Would like to know if there is a spot in Texas to catch some peacock bass. I know in 1982 trading house creek was stocked with them. Don't know if people are still catching them though.

I fished Trading house for 20 years and no Peacock Bass in Trading House, never were. Only place i know in US if Miami Florida canals, Have fished it and caught a few but small. Went to Brazil and fished Amazon and caught a 21 lb peacock, that is where to go

Both Florida and Hawaii are the only two states that have Peacock Bass. I was stationed in Hawaii for a few years and had blast catching them there. Biggest was just over 7lbs but seen some over 10lbs. If given the choice, Brasil is where I would go catch them. If anyone ever goes to Hawaii for vacation and wants to either fish for Peacock bass or bone fish, I know a guy that guides out there.

I believe you, i just said trading house because on the state records, it shows that it was stocked 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1982.

Puerto Rico also has Peacock Bass
Peacockbassandtarpontours.com

Wilkes power plant near Avinger had Peacock bass stocked way back, it was (and still is) only open to power plant employees to fish and the peacocks have been gone a long time now, but they were there.

I fished in Kauai on Dec of 1999 and caught Peacock and large mouth bass using live Talapia. My guide was a native Hawaiian and a DWI cop on the island.

A loooong time ago, before the xenophobes got control of the TP&WD, the state stocked many lakes with all manner of exotic species, including peacock bass into Lake Bastrop, where for quite awhile they were a successful fishery. But the peacocks are very intolerant of cold water, and one winter the plant was shut down and the tropical species was extirpated from the lake.

That was back in the days before the only "natural" thing a biologist saw or was responsible for was a man made hole in the ground full of water, with a gigantic water heater parked next to it. In those olden days, such a water body was not considered "pristine" or "natural" and there were actually some very good scientific experiments being conducted to find the best way to exploit the then somewhat unique situations on man made reservoirs with power plant cooling to best advantage.

But nowadays, almost all water bodies are of that type and as such being the closest thing to "natural" most folks will ever see, the theory is to try and make it conform, as much as possible to a more "natural state" with only "native" species like....well in real nature.

But then again, there is nothing natural with some of these fish....largemouth bass from Florida, striped bass from the East, common carp from Japan, grass carp from China, tilapia from Africa, all of which the state has worked with at one time or another. Nor the plants, hydrilla, elodea, milfoil, hyacinth, water lettuce, salvinia, etc. found in these lakes managed by the state.

At some point, I'd like to see the state recognize these habitats for what they are and again, look for ways to best exploit the unique factors found in them not seen in our few, actually natural, waters left, to best advantage. Which may just include peacock bass in very many lakes well suited to them.

Can you imagine?

Peacocks in Welsh.

Sign me up!

I fished with the same guy...good time!