The Peacock Bass

The royal peacock bass (Cichla intermedia) and the butterfly peacock bass (Cichla ocellaris) are the 2 most recognized and popular of this bass species. Prized by anglers around the world for not only their tenacious fighting abilities but also as table fare. These fish originated in the Amazon in South America but can be found in other places as well.

These bass will usually have 3 dark vertical stripes on each side with a tail that has a spot that looks like the eye on a peacocks tail. The can be a dark green on the upper back fading to a lighter green with bright orange or red along the belly and fins.

During the years 1984 to 1987, these fish were introduced to the warm waters of Florida right here in the United States. Currently only 2 counties have self-sustaining peacock bass stocks and they are the Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. The arrival of the peacock bass to these counties has brought in an estimated 5 million dollars annually in economic benefits.

If you are visiting the part of South Florida that has peacock bass, fish for them in the canals – they are everywhere. A few of them are Pompano Canal, Snake Creek Canal, Black Creek Canal and Snapper Canal. If you are new to the area, try hiring a guide, as this will help you to not only find a good location, but actually catch some of these good fighting fish. Prime time is during the daylight hours and look for them to be in shaded areas that offer some cover. They will attack most largemouth bass lures with the exception of the plastic worms.

Of course, a planned fishing trip to the Amazon is a bass fisherman’s dream. Make sure you arrange your trip with a reputable outfit and be sure to follow their advice on what time of year to come and also what tackle and items to bring. First and foremost, you need to bring a valid passport and a Brazilian tourist visa. You will also need to have on hand some malaria pills, insect repellent and of course, sunscreen. The cost of this kind of trip will vary but it probably will be under $4000.00 (airfare not included) per person for 6 full days of fishing. You’ll be paired with another fisherman and a local guide. Typically, food and lodging plus getting from and to the airport is included.

You will have the opportunity to catch many peacock bass with the possibility of landing a really big one of 20 pounds or more. Most likely, you’ll be throwing huge top water peacock bass lures that are so big they look ridiculous! The lures will average between 6” and 7” long and you’ll need a heavy duty rod and reel to cast them and to fight the fish. Be sure to be in good physical shape before your trip because fishing for these peacock bass will be extremely tiring! And of course, have your camera ready at all times to take the picture of your trophy fish.

There’s nothing quite like the feeling you get when the bass are biting, and you finally manage to get one on the end of your line. This is true whether you get a largemouth bass, a smallmouth bass, a striped bass, or even a white bass.

If however, your bass fishing inclinations are more towards the smaller, feistier varieties of bass such as the smallmouth or the white bass, over the easier catch of the largemouth bass, you will find that you don’t have too much fear in the way of much competition.

Most new bass fisherman tend to favor the largemouth bass fishing grounds, and although they might hook a smallmouth or a white bass from time to time, they won’t necessarily concentrate all their efforts on these fish. It may be because most fisherman don’t know how to catch a white bass. I have always had success using a minnow rig for white bass – I know others who have had mixed results.

If you’re more interested in these smaller varieties of bass however, by learning about them, and learning to think like them so to speak, you will be better able to find some great bassin’ spots. And if you tend to favor the white bass over the other smaller varieties, you will find that you don’t have to go too far looking for them either.

White bass tend to prefer clear waters over murky or brackish ones, and so can be found in shallower lakes and streams. They can also be found where there is fresh flowing water.

White bass, like all bass you will find need oxygen to breathe and so therefore will prefer places which are oxygen enriched. This means that if there are many aquatic plants to be found, or even old root systems, you should be able to find some white bass around.

They also don’t go too far deep and can be found in waters about 30 feet deep if at all. Most white bass become active when the warmer waters of mid-spring roll around, and will stay until the waters begin to cool down.

If you were looking to catch a big one going white bass fishing, you’ll find that you have to settle for something in the 1-2 pound range. And that’s a fairly sizeable fish as well. White bass also don’t grow very large in length, with a good average size being about 10-14 inches.

In the end though, it doesn’t really matter whether you caught a white bass, or whether you caught a striped bass. The only thing that really matters is that you managed to have a good time while fishing and that the fish were biting!

Whether you are going striper, peacock bass, largemouth or smallmouth bass fishing, you’re going to need one of the bass fishing reels that is going to be able to handle the species of fish that you are after. Every bass fisherman has their favorite rod and reel to fish with and sometimes, it just takes time to find the right combination that feels right to you and can handle the fish.

When choosing a reel, there are basically 3 types and they are an open-faced spinning reel, a closed-faced or spincast reel and a baitcasting reel. Each one has it’s advantages and disadvantages. One of the first things you need to figure out is what kind of fish are you going after. If your answer is peacock bass, then a spin casting reel is not the one you would choose.

The open-faced spinning reel takes a little bit of practice to get used to, but once you have mastered the technique, you’ll love it! An open-faced spinning reel is ideal for light tackle fishing conditions like smallmouth bass fishing. Here you would use a lighter line weight like 2 – 4 pound test and a light to medium action rod. It is also good for heavier tackle that would take on stripers and snook. You would use a 10 – 20 pound test line for this. You can even use an open-face spinning reel for ultra-light fishing such as when you try for crappie. One of the disadvantages of this kind of reel is that after awhile, the line tends to form loops as it is cast and can become a real rat’s nest. To help prevent this, change your line often and in between fishing trips, keep the line wet.

The closed-face or spincast reel is an excellent choice for the beginning bass fisherman. It’s simple to operate and the line stays relativity straight. It features an enclosed spool and a push button release. One of the disadvantages of this reel is you have to remove the cover off the spool to fix any snarls or loops in the line.

The baitcasting reel is probably the hands down favorite of most pro bass fisherman. With it’s ability to handle heavy tackle and it’s gear ratios and drag system, you can use it for fighting some of the larger fish such as peacock bass and stripers. The main disadvantage for this type of reel is controlling the backlash.

Some well known makers of bass fishing reels are Abu-Garcia, Penn, Mitchell, Daiwa, Fin-nor, Shakespeare and Zebco. No matter which type of reel you own, any reel is going to need a little maintenance along the way. Keep your reel clean and lubricated. If you’ve been fishing in salt water, rinse it well in fresh. If you are back from a fishing trip and going to store your reel for a long time, loosen the drag to relieve the pressure first. Most bass fishing reels today are of decent quality, so don’t agonize too much over which one to buy, they will all perform adequately and hopefully, catch you some bass!

Fishing is hobby that is enjoyed by various people. These myriad numbers think of fishing as being a test between themselves and the fish. To prove their superiority over these kings of the water many artifices are employed. Among these will be fishing lures. Both the new breed and the antique fishing lures will be employed.

While the new fishing lures are designed to look sleek and reminiscent of live bait the antique fishing lures don’t have that particular look. In fact the general look of these olden fishing lures is that of stiffness and a partial look to the insects that they are trying to replicate. You will find that it is somewhat difficult to actually find and buy one of these antique fishing lures.

By keeping your eyes open for this information you can be assured that you will be able to participate in your favorite pastime without needing to worry about factors like reduced numbers of bass varieties. The antique fishing lures can reveal interesting information like where you can get the bass fishing.

There are other types of antique fishing lures that you will find in bass fishing. These antique fishing lures can be bought in a variety of places. The best place to get these bass lures is on the internet and auction houses. These antique fishing lures are perfect for a successful fishing trip.

These places where you can get these antique lures will have different varieties of fishing lures. The prices of these lures can be seen to be different. There are times when you can find these antique fishing lures in the shops where you can buy lures, live bait and even tackle.

In Bass fishing the antique fishing lures you allow you to fish is a style that is reminiscent of yesteryear. The lodgings where you can stay while allow you to relax while you prepare these antique fishing lures for your fishing trip. You can ask other anglers where the best places to get antique fishing lures are.

Some of these bass antique fishing lures can be found in bass fishing magazines. These magazines will sometimes allow their subscribers to post digital pictures about the antique fishing lures they have found.

The various sites that you can find about antique fishing lures will provide you with a clear idea about the wonders of bass antique fishing lures. Armed with this information from the bass fishing reports you can plan an exciting trip looking for the perfect antique fishing lures to indulge in some great bass fishing.

Is there anything in the world as relaxing as spending a day bass fishing

Probably not, or not so that I can think of anyway. Fishing for me is the best sport in the world, and the best of all the different types of fishing types available just happens to be, in my humble opinion anyway, bass fishing, or bassin’ as it is also fondly referred to!

Whatever you call it, there’s no denying that bass fishing, besides being a relaxing pursuit, is also an exhilarating one. It requires that you put your thinking caps on, and at the same time, you need to be able to take it easy and lay in wait for the fish to bite.

It’s a sport of many contradictions, as you would no doubt have guessed, but one thing is guaranteed, if you’ve never tried bass fishing before, you will either take to it like a fish to water (!), or you will look on it with loathing and distaste. It’s a “love-it or hate-it” kind of thing.

That said, there are many sides to bass fishing which you might not fully appreciate if you are only just beginning the bass fishing game. However, there is no denying that for sheer exhilaration and suspense, there’s nothing like getting a largemouth on the end of your line, and waiting to see who will come out the winner, you or the largemouth!

Which brings us to one point that you will want to look at while you are bass fishing, and that is whether you want to be a largemouth bass fisherman, or a smallmouth bass fisherman, or a striped bass fisherman, or – you get the drift, right? There’s nothing to say that you will need to be one or the other exclusively, but most bass fisherman have their favorite types of bass which they like to see on the end of their line.

As a bass fisherman, you also have the different types of bass fishing itself to choose from, like for instance Surf casting, Fly fishing, stream fishing, or fishing from a boat.

There is no one particular method which is preferred by bass fishermen when you go outside of the boat-fishing. Bass fishing in a boat seems to be the preferred method for most serious bass fisherman, and if you think you might enjoy it and want to try it out, there are bass fishing parties which you can join to test drive and see if you like fishing from a boat.

Also, for the bass fisherman who is just starting out on his /her bassin’ endeavors, you might find that joining a bass fishing party is the best way to get an introduction in to bass fishing. You will find that most bass fisherman are friendly and willing to give you a helping if you ever need it, so a bass fishing party might be just what you need.