Mayan Mania

Another fish that inhabits the South Florida canals is the Mayan Cichlid.  This is a very beautiful fish with dark vertical bands, sometimes with a blue outline, with a redish orange backdrop.  The most notable feature about this fish is it's large black spot on the back of it's tail, similar to the peacock bass.  These fish are very good fighters, an equivalent and maybe even stronger then peacock and largemouth bass, but without the jumping.  These fish can reach up to 16", but are most commonly caught around 12".  

These fish can be caught throughout the canals, usually in the same places Midas cichlids can be caught as they like similar structure and food.  This structure is usually underneath a tree for food or near a dock of a person is feeding them with a rocky and grassy bottom.  

You can catch these fish with bread, but are most effectively caught with live bait.  

The best love bait to use in my opinion is the jewel cichlid, another invasive species easily caught in the Florida canals using a bait trap.  It is rare to catch a Mayan Cichlid on a lure unless they are bedding.  

When these fish bed, they are extremely aggressive and will inhale anything you put on it.  

Some spots that I have been successful with catching these beautiful fish are:  

Rock Lake on:

12701 SW 69th Ave

Miami, FL  33156-6220

United States

On the dock behind: 

11000 SW 74th Ct

Miami, FL  33156-4516

United States

Overall, these fish are fun fish to catch that give up great fights and can reach a nice size of up to 16".  Mayan Cichlids are one of the less popular fish to catch in the canals, but they are definetly one of the best fighting, most exciting fish to catch in South Florida's freshwater canals.