The Dr. Does The Urban Slam In Broward County, South Florida

By Bertrand Ngim, Ph.D. | December 2019

I often get asked why I chose to fish for peacock bass in South Florida over the more prominent destinations such as the Amazon River basin in South America. For anglers who know me, I am first and foremost an urban angler where I grew up cutting my teeth fishing a wide array of urban waters in Malaysia and England, and that has been my lifelong pursuit.

South Florida has always been high on my bucket list of places to fish, because to me it is the undisputed urban fishing capital of the world, especially when it comes to butterfly (Cichla ocellaris) and popoca (Cichla monoculus) peacock bass. It is a place that presents a different kind of urban fishing experience that you simply cannot find anywhere in the world.

My biggest fish of Day-1!

There are a wide range of canals all over Broward Country, Florida.

Chris from Exotic Rush with a 13lb cobra snakehead.

Chris ‘lives and breathes’ urban peacock bass fishing.

With great natural resources and the efforts of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), responsible anglers, and outstanding fisheries management, Florida is home to some of the highest quality, most diverse fishing in the world, in both fresh and saltwater categories. I was fishing in the Broward County area for a total of 7 days, back-to-back, and I can tell you that the place is literally loaded with big fish producing conditions.

South Florida has a tropical climate with a defined rainy season from May through October. The dry season lasts from October till April. Largemouth bass fishing in the urban canals is generally good year-round. February to October, however, is usually the best time of the year for peacock bass (Cichla ocellaris and Cichla monoculus) and exotic species such as cobra snakehead (Channa marulius), Mayan cichlid (Mayaheros urophthalmus), tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), spotted tilapia (Pelmatolapia mariae), jaguar cichlid (Parachromis managuensis) and many others species. The possibilities for you to hunt all those species and complete the ‘multispecies slam’ could happen under the right circumstances.

Small waters, big results!

I caught my personal best cobra snakehead shore fishing beside someone else’s yard.

Prespawn peacock bass with big humps fight like freight trains.

Mayan cichlid hit just about anything, from livebait to various artificial lures.

Endless canals

Broward County’s canals consist of approximately 260 miles of primary waterway systems, with over 1800 miles of secondary and tertiary canals, and small lakes that are interconnected. The primary waterway system is managed by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and comprises of 9 major canals and their corresponding drainage basins: C-14 Canal (Cypress Creek), C-13 Canal (Middle River), C-12 Canal (Plantation), C-11 Canal (South New River), C-10 Canal (Hollywood), C-9 Canal (Snake Creek).

We were primarily fishing in the secondary and tertiary cuts, as well as interconnected ponds around C-13 and C-14 canals west of Broward County, which is an immense body of water. In fact, we did not even find the need to venture into the primary canals because the quality of fishing in the secondary and tertiary canals was equally as exceptional and rewarding.

There are plenty of opportunities for you to sight fish for tilapia cichlid.

Time to go catch some cobra snakehead and some largemouths.

Spotted tilapia on beds will hit just about any artificial bait that gets too close.

This prespawn fish annihilates a lipless vibration crankbait.

The water conditions in most of the canals are predominantly clear to gin clear, and that literally translates to prime conditions for sight fishing. There were areas where we encountered stained water that hold quality fish, but clear water conditions are usually the high-percentage areas that offer you the best conditions to catch trophy-size fish.

Find and fish the right types of cover

Largemouths usually like to be in or on cover, but smallmouths on the other hand like to be around the outside edges of cover. So, how does that bass fishing analogy correlate to peacock bass? In most lakes in Malaysia for instance, I have encountered scenarios where peacocks could either be found deep within or around edges of cover.

As with largemouths, peacocks too are cover seeking fish. Cover is important to peacock bass and largemouth bass, but in different ways. Generally, peacock bass can be found anywhere where largemouth bass are found in Broward County, but peacocks seem to gravitate more towards hard manmade cover, such culverts, pipes, spillways, seawalls, concrete slabs, etc.

. ‘Bass-size’ Mayan cichlid! Now that is what I am talking about!

. Cobra snakehead fishing in Broward County is a different kind of fun you got to experience.

Lipless vibration crankbaits produce big results, especially in grass-filled canals.

Spinnerbait fishing for peacock bass never gets old for me.

The popoca peacock bass that I catch out on the Air Kuning chain of lakes in Perak, Malaysia typically share a number of behavioral traits found in largemouth and smallmouth bass, notably the way they react to certain types of bass lures.

For instance, peacocks in Malaysia normally would not hesitate to eat most lures that you would throw at a largemouth or smallmouth. As a case in point, finesse worms in the 4” to 5” size range are my bread and butter baits for peacock bass in pressured lakes in Malaysia. The peacocks in Broward County, however, do not show significant interests in worms.

I was fishing in Broward County during the early spring period where I caught most of my fish on a mix of spinnerbaits, shallow running jerkbaits, and lipless vibration crankbaits sight fishing a variety of cover. In all, I find that the peacocks in South Florida are generally more inclined to commit to reaction baits as opposed to slow finesse techniques. It had never crossed my mind that the fishing would turn out so different, but I will surely be back in Broward County for more!

One of the many multispecies holes that you will find in Broward County.

My 3/8oz. Shimano Bantam spinnerbait lasted only a day in Broward County! Stock up on spinnerbaits because you do not want to get caught off guard when the spinnerbait bite is on.

We have had tremendous success fishing the DUO Realis Vibration 62 and 68 (G-Fix variant). This is a thin profile lipless crankbait that rips through grass and vegetation with tremendous fish drawing power.

. The DUO Realis Jerkbait 100SP is my go-to jerkbait for open-water cover fishing situations in Broward County.

Feel the Exotic Rush

Speaking of where to find fish, I cannot stress the importance of local knowledge. It is imperative that you hire a reputable, experienced guide. For that matter, it was an honor for me to be fishing with Chris from Exotic Rush. Chris has 35 years’ experience fishing the urban and coastal canals in the area and has hundreds of spots that produce consistent results.

I had also caught my personal best Florida-strain largemouth bass fishing with Chris from Exotic Rush.

I chose to hire Chris because of his extensive knowledge in urban peacock bass fishing and exotic species, more so, for his open-minded stance on exotic species, his approach to fish conservation and the positive energy he exposes to his clients. He is all in for the “appreciation, not eradication of exotic species” for Broward County.

If you find yourself in the Broward County area and you are looking for some exciting shore fishing action, be sure to set yourself up with Chris for some urban angling adventure.

Check out Exotic Rush’s Facebook site at https://www.facebook.com/Exotic-Rush-383166415114861/ to find out more.