I was born and raised in Kendall and fished for peacocks almost exclusively after catching my first one in 1992. I have planning a trip down to Miami to fish for them and was able to do it on Saturday.

I started off at Airport Lakes at sunrise. Caught a small peacock on a superspook right off the bat. I was stoked. As i am unhooking that fish a school of fish came up and started anihilating a bait pod right in front of the boat. Cast over there quickly and the spook got destroyed first twitch. Thought i had a good peacock.....then based on the speed i thought it was a small tarpon.......then i started feeling a familiar head pulse.....a jack? no cant be. Sure as hell was. They were busting bait everywhere all morning.

Anyway....fight that little wretched for like 10 minutes and then start working the spook again. 5 casts later i get a nice blow up. He jumps. A snook! haha i was blown away. Caught a couple more peacocks and then a decent LM. Off the water by 11.

Next i loaded up and made a move down to the c-101 which was my home canal back in the day. Used to fish it 3-4 days a week. Launched there at 12 had one in the boat by 12:30. Some fish were paired up on beds some were guarding fry. I caught one off a bed and then stopped that as it is so easy it isnt even fun. Ended up with 8 more peacocks one close to 3 and had a big one straighten the light wire hook on a swimming hornet underspin.

All in all it was an awesome day. Long drive but worth it. I miss those fish! they are by far the strongest freshwater fish i have ever dealt with including smallmouths. Cant wait until they make it back up here again.

Looks like a great trip. Gotta love catching those Peacocks.  That jack must have been a hell of a fight on bass tackle. Bet that was a blast. The fish in the last picture has some great color. Gorgeous Peacock.

super day! i love that your dog goes with you. right on.

Nice work Dale...I'm jealous. I haven't caught a peacock or a snook yet this year. Haven't really targeted them, due to the massive kill we had in March. Still, I usually get a couple by accident....this year nothing.

Now that's an awesome day!

Nice Jack, nothing like them !

As far as last winter kill, plenty of snook around that's why the season has been reopened on the Atlantic side.  We have been catching them solid all year long, water cooling down some are  heading back into the ICW and canals.

Nice work Dale...I'm jealous. I haven't caught a peacock or a snook yet this year. Haven't really targeted them, due to the massive kill we had in March. Still, I usually get a couple by accident....this year nothing.

Mike i would hit up Blue lagoon lake (airport lake) if i were you. I dont think you are far from there. If i lived there i would be hitting that place all the time.

They eliminated all the hydrilla so the fish are pretty easy to find now. You could make a good day there catching peacocks, bass....and maybe a snook, jack, tarpon.

super day! i love that your dog goes with you. right on.

He absolutley freaks out when i let him come. 4:30 am and he is running circles around the truck and boat like he is on crack. then he sleeps under the console all day. lil ba$t@rd

Looks like a great trip. Gotta love catching those Peacocks. That jack must have been a hell of a fight on bass tackle. Bet that was a blast. The fish in the last picture has some great color. Gorgeous Peacock.

yeah the c-100 has that crazy blue/green water. REALLY clear. you could see bottom in 12 feet. You could see midas ciclids from like 30 feet. haha

The peacocks in there  have the most brilliant colors i have seen.

lmao @ My-Jammy ;D

looks like a fantastic time. beautiful fish. 8-)

no kidding about the c-100. a friend stays right on it and everytime im in his backyard , i cant help but comment about its clarity.

i lied. he stays on the c-1 (cutler drain canal).

Outstanding report!

Can't wait to get back down ther. I got hooked on Peacocks (catch them with a fly rod) 3 years ago and it's as good as it gets! 

Ernie

Hey SoFL-native

Nice post! That is an interesting bag of fish.  The jack really surprised me; I never knew they would work their way that far in.  Before Andrew we lived off Old Cutler Road on a lake that only had a culvert that connected to a canal to the bay.  We had peacocks, large mouths, tarpon, walking catfish, and believe it or not muttons in there, but I never saw any jacks.

I have wanted to fish the blue lagoon area for a long time but I don't know where to launch.  Do you mind sharing how to get in there?  My wife has an office on the western most lake of that area and we have to go down there from time to time. 

old cutler road is about a minute and a half from me.  ;D

the lakes ive been to in the area only hold the usual peas , LM , carp and tilapia. if you dont mind me asking , where is the one youre talking about?

Hey SoFL-native

Nice post! That is an interesting bag of fish. The jack really surprised me; I never knew they would work their way that far in. Before Andrew we lived off Old Cutler Road on a lake that only had a culvert that connected to a canal to the bay. We had peacocks, large mouths, tarpon, walking catfish, and believe it or not muttons in there, but I never saw any jacks.

I have wanted to fish the blue lagoon area for a long time but I don't know where to launch. Do you mind sharing how to get in there? My wife has an office on the western most lake of that area and we have to go down there from time to time.

There is a park right on the lake with a double ramp. It is six bucks to launch on the weekend. free during the week. I forget the name. Some spanish guys name. It is on google maps on the South side.

oh and btw there are def tarpon in blue lagoon. I have jumped many and caught a few.

[There is a park right on the lake with a double ramp. It is six bucks to launch on the weekend. free during the week. I forget the name. Some spanish guys name. It is on google maps on the South side.

Antonio Maceo Park

Nice work Dale...I'm jealous. I haven't caught a peacock or a snook yet this year. Haven't really targeted them, due to the massive kill we had in March. Still, I usually get a couple by accident....this year nothing.

Mike i would hit up Blue lagoon lake (airport lake) if i were you. I dont think you are far from there. If i lived there i would be hitting that place all the time.

They eliminated all the hydrilla so the fish are pretty easy to find now. You could make a good day there catching peacocks, bass....and maybe a snook, jack, tarpon.

I might just do that one day...

I have a house on C-13 canal in Oakland Park (ocean access) that I rent...I fished that canal alot and it was always a mixed bag bass/jack/snook/tarpon. I had to laugh when you mentioned catching that Jack...I know exactly what you mean. At first you think you have a DD bass...then you feel that head thump.  >

Jack are amazing fighters. They'll give the bass gear all it can handle.

The lake off Old Cutler Road is in Saga Bay.  Keep in mind that was just before Andrew when I was fishing the lake but I can't imagine it has changed much.  There is a five acre park on the north side of the lake where you can fish with a couple of other access points around the lake.  Technically you can walk behind any of the houses and fish but I don't know if you will get grief from some of the owners.  We lived on the lake on the west end of the five acre park.  After Andrew we had all sorts of dead fish in our pool that must of come from the bay--I saw a small cuda and some mangrove snappers.  Our house was completely destroyed so we moved, but I bet the lake is still good, maybe better after all these years.  If you happen to have a jon boat with a depth finder you should be able to drag it to the lake from the park and you will find parts of the lake around 70' and an old dump truck on the bottom on the southwest side of the lake.  Good luck.

The lake off Old Cutler Road is in Saga Bay. Keep in mind that was just before Andrew when I was fishing the lake but I can't imagine it has changed much. There is a five acre park on the north side of the lake where you can fish with a couple of other access points around the lake. Technically you can walk behind any of the houses and fish but I don't know if you will get grief from some of the owners. We lived on the lake on the west end of the five acre park. After Andrew we had all sorts of dead fish in our pool that must of come from the bay--I saw a small cuda and some mangrove snappers. Our house was completely destroyed so we moved, but I bet the lake is still good, maybe better after all these years. If you happen to have a jon boat with a depth finder you should be able to drag it to the lake from the park and you will find parts of the lake around 70' and an old dump truck on the bottom on the southwest side of the lake. Good luck.

they wouldnt of happened to call that place 'the rock pits' would they? thats the only lake i can think of but thats closer to lakes by the bay off 216 st and 87 ave. if so , its now surrounded by houses.

the one in saga bay off 85 ave is the one i go to often. havnt seen any saltwater species in there. then again , andrew was like , 18 years ago? lol.

You are fishing the lake I am talking about.  Those rock pit lakes are south of the main lake in Saga Bay, closer to the high school.  When I fished it from my back yard I would see little tarpon cruise by from time to time and on occasion muttons.  I never got a bite from any of them though.  I don't know what the lake is like now, but when the peacocks started showing up it seemed like the bait started becoming more and more scarce and the largemouth declined.  About a year before Andrew some guys started fishing shiners and kept the largemouth they caught; that seemed to hurt the fishing also.

If you go to the back side of the lake on the far east side of the development you will see a pumping station and a culvert that leads to a ditch like canal that goes to the bay.  When Andrew hit the road back there was washed out and the entire neighborhood was under about four feet of saltwater for a day after the storm.  I don't know how that changed things, never fished the lake again, but I am sure it changed it forever. 

thanks for that bit of history on the lake. i didnt realize it was that deep. the fishing is still pretty good there. largemouth and peacock bass , tilapia , mayan cichlid , some type of catfish and carp are the only ones ive seen in there.

both the east and south side are now resident only areas so i fish the west and north sides and almost always catch something. this fall has really made the big ones come shallow though.