Fall fishing in South Florida is a good time to catch exotic species

Although Florida is known for its excellent largemouth bass fishing, South Florida has a couple of exotic species that local anglers appreciate even more — peacock bass and snakeheads. And now is a great time to catch them.

Native to Brazil and other South American and Central American countries, colorful peacock bass were stocked in South Florida canals in the mid-1980s by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to control the population of undesirable exotics like tilapia.

Peacocks have done a great job of that and also turned marginal urban canals into desirable fishing hotspots.

“October is as close as you can get to the Amazon,” captain Alan Zaremba said. “When you get on a day when peacock bass are feeding good, you can catch a lot.”

Zaremba, of Hollywood, guides anglers for peacocks from Florida City to Boynton Beach. He also puts together peacock trips to Amazon tributaries.

Fall fishing in South Florida is so good for peacocks because most of them are through spawning, water temperatures are cooler, the fish are hungry and they’re schooling.

During a recent trip, schools of peacocks suddenly began busting on the surface as they fed on smaller fish. Topwater lures produced a couple of thrilling peacock hits from fish up to 4½ pounds, as well as a number of misses.

Zaremba said subsurface lures like Rapalas, Smithwick Rattlin’ Rogues and Strike King Wild Shiners also catch a lot of peacocks this time of year, although his favorite is a floating Bagley B minnow because it catches all types of fish.

“You can work it slowly off the bank for largemouth bass, then speed it up for peacocks,” Zaremba said.

When the surface bite slows, Zaremba switches to bucktail jigs and Rat-L-Traps, which can be worked deeper.

His anglers also catch snakeheads in October.

“Snakehead fishing to me this time of the year is at its best,” Zaremba said. “There’s plenty of topwater action using Heddon Torpedoes, Storm Chug Bugs and Rebel Pop-Rs.”

Unlike destructive exotic species such as pythons and lionfish that are here to stay in South Florida, snakeheads haven’t been as bad as many folks feared.

That’s because they are a blast to fish for and wonderful to eat.

Those two attributes have helped keep the snakehead population under control.

“We’re never going to beat these things,” Jason Calvert said, “but we’re going to put a beating on them.”

Dan Bieniek said ground zero for snakeheads includes the C-14 Canal in Margate and the Hillsboro Canal in Deerfield Beach. Zaremba catches snakeheads in Boca Raton canals while he’s targeting peacocks.

According to the FWC, snakeheads were first documented in South Florida in 2000. The fish are native to Pakistan, Malaysia and southern China. They were most likely introduced into local waters by aquarium owners who tired of the fish when they grew too big. Anglers have caught snakeheads here well over 10 pounds.

Although snakeheads have sharp teeth and healthy appetites, electro-shocking of local waters shows healthy populations of native species like largemouth bass.

Testing of snakeheads from a number of different canals also has shown very low levels of mercury in their flesh. The Florida Department of Health advises that adults can eat two meals of snakehead per week or per month depending on where the fish are caught.

The fishing pressure on snakeheads has made them harder to catch, which is a good thing. Calvert said it was not unusual to catch 50 snakeheads fishing for four to five hours. Now, catching a handful of snakeheads is a good outing.

Anglers can fish for snakeheads from land or from boats in the C-14 and Hillsboro canals as well as in smaller canals that feed into them. While Zaremba prefers topwater plugs, a soft-plastic frog is far and away the best bait for snakeheads, which lurk along the shorelines of the canals.

Look for a water level high enough to provide a gap between submerged grass and the bank, because that’s where snakeheads like to ambush fish, turtles, frogs and snakes, among other prey. As you slowly reel in your frog, you’ll often see the wake of a snakehead coming after the lure. Just keep reeling and get ready for a fight.