Lipless rattling crank baits are a favoured lure in open water fishing conditions with blue and silver working best.

Catching Spotted Peacock Bass in the summer is the best season and what makes the attributes that make summer fishing so successful fall over in the a good portion of fall. Water levels in early fall are just as ideal for peacock bass fishing as they are in the summer months. When water levels are high, peacocks are hard to catch as there is so much more area for them to swim and it is much easier for them to get away and lines often get tangled in the brush.

As water levels drop off at the beginning of the dry season, the peacocks retreat into lagoons and landlocked lakes and are much easier to catch providing you have the proper fishing gear and equipment. The opposite is true in the rainy season as the Amazon basin becomes one large flood plain.

Make sure to adjust your drag before casting. If your drag is tight, then a heavy strike could snap the line. Once you get a strike, make sure to tighten the drag again to prevent the Peacock Bass from unravelling all the line. If you don’t have a reel that is easy to adjust drag, consider getting one that does as the right drag will make your task easier and is well worth it. See our sections on reels for more information.

Once the hook is set, be prepared for the Spotted Peacock Bass puts up a strong fight, making repeated short jumps so do not give up when they are close to the boat.

Spotted Peacock Bass are the largest of the peacock bass and can grow to 25 pounds, though many believe there are still bass exceeding 30 pounds that have yet to be caught. As these are one ferocious and hard fighting fish, BassFishing-Gurus.com recommends using a 40 pound line test. Some anglers tend report being successful using 30- and 20 pound test.

Use shallow running floating and diving plugs for lagoon and slow water conditions with blue chartreuse and green and white plugs working best.

Lipless rattling crank baits are a favoured lure in open water fishing conditions with blue and silver working best. Spinner baits produce some strikes but are greatly out fished by plugs. Unless you don’t have any other lures, leave these ones at home when it comes to peacock. These lure techniques also work well in Florida waters along with live baits. The key is to appeal to their instinct to defend their territory.