I gotta get in on this !

So Russell, what was the weights of your groups biggest fish and are 5 pounders semi-common?

The average weights are around 2-3 lbs. Our biggest peacock was around 5-6 but we never weighed them. We broke 5-6 fish off due to the line being frayed or whatnot.

Great photos! Looks like you both had a great time!

My trip was all sight fishing on beds. You would think those peacocks would be easy to see in that clear water , but they are not.
We would look for light spots on the rock . They like to nest on a shallow ledge of the canal wall, When we saw a bed , the
fish would be near , not always on the bed. We fished with rattle traps with single treble. The drill was toss the bait onto the
bed and let it sit. If no response , repeat. The fish would pick up the trap to move it out of the nest, Set the hook and watch
the acrobatics . They fight all the way to the boat , and are still very lively in the boat .
I did not catch a clown fish , but did catch several other invasive species.
It was a fun day , but if I ever go back to that part of the world , it will be for Tarpon , Permit , and Snook( I have yet to catch a Snook),
The day after the Peacock trip , I did a half day trip at Haulover Inlet. It was an awesome trip , If I remember correctly, something like
5 for 7. I understand it is now illegal to take a Tarpon out of the water , So I will never get a chance to duplicate this pic.



MO

But how do they taste??

I heard a guide on a fishing talk show in south florida, years ago, hum and haw about the subject before admitting they were delicious!

We saw several signs on docks asking anglers to please release them so others will have the cahnce to fish for them in the future.

Awesome post. Nice fish.

Good memories of Haulover Inlet! First fished it 30 years ago and it became my favorite inlet to fish for snook and tarpon... late late place to fish as boat traffic during daylight hours was impossible and finding a metered parking spot nearby was just as bad... after about 1 a.m. you could have the place pretty much to yourself during the week... weekends were out. Once fought a tarpon from seawall, had to climb over a 6 foot chain link fence while hooked up.. then climb across scaffolding from construction site before catching up to fish that was about to spool me. Cement wall about 4 foot high and about another 5 feet down to water on other side at high tide.



Had two guys that didnt speak a word of english that were watching, help me pull it up with drop down landing net. They werent happy I let it go after picture taken.
that wall behind me is sloped both ways to keep people from sitting on it or standing on it to fish... try standing up and fighting a tarpon as your walking along that thing.. best catch ever from shore for me. Always wished Id taken picture of scaffolding as it was harder to climb around than 6 foot fence or balancing on wall, while holding on to rod.

Once had a cop drive up while patroling area as I was hooked up to monster snook... got the fish whipped and straight up and down but couldnt reach 50 lb leader on other side of the wall.. cop held my legs as I was trying to bounce fish up enough to grab leader.. popped 20 lb test mainline. Good times.

Now Mo, if you want to catch snook, the next time youre down there call my friend Uly.. met him on the water when he was a kayak fisherman 20+ years ago.. followed his progress as he later became a fishing guide and best friend of a fishing buddy of mine. Definitely knows whats what. Found this video of him guiding a south florida guide for bonefish in Biscayne Bay. Cant say enough how nice Uly is from everyone that knows him..

He definitely knows Flamingo snook fishing too!

https://waypointtv.com/captains-log/2021/10/9/captains-log-season-3?episode=2