- the other big peacock that had been chasing it around, had followed it right up to the edge, and was hanging around and shaking its head just a few feet in front of me. I removed the fly, and awkwardly "cast" my fly about 5 feet in front of me. The second fish was still in pre-spawn "I hate everyone" mode, and smashed the fly. Another good fight, and a couple minutes later, I landed a second fish. And the icing on the cake? As I maneuvered this second fish to remove my fly, my FIRST fly fell out of his mouth and landed at my feet!!
I do not remember if I ever went to brunch that Easter. If we did, I do not remember where we went to brunch, what we ate, or what my wife said to me upon my sweaty, smelly return from fishing. (Probably, "Happy Easter," or, "You look so handsome all sweaty and covered in dirt," or "Where the __________ have you been?!" Something nice like that.) I do however remember exactly where I was the day I caught back-to-back five pound peacocks, AND got my fly back!
Equipment:
For those interested, I use a 5 weight Sage fly rod, with a 5 weight, weight forward floating (WFF) warm water fly line from Rio. (Rio Bonefish Quikshooter) Fly lines designated warm water or tropical are essential in South Florida. If you bring your trout rod from Montana or Colorado and don’t change the line, you’ll find that the heat turns it to spaghetti. Seriously, it just turns into a sloppy mess. You can certainly get away with a 6 or even a 7 weight instead of a 5, if that's what you've got. I like to walk long distances along these canals looking for fish, and I find the lighter weight rod just lets me fish a little longer without fatigue. It’s also rare to need to make long casts for these fish, so heavier rods are overkill.
My fly in this case was an Everglades Special, size 1, non-floating.
This is my favorite go-to fly, as it pretty accurately imitates some of the cichlids these guys like to eat, and it also has a weed guard that works well with most of the vegetation you encounter. I don’t use a tippet, instead opting for about 5 or 6 feet of 15 pound Seaguar Gold fluorocarbon.
I hope you enjoyed this story, and welcome any questions or comments. Good luck out there.