Crappie fishing around Miami-Dade area?

[Naixus]

Hi all, I will be moving to Miami later this year. Can anyone shed some light on where to go crappie fishing around Miami metropolitan area? I tried search online for fishing info in Miami, seems they mostly talk about saltwater fishing. When it comes to fresh water, it's mostly about peacock bass or LM bass.

Thanks!

[dixieangler]

Sorry to have to tell you this but Specks don't like (can't survive) water that's too warm so I doubt you will find very many Specks below Lake Okeechobee. That's probably why they aren't mentioned by Miami Metro-Dade folks. There are a lot of exotics down there though like Oscars and Mayan Cichlids in addition to the fish you mentioned including bream, carp, catfish, gar and so on . You "might" be able to find a few Specks though that are in really deep waters (where its cooler). If I were you and living down there, I would take a trip up to the Big O for Specks.

[Naixus]

Thanks dixieangler! Well, guess I can't fish for em if there ain't no specks in the water. I didn't know that they have oscar and cichlid in the wild. Up here they are pet fish.

[dixieangler]

Go here to this link for Florida info:

http://www.floridafisheries.com/

and to this one for Florida fish species:

http://www.floridafisheries.com/Fishes/index.html

Exotics or non-native:

http://www.floridafisheries.com/Fishes/non-native.html

Like the Specks not surviving hot waters, those exotics (non-natives) can't survive in cooler waters up north of Lake Okeechobee. I've caught a few Mayan Cichlids on the Big Ditch (Kissimmee River) when its really hot weather but the first cold spell and they will either all be dead or have gone back down the waterways to the south. You are going to have a lot of fun on those Oscars and Mayans down there (some are really big!). Trust me, I've been down there around Ft. Lauderdale on Alligator Alley and have caught a lot of them. Like Bluegills on steriods :D. I hear there are more Peacocks further east over your way as I haven't caught any of those yet. Best of luck down there.

[Swanie]

Hi Naixus! I am also a crappie fisherman. I am from the north, but go down to Okeechobee for the winter months.
If you have never caught a cichlid or oscar, you will have a big surprize in store for you. I usually us a 12' jigging pole for crappie fishing. I do go down to the Everglades, alligator alley and do some jigging for ocars & cichlid. If you get one of them on a jigging pole, it is all you can handle. Boy do they fight. Lot more than a crappie or bluegill. I have a friend that lives down there and he goes 2 and 3 times a week. He has been catching between 200 and 300 per trip. Just fishes about 4 to 5 hours each time. He usually throws them back in, unless they are going to have a fish fry. Try it, you will be hooked on catching them. We just use a cheap jig from WalMart,the 10 for $1.00 type and put just a piece of worm on it. does great.
There has been times that we have caught some specks there. Last year we did get 43 on one of our trips. Just don't get them all the time. But they are in there.
If I can be of anymore help let me know.

Later Swanie

[dixieangler]

I do go down to the Everglades, alligator alley and do some jigging for ocars & cichlid. There has been times that we have caught some specks there. Last year we did get 43 on one of our trips. Just don't get them all the time. But they are in there.

Wow!, Swanie. That's the first I've ever heard of Specks south of the Big O. I figured there were some down there in deeper water but I haven't heard of any being caught. So when I haven't read or heard of them down there from anybody I just figured the water was probably way too warm for them. I fished Alligator Alley also before around Ft. Lauderdale and never even got one Speck.

[Swanie]

Hi! Yes there are crappies there. The only time we have caught them, is in the winter time when the water is a little cooler.
We were just using worms for the cichlid & oscar.
One time we were down there and they were not biting to good, so I decided to try a jig and see what would happen, it wasn't to long and I caught a nice speck. Surprize us both. I took and put the jig out again bam another crappie. Then my fishing buddy decided to try the jigs also. We ended up with 47 nice specks that day. Sometimes it is just 5 or 6 that you catch.
We usually go to the 41 mile marker on 75.
Later Swanie

[Naixus]

Thanks a lot, guys! Looks like my light tackle would be put into good use!

[Naixus]

It's a little weird to ask since I still look at Oscars as pet fish. But are they good eating? How do they compare to crappie or bream?

[dixieangler]

I have not eaten any Oscars but I have been told that they are good to eat, filleted of course (I would not leave the skin on). So I would not know how they compare to Specks or bream. Try this link (see EDIBILITY):

Oscar