Peacock Bass in Louisiana

Just saw a report of a Peacock bass caught in Bayou St. John. LDWF will conduct a survey to determine if there are more.

Long way from home!

The state has produced some strange catches for sure. There has been about a 7 pound rainbow trout caught out of the Ouachita River near Monroe, probably came down out of Arkansas, and most recently a Walleye was caught out of Lake D'arbonne,
When Darbonne was stocked for the first time in the early 60's they put Walleye in it just to see if they'd survive and as far as I know no one ever caught any of them so most folks just assumed they didn't make it because the water got to warm for them. The lake has water near the dam in the 40 foot range so some may have survived in that deeper water which is rarely ever fished. What really makes this crazy is the lake has been drawn down to the main channel several times in its existence for flood control when the weather was fairy warm, you'd think they'd have never survived that or they would have gone through the flood gates into the Ouachita River system.

Wow, thats insane. Just googled the article for extra info - fiesty little guy absolutely skewered the angler with his crankbait, forcing him to go to the E.R. so he snapped a quick picture of the fish for ID and let it go. Those fish are savage!

100% certain it came from someone’s fish tank. When I was younger I would argue with people for putting random fish in the waters around City Park. I wish quality camera phones were around back then.

Sounds like the "armchair fishing experts" claiming it's impossible for Lake Lavon to have tilapia because it's too cold. Yet, I see pic after pic of guides and locals catching plenty on most boat ramps all over the lake. Nothing surprises me...

wonder whose blood that was

https://www.louisianasportsman.com/outdoor-updates/peacock-bass-in-bayou-st-john/

I'm sure they could live there. If they transplanted ones from FL they can stand the weather because they have been adjusting for the last 20 years.

That fish looks kind of hungry

They don’t get nearly as fat as largemouths. Compressed a bit like dolphin(mahi). If you have never been lucky enough to catch one.. They have a level of aggression that is almost scary.