Though the canal's boat ramp was located just behind a small shopping mall, after just a few turns the waterway led us into suburbia. Away from the busy highways and vehicle noise, we saw a very different side of Miami. Dogs barked as we coasted through neighborhoods and past tranquil parks. During the entire trip, we passed only one other boat and two fishermen along the banks. We pretty much had the entire fishery to ourselves.

We spent most of the morning trolling the waterway, with both of us catching one fish after another, along with a largemouth bass or two. Though not a lot of skill is required to hook a fish in this manner, it is the best way to cover a lot of territory quickly, and the most efficient way Zaremba has found to locate peacocks when the weather turns cold. From December through February, he mostly trolls the canals with his clients.

It is not until after lunch that it warmed enough to attempt some sight-casting. Zaremba had been watching the shoreline all day for a glimpse of a peacock, but the cold morning had kept them deep. The trick to sight-casting, obviously, is first spotting the fish.

“From about the middle of March through May, I have folks sight-casting almost 100 percent,” Zaremba explained. “But if you're not seeing the fish to cast to, then you won't be catching many fish at all.”

Finally, Zaremba spotted a peacock that was relatively close to the bank, just off a ledge, in moderately shallow water. Olga, an experienced fly-fisher, prepared to cast a Clouser Minnow as Zaremba maneuvered the boat into position. On his signal, she cast past the fish and stripped it as fast as she could right in front of the fish. Over and over, she repeated this procedure, but though the peacock chased it a couple of times, she was not able to snare it. Her problem may again have been the peacock bass' preference for speed. With a fly rod, it is often tough to get a streamer moving fast enough to hold their attention.

PRIME TIME
Spring, summer and fall are seasons for consistent catches and larger peacock bass. The largest of the peacocks are more commonly caught from March to May, when they're more concentrated along the shorelines.

“In the spring, you can find your bigger fish,” Zaremba said. “They're in a more territorial frame of mind then.”

Where To Fish For anglers with a boat, the easiest peacock bass destinations to reach are the Tamiami Canal (C4), located near the airport, and Snapper Canal (C2), a little further north. But the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission publishes brochures describing 15 separate canal fisheries in Boward and Dade countries, plus another brochure containing a map of the waters. These brochures are available on the FWCC Web site at www.floridafisheries.com For anglers fishing for peacocks off the banks, Zaremba recommended hitting some of the smaller branch canals off the main waterways. "When walking along the bank, you're taking away the surprise," he cautioned. " They'll often know you're approaching and will be miles away from you in no time." Probably the best place for bank-fishing is found on the New South River Canal (C-11), which is between Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood in southern Broward County. Almost the entire length of the waterway is paralleled by Griffith Road (it is sometimes referred to as Griffith Road Canal) and Orange Avenue. The median between the roads forms a long, narrow park along the shores of the canal.

When spawning, the peacocks move into shallow waters. This movement can begin as early as April and continue into September. Both the male and female peacocks share duties of preparing the bed and protecting the eggs and young.

Fishing for these fish in the spring is about finding their territory and adequately agitating them. Of course, it helps when you're able to visually locate the fish. When Zaremba can't, he resorts to other measures.

“Knowing how fish are territorial, I'll use a Rat-L-Trap with a spinner as a fish locator. I'll yo-yo that, and the fish will come screaming,” he said.

Zaremba cautioned that practicing catch-and-release is even more important in the springtime than at other times of the year.

“It's not the time to keep them,” he said, because this is when they're producing more peacocks and enhancing the fishery.

As the seasons change, so do the best techniques for hooking peacocks. In mid-summer through September, Zaremba moves into open water, in addition to continuing some sight-fishing in shallow areas. Open water along the canals basically consists of manmade impoundments where peacocks congregate at this time of year.

By October, he spends the majority of his time with clients in these lakes until cold weather sets in. In most cases, Zaremba will look around structure to find the fish.

“In lakes, they're often hanging around rocks or weed piles,” he pointed out.

Docks and bridges are other structures worth checking. He's quick to add, however, that there are many factors that dictate where to find the fish. Often there are subtle indicators that he, as a fishing guide, will recognize as a result of fishing the same waters day after day.