can anyone help identify a fish in sw florida canals?
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there is this fish in the canal that me and my friend have caught becasue they attack our lines to protect their nests and we have no clue what they are. they have stripes and the females turn red when we caught them. we think they are a type of bass but not smallmouth, largmouth, or peacock. we fish in the canals of sw florida can anyone indentify this fish
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sounds like mangrove snapper this time of year.
the females turn red ? usually males guard nests. but try rubber newts
for bait and have fun. those snappers are one of the best tasting fish around be careful their teeth are like needles or puppy teeth
If the fish kind of resembles a bluegill, I’m gonna guess it’s a type of cichlid. They make nests like bluegills and guard them, get quite a bit larger than bluegill and do have vertical stripes. Color will vary with and within species. They are good to eat depending the water from where they’re caught.
One other ID I forgot to mention, look at the rear of the dorsal fin, if it is pointed rather than rounded, then it probably is cichlid. If rounded, something else,maybe an oscar.
Sounds like a Mayan Cichlid. They guard their nests, turn an orange-reddish color when they light up during the fight. You can find them in many canals from fresh to brackish waters. They are also known as ” Strawberries, Atomic Perch and Fresh water Snapper.” They are very good to eat and can range from 1 pound up to 5 pounds. Hard fighting fish on light line and there is no limit as far as how many you keep. The only catch is that you cannot transport them alive anywhere. Do so and get caught will result in a huge fine. I believe the record catch is slightly over 5 pounds so get one bigger and put your name on the board. They are a non-native species so have at it. I got a pic below for you to compare.~good luck catchin’.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2215/2531951795_be7692d356_o.jpg
Sounds like one of the many cichlids there in the Florida canals. What color are the stripes? I was thinking an Astronotus ocellatus (Oscar), but so many of those cichlids down there have stripes.