Fishing T.Y. Park near Fort Lauderdale, Florida- Part 3

A couple of days later, we decided to hit the water one last time.  Our three day license was about to expire and we wanted to get our money’s worth.  Prior to the trip, I had conducted some research to find public lakes near the spot that we were staying.  One of the parks was T.Y. Park and it held the promise of largemouth bass as well as peacocks.  I really wanted Wendy’s son to get into some fish as well as her mom and step dad.  We found a fishing pier near the entrance to the park and immediately found fish.

I couldn’t tell what they were but they kind of looked like shorter, squattier versions of peacocks.  They had spots on their bodies near their tales so I just thought they were peacocks.  We threw some mini-jigs under indicators at them first.  We tried this because we had been told that peacocks are lethargic in the mornings and thought maybe they would want something slow.  This technique got no repose and the fish we had spotted eventually moved off. 

Now I’m not going to lie to you, it was getting hot, and getting hot fast. I could tell that the group was not as enthused as they had been on the previous outing and I didn’t think we had much time left to fish.  I thought that we needed to make the most of our time and try one more spot. 

We went to another pier and didn’t see a thing.  Folks were starting to drop like flies but Wendy’s mom and I found a couple of good looking spots not far away.  Trees and brush lined most of the bank but we each found a spot that had a break in the vegetation and offered a casting path.  I put on a john deere under an indicator and started casting to some fishy spots near the bank.  After striking out in those spots, I tried casting far, and to open water.  It was about this time that I THOUGHT that there was an outside chance that I just might have gotten a bite. 

I cast back to the same spot a couple more time to no avail.  However, on the third cast, my fly got absolutely smashed.  I set the hook and the fish instantly made a strong run.  I started to gain ground on the fish, but then it made another solid run.  I kept pressure on him and felt it begin to tire.  As I got it closer to the bank, I saw a spot near the tail and bright colors.  Of course, my brain immediately reverted to thinking that I had caught another peacock.  The fish got wrapped around a log a couple of times but after I finessed it out, I realized that I wasn’t a peacock at all.  I drug it to the bang and literally had no idea what I was looking at.  I wanted to lip the thing but didn’t know if it had teeth or not.  After inspection, it seemed to have panfish-like teeth so I lipped it and took it back to the group. 

After pictures were taken, we let the little guy free.  We fished for a little bit longer without any bites and called it quits.  In the comfort and air conditioning of the truck, I got on the Florida Fish and Game website to find out what exactly my quarry was.  Come to find out, it was a Mayan Cichlid.  I thought it was a beautiful fish and thought that I had caught some extremely rare and exotic fish.  A couple of days later, a local told me that they were considered trash fish by locals and should have tossed it in the grass for the coons to eat.

This concluded my Florida fishing experience and I could not be more grateful.  I caught two new species on a fly rod, watched Wendy catch a largemouth bass, and landed a peacock bass.  I want to thank Sharon, Mark, Wendy, and Collin for allowing me to tag along for the trip and for allowing me to fish so much!  You guys are awesome and I am so grateful for your kindness and generosity.