Fishing in Florida?

[Open Water Predator]

I'll be going down to Florida in December to visit my parents. The past 2 years we've only done SW fishing but this year I'd like to fish for cichlids. Where are the good spots?

 

[kdrun76]

There aren't many that are native to Florida, but I know many waterways have tilpaia and oscars living in them.

 

[Open Water Predator]

Many species have been introduced: Cichla, Parachromis, Amphilophus...

 

[kdrun76]

Seems odd to me that one would want to go fishing for introduced, non-native, invasive fish. To each there own...

 

[Open Water Predator]

Peacock bass could hardly be labeled 'invasive' as they were introduced by the USFW for sport fishing. They're supposed to be a great catch. However, the big motivation here is for collecting purposes.

 

[Pomatomus]

The Everglades has a wide variety. I know of these:

Oscar
Mayan Cichlid
Black Acara
Jewel Cichlid
Spotted Tilapia
Cichla sp.

I catch jewels and blue tilapia all the time in Sarasota (and hundreds of plecos). I found an invasive population of swordtails, but they wouldn't be any fun to fish for.

 

[Bottomfeeder]

Florida "Mutt" Peacock Bass, Blue Tilapia, Oscars, Orange-Throated Mayan Cichlids, Buttikoferi, Severums, Mozambique Mouthbrooders, Jewel Cichlids, Convicts, Managuense, and Firemouths...
to name a few