We asked you about your experiences with Miami-Dade’s canals. A couple of people wrote in on Twitter to tell us about some of the fish they’ve caught for sport in the waterways. @Vice-Queen Mariamentioned peacock bass.
“John Redcorn” (@rasdamaan) said he’d caught, “Largemouth bass, bluegills, various types of cichlids including lots of peacock bass, tarpon, jack crevalle, snook.” Redcorn grew up Westwood Lakes in Southwest Miami-Dade where there are several lakes and canals.
Now, he mostly fishes in the canals off Blue Lagoon, the smaller canals off of the Tamiami Trail Canal and off Snapper Creek. He’s found these fish in all of the canals, except for the jack crevalles, which Redcorn says he’s only seen in the Blue Lagoon area. When I nervously asked if he ate these fish, Redcorn replied “Ewww! No, I don’t eat the fish. Strictly catch & release. Maybe 30 years ago but now the water is too polluted.”
On their website, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission offers several maps and fishing guidesfor canals in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Apparently, April is a good month for catching butterfly peacock in Miami-Dade. Those of you who regularly go fishing won’t be surprised, but I was fascinated by these maps. Even if you don’t fish, the maps are a reminder of the intricacy of the Miami-Dade canal system.
