# Florida Fishing Pictorial



## DocEsox (May 12, 2008)

Well the fishing is still a bit slow up here so I threw together another photolog of fishing....this time in Florida under the guise of vacationing with my wife. We went to Florida in a few successive years and I learned that the exotic pea**** bass is alive, well and flourishing in the Miami/Dade Canal systems. Although it is not the largest species of pea**** (the striped or speckled&#8230;.which can grow to nearly 30 lbs.) they are terrific fighters and get up to 10 lbs&#8230;..these are butterfly pea****s. Part of the reason they established them in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale canal systems is to try to control all the exotic aquarium fish dumped into these waters&#8230;.they were hard on the native largemouth bass population. Pea****s like fast worked baits and are ferocious strikers and fighters&#8230;.forget comparing them to largemouth&#8230;.they are more akin to a smallmouth bass on steroids.

The first trip was spring vacation and I only got to fish one day as my kids were making me ride all the rollercoaster rides in the theme parks so I could puke on a routine basis&#8230;..I'm getting to old for that stuff. But the day I got out in Port Charlotte on the west side of the panhandle was extremely fun. Caught herds of small speckled trout and some small snook with a couple of redfish mixed in:



















In the afternoon the guide picked up some 5 lbs mullet, dead, to use as bait for our next target, golaith grouper&#8230;.that is darn big bait. We anchored up next to a forest of old pilings, and using a reel spooled with 400lbs aircraft cable tossed the bait in next to the pilings. Caught one nice goliath grouper about 70 lbs then a few hours later got into this behemoth&#8230;.man I could stick my entire head down its mouth&#8230;.guide estimated it at 275lbs:










Haven't been back for the goliaths but spent a good deal of time after pea****s the next few times we were in Florida&#8230;..even got my wife out one day&#8230;.a major event. Let me add the realistic note here...on one trip I spent two days fishing out of Key West looking for permit&#8230;..not a one&#8230;.nothing for two days in the Florida sun cruising the flats. Near the end of the second day I cast at one barracuda and caught it&#8230;.great fun&#8230;.they run at an unbelievable speed when hooked:










So even in the best places, fishing is sometimes just fishing&#8230;with little to no catching. But that has never been the case with pea****s. You'll notice behind the pea****s we are fishing right in the middle of town and in the canals we are right in everyone's backyards..it is a bit weird.










http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/LakePea****.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/LakePea****1.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Pea****2.jpg

We even caught a few of the "native" bass:










One of the peculiar sights while running around any water systems in southern Florida is the omnipresence of wild iguanas&#8230;.although not native the are everywhere. While fishing one of the canals this brute impressed the heck out of us:



















Comparing it to the chain link fence&#8230;this iguana was near 8 feet long with its tail and must have weighed in the 80 lbs class&#8230;.good thing their vegans&#8230;.or the neighbors could be losing their cats and poodles.

In these close-to-the-ocean canals you can actually catch snook and small tarpon back in the canals&#8230;.and sometimes&#8230;.well small reptiles:










Somewhere in the middle of the day my wife calls me on the evil cell phone&#8230;at the time I was dragging a minnow in the middle of a canal. Of course, just as Murphy's Law would have designed it, in the middle of the conversation something decided to ingest said minnow. As my rod bowed deeply and I realized this was a big fish I tried to excuse myself quietly from the phone call but my wife would have none of it. Finally I just blurted "Dear&#8230;you don't understand&#8230;I gotta go&#8230;this is big! Bye-bye." For which I'm sure I have incurred her eternal wrath. But several minutes later this beautiful pea**** was netted&#8230;..at 7 ½ lbs it was only a 1 ½ lbs off the state record at the time&#8230;.we took some pics and slid him back home ( we know it's a him because only the males develop that lovely head bump during mating):










http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/BiGPea****.jpg










You'll notice these butterfly pea****s have a wide variation in coloring and color patterns. Originally there were a small number of the larger speckled pea**** stocked but they were gone fast. In South America the butterfly pea**** tends to have a series of three "rosettes" on their sides which fade with age and larger size&#8230;.similar to the ones in Florida:

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Pea****3.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Pea****4.jpg










One afternoon my guide, Steve Albaum (if you ever need a pea**** bass guide this is your man&#8230;he is terrific) and I got onto a bite in a small pond enlargement of one of the canals and for an hour just hammered 3-5 lbs pea****s&#8230;.including this yellow beauty by Steve:










That picture still graces the front of his website.

The next year we stayed a few nights at the Miami Hilton, located next to the Miami Airport and it is built into a couple of small lakes attached to the canal system. Kind of strange having the guide pick you up at the dock at a swanky hotel&#8230;..of course, being picked up on the water at the hotel got my wife to go with us. She did darn well drifting live minnows as we cast rattle traps at the pea****s:



















Notice the building behind her on the last pic? It's the headquarters for BurgerKing&#8230;.now you know&#8230;haha.



















You might have noticed that at no time do my wife's hands actually "touch" a fish.




























A double:



















http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/BrPea****3.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Pea****.jpg

The next day Steve and I went to a totally new spot&#8230;..you could hardly call this a boat launch:










We had a great day fishing amongst the apartment complexes&#8230;..these last two fish give you an idea of how to "make" things look great&#8230;.the first is taken looking away from the apartments&#8230;.looks quite wild and in the bushes&#8230;.the next fish is taken the other direction&#8230;..the city look:

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Pea****5-1.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Pea****35.jpg

From Miami we traveled down the Keys a bit and stayed at Islamorada where we fished a few days also. The first my wife actually went on again&#8230;.cause she could suntan:



















I told the guide to take us where my wife could catch fish&#8230;so we fished and caught a lot of small snappers, Spanish mackerel, some monster black grouper:










Halfway through the day while drifting a live pilchard on 10 lbs line I lucked into this little baby&#8230;.took about 50 minutes to land&#8230;.then release:










The next day I went out looking for bonefish&#8230;.all day and not a fish&#8230;we spotted a few but had no good chances at them. Could have caught zillions of sharks if we had wanted to. The last fishing day I went offshore and caught a variety&#8230;.small king mackerel, false albacore, little tunny, barracuda, amberjack and herds of yellowtail snapper&#8230;man, those little buggers can fight&#8230;taste great too. Here's a cuda and an amberjack (guide said he was metering many, many amberjack but after winching one up from 150 feet I told him that was waaaaay toooooo much work for me:



















If you have a chance to get to Florida there is fishing nearly everywhere nearly every month of the year.

Thanks,

Brian


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Thanks for sharing again, the only big trip missing would be...Costa Rica?


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## DocEsox (May 12, 2008)

Next year.......


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Bravo.

Make sure to mark Patagonia and New Zealand off your list, as well. :wink:


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## idiot with a bow (Sep 10, 2007)

You are AWESOME!


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## Greenguy88 (Sep 7, 2007)

Wow, thats a hell of a pictorial doc, those fish are awesome looking! Thanks for sharing, maybe one day ill find myself fishing out there.


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

Wow, how did I miss this nice post. Great pics and thanks for sharing. Those Pea**** Bass are awesome.


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## campfire (Sep 9, 2007)

Doc,
Aren't you a long way form home, and a lot warmer? Nice pics. Looks like you had a great time.


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## svmoose (Feb 28, 2008)

Thanks for sharing, that looks like a heck of a good time. I never knew they had pea**** bass down in the canal system. Looks like fun.


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## gwailow (Jan 20, 2008)

Wow, those are some awesome looking pea**** bass. The colors are great. Looks like you had a great time. Congrats.


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## fish4me (Jun 19, 2008)

Looks like an amazing trip!


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