TACKLING UP
After years of experience as a guide for peacock bass, Moser has come to rely on ultralight spinning gear as his tackle of choice. He feels that it's a great match for tiny live baits, allowing them to swim naturally. He also finds that his customers can achieve long casts with little effort all day long. While ultralight gear allows the peacocks to give their best fight, it also has enough backbone to eventually vanquish these game fish that rarely top 5 pounds.

Moser fishes his spinners three ways. The first is to let his baits roam "free" by tying the line straight to the hook. This method works well when the bass are alongside structure, when they are busting bait on the top and when they are guarding their nests in the spring and fall.

The second method is using a tiny float three feet above the bait and a split shot weight just above the hook to keep the bait from looping the line.

He likes this tactic for less experienced anglers. All they do is wait for the float to be pulled under.

He also uses the float-rigged spinner as a "self-managing" system. He puts the rod in a holder and lets the bait roam around the canal, while he handles another rod or instructs his clients.

The third method involves using two split shots above the hook to get the bait down during very hot or cold weather and in spots such as canal intersections that feature deep water.

Moser advised belly-hooking live baits used with this rig.

LIVE BAIT CHANGES THE GAME
I quickly learned that compared to artificial lures, live bait vastly increases the opportunities for peacocks. Through Moser's anchoring, live-bait chumming and casting methods, he creates 360-degree action around the boat all the way from the shoreline out to the middle of the canals. That can keep his customers literally hooked up in all directions.

However, the captain is responsive to those anglers who want to use lures or flies instead of live bait. That usually occurs after he gets the peacocks fired up and striking seemingly everywhere. He's found that this is a great time to take out a light fly rod rigged with a white Clouser-type fly. He instructs anglers to cast the fly directly into the swirl where a fish has taken a minnow and depending on the water depth, to begin stripping it immediately.