Will the Peacock Bass survive this Winter?
If you are an avid Peacock Bass fisherman then you have probably been watching the weather very closely this winter. Peacock Bass cannot tolerate water temperatures below 60F or salinity greater than 18 ppt. Their native range lies within the Amazon River basin of South America. This is a part of the world that is warm nearly all year long.
I was very pleased through the first half of this winter season. It seemed that the cold weather would never come. As many of you have experienced I was still catching Peacocks in mid December. The bite wasn’t great but it was still there.
Today I awoke to a nightmare. The temperature is in the low 30’s. The previous 3 or 4 days have been very cold as well. This is it. This is the nock to the Peacock Bass population that I have been dreading. After so many days of cold weather the temperature is dropping drastically in the water. The winds have been whipping which also assists in the decline in overall water temperature.
As many of you already know many of the Dade / Broward canal systems & lakes are man made and are very deep. These systems offer the Peacock Bass some protection. South Florida sits on top of an underground fresh water aquifer. This aquifer has warm fresh water that seeps up into the canals & lakes offering the Peacock Bass the warmth it needs to survive the winter & the depth needed to get down and away from the colder waters on top.
Unfortunately not all of the Peacock Bass habitat in South Florida has this built in security. Many of these same canals connect to shallower lakes & smaller bodies of water. For the Peacock Bass in these waters I am fairly sure that today just may be their last.
We are going to loose a lot of fish but the strong will survive. In a couple of months they will be breeding once again & the mighty Peacock Bass will find its way back into the smaller systems. Stronger genes means stronger fish! Spring is just around the corner & I cant wait!!!!
To be honest with you,I truly believe the peacocks in South Florida have become a bit more Cold Weather tolerant,thus,passing on said traits to it’s frylings.
As late as January 3rd,I caught over 4 peacocks here in Palm Beach,and it was Cold.
I think they will be ok,I saw the big female Yesterday on a canal(crystal clear),and still had inch long frylings.
This canal has a 20 foot drop
.
Despite the cold weather I have continued fishing. While fishing the past 2 weeks I have counted 62 dead peacock bass… these are in shallow lakes, lakes with coves, shade, etc. The peacock are taking major hits to the point where it is very depressing to me.I witnessd 6 fish float to the surface in front of me, belly up, dying. I jumped in the water for 4 of them, they each had fogged eyes, it was over.
On the upside fish are surviving in lakes that exceed 20ft in depth. If they dont give in to the sunlight during the day, and remain down near the bottom where the water is surprisly near the same temperature yr round they will make it.
Ive only caught 3 peacock the past 2 weeks, when I have fished 8 of those days. which is bad for me. Largemouth where biting hard at sunset and early evening hours. They seem to like the weather.
I was fishing today in Pembroke Pines at my home lake, and I saw a handful of dead peacock bass in my short 15 minute walk down the lake. Definitely sad.
AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Sucks!!!
I will have a report for you guys by Sunday,I will hit the water on my boat and do some scouting and hopefully I can cath one or two.
The problem wth most canalponds and Lakes is that they are TOO SHALLOW for the peacocks to scape the cold water.
There is still GREAT chance (At Least in my AREA :-p)that most survived,due to 18+ feet drop off close by.
The canals I fish in my area have upwards to 23 feet drop offs.
We will have to wait and see til it warms up(spring comes).
Anyhow,I will report on Sunday,about my outting,I myself have not been in the water in almost 2 weeks,due to a trip.
I’m not sure of the depth of my current lake however I know my old lake is well over 20 deep & I got a report from there from an old neighbor that all the Peacocks were dead.