I'm heading down to the Sarasota area to visit some family in the area and we wanna try and target some peacock bass over the weekend while I'm down there. But since I'm going to be on the west side of the state I'd like to try to not drive to Miami ft Lauderdale area to hook up on some of these guys. Does anyone know of any good areas on the south west area of FL that are a good spot to find em? 

Sorry, You won’t find Peacock up that way.
You’ll need to drive to either Broward or Dade County and of course the Glades. 
You’ll find them also in the canals around Golden Gate in Collier Co

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

13 hours ago, Mike L said:

Sorry, You won’t find Peacock up that way.
You’ll need to drive to either Broward or Dade County and of course the Glades. 
You’ll find them also in the canals around Golden Gate in Collier Co

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

Dang, was really hoping to avoid that 3 hr drive, but seeing as how the entire point of the trip is to hook up on some peacock bass guess I'll be taking that drive. Thanks for the info! 

Peas are as far north as Palm Beach county but Broward & Dade have the greatest concentration as @Mike L said. 

I don't know if you've already made your trip not but Sarasota is not going to have much if any peacock bass. Instead of going deep south to places like Miami, can always go to Lake Ida in Palm Beach County. That lake is loaded with peacocks as well as many other exotics. Might as well tap into a few clownfish while there. Other than Ida or Miami, the canals along Alligator Alley have peacocks, more on the eastern end toward the Fort Lauderdale area. Any of those pull-offs can produce some great peacock action. The western end of Alligator Alley turns more into brackish water, great for snook and juvenile tarpon. Bare in mind that any intense cold weather effects peacocks severely. A good cold snap will float them belly up. 

We do have them in the Golden Gate canal system in Naples (2 hours away from Sarasota).  Not the prime time of year for Peacocks, but we are catching a few too on some nearby lakes. If you need a guide for Golden Gate this woman spoke to our fishing club last year. I didn't go out with her, but a couple other members did and did well.  She's $350 for either 4 or 6 hours I think. 

https://www.shefishes2.com/about/

I ended up booking a trip to lake Ida, and renting a room in the area. Super excited to hook into some peacock bass

Had a very successful trip! My uncle and I both landed some very nice peacocks, and even a clown fish. We'll worth the trip! 

what did you catch them on?  

I wouldn't be able to fish knowing that there are alligators in the area at any given moment