peacock bass fishing

For North American Peacock fishing, we recommend using gizzard shad, frogs and minnows. Both fathead and the golden shiners work well but make sure you get the longest minnows you can or you’ll end up catching everything in the river.

 

With that in mind, focus on casting and trolling methods, though casting is preferred over trolling.

Lures to use

Butterfly Peacock Bass strike at flashy diving, shallow running and surface plugs, jigs and large streamer flies. When fishing in lagoons, use the shallow running floating and diving plugs.

 

As the sun rises in the morning, the Butterfly Peacock Bass move out to bathe in the sun and begin feeding. Only in the afternoon, during the summer, when the surface water temperature gets above 82°F/27°C degrees do they start to move into deeper water.

 

Try blue, chartreuse and green and white plugs. For lunkers, use large plugs with fore and aft propellers to create a lot of commotion.

Where to catch Peacock Bass

The Butterfly Peacock Bass can be found in South American lagoons close to major rivers. As the dry season progresses they may be isolated from the river as the water bridge between the lagoon and the river dries up.

 

In North America the Butterfly Peacock Bass are predominantly found in slow moving rivers, streams, canals and lakes in south eastern Florida. While Florida has a reputation for having a warm and tropical climate, this is not completely true. While summers are certainly tropical, winters become temperate. This results in a vast majority of the canals and interconnecting water systems dropping well below 60°F/16°C.

 

Somewhere below 64°F/18°C degrees and definitely below 60°F, the Butterfly Peacock Bass can no longer survive and they die off. This leaves only the south eastern end of Florida having the ability to keep peacock bass throughout the year. Winter is not a recommended season for fishing peacock bass in Florida. Your best bet for catching them is in South America.

South America

There are lots of lakes and lagoons in the Brazilian rainforest including the many lakes off the remote Baria river or the Casiquiare areas. While there’s a good population of Butterfly peacocks Bass in Florida, the best and most exciting place to fish for them is in South America where they are referred to as pavon rather than bass.

 

We recommend looking into the Agua Boa region as it offers the opportunity of 32 lagoons and land locked lakes. Balance your equipment and tackle for a heavy fight and don’t forget to set your drag for an aggressive first strike. Fighting a peacock is challenging. They’re bigger and more aggressive than trying to land a largemouth. It requires a lot of energy and you will be quite sore the next day.