Just out of curiosity, has anyone every tried to stock and reproduce peacock bass? I know that they are in the Miami FL. area. I know that I could never have them here in ohio, but for you southner's, is this an option? I heard they fight like hell.

They are considered exotic species and illegal to stock in most states. Nice to dream I guess. I can imagine the calls for stocking if these critters were an option.

Given the aggessive nature of these critters and the size of their teeth, I suspect you would would have 1 very large Peacock Bass in your pond in a short while

Great thought, I would deffinitly get on that program if it were an option. Unfortunatly they need a constant warm water temp(I believe 70 degrees). The only place in the US that can maintain a population is southern FLA. I was going to fish them last year in Miami but went for bones with a guide instead. The peacock is on the top of my list, right under the rooster fish.

Sshhhhhhhhhh. Rumors have it that several Florida-based regulars on the PGA have stocked peacocks in their private ponds. Not sure about Florida regs but it may be illegal to import an exotic species.

The rumor may be bogus, but I used to cover the PGA Tour for a newspaper in Dallas and if anybody has the passion for fishing, and the money to force-feed a toothy predator like the peacock, it would be those golfers.

Mark McDonald
Editor

Those sound like fun fish to catch. I may have to take a trip to the canals of FL to try my luck. I just saw them today, how they explode on lures. Its great.

May be a silly thought, but I wonder if they could create a hybrid between Peacock and Largemouth?

I no geneticist but I’m guessing no. Peacock bass are in the Chilid family and so are not really bass at all. I’m guessing you could cross LMB with SMB or Spotted Bass but why would any one want to? If you could cross a LMB with a Blue Gill that might make for some record-breaking pan fishing!

Before you all get too excited you should know there are a number of species of peacock bass, not all of which grow to giant proportions. In fact, the really noteworthy Amazonian peacock bass that grows to 20-30 lbs won't live as far north of the equator as Panama, I believe. The Panama canal is loaded with a species of peacock bass that run about 2-3 lbs for a nice one. I don't believe the peacock bass species in Florida
has produced and eye poppers, but I could be wrong.

When I was a kid, I used to catch some mean little bass in the Tangipahoa River (SE Lousiiana) This river was clear, cool, and swift with a sand and gravel bottom. I would find deeper pools at bends, and catch 1 or 2 on shiners or beetle spinners in every pool. They were short and fat, and hit hard and fought viciously. Every one jumped! They were definitely not stunted large mouth(Micropterous salmoides) Nearest I could figure, they were M. punctulatus, or "spotted bass". Whatever they were, they should be bred to get bigger. A 10 pounder is a scary thought.

John Boat,

The LMB actually isn't a bass, it is a sunfish, more closely related to a bluegill than a true bass. Bass are actually salt water fish (except for some of the striped bass) and are in no way related to our LMB or SMB.

I have a pond in Northeastern Thailand and I do have the peacock bass stocked in it. As posted previously the peacock bass cannot sustain cool temperatures and that is the reason it was decided to stock the fish in the Miami Canals as it habitat is extremely limited. The peacock is a massive forager as it schools and runs down the baitfish, not an ambusher so expends a lot of energy in the chase and as such was the perfect predator for S. Florida that was overwhelmed with exotic species that were overpopulating the waterways. The peacock bass that is predominantly in Florida is the Butterfly species that max's out around 10# in weight. The Pavon peacocks that bring fishermen to S. America can obtain sizes over 25#. The peacock is also established in Hawaiian reservoirs. It is a mean sports fish and extremely aggresive, however it has no teeth, rather a rough gum line. The fish spawn readily in my lake and in most compounds that they are stocked in.

Don, with your member number in the low 900's, I don't recall seeing a lot of postings.

If you care to, please tell us more about the Thailand pond vibe. Rad had given some nice writings.

Jersey may have to get over to Thailand.