Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 536 is my conversation with Debbie Hanson, an award-winning outdoor writer and angler who has dialed in peacock bass fishing in the South Florida canal system. Peacock bass are native to the Amazon and thrive when water temperatures rise, which makes summer into fall prime time. We get into reading canal structure, choosing the right water, and the topwater cadence and retrieve strategies that turn followers into explosive strikes.
Debbie Hanson is an award-winning outdoor writer and angler who specializes in peacock bass fishing in South Florida. She is known for breaking down practical techniques that help everyday anglers catch more fish, and she shares her canal-fishing strategies in this conversation.
Summer into fall is prime time for peacock bass because they love warm water temperatures. Peacock bass are native to the Amazon in South America and thrive when water temperatures rise, so the warmer months in South Florida produce the most aggressive fish.
Peacock bass are targeted in the South Florida canal system. Debbie Hanson explains how to read those canals, identify productive structure, and position yourself to present to fish holding around it.
Debbie Hanson focuses on topwater cadence and a strike-triggering retrieve. She explains how varying the pace and the action of the lure provokes the aggressive, reaction-based strikes peacock bass are known for, especially around structure.
Peacock bass are native to the warm waters of the Amazon and are built to chase and ambush prey. When water temperatures rise in South Florida canals, that aggression peaks, which is why topwater presentations and reactive retrieves are so effective.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 536 with Debbie Hanson is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts. The video version is embedded at the top of this page.
I wanted Debbie on because peacock bass are one of the most fun fish you can target, and not many people break down the how as clearly as she does. She is an award-winning writer who actually fishes hard, and she has the South Florida canal game figured out. I wanted listeners who have driven past those canals and wondered what is in them to hear exactly how to go catch these aggressive, beautiful fish.
Press play in the player above to hear it.
Peacock bass are native to the Amazon and thrive in warm water, so the hotter months light them up. Debbie explains how to time your trips to the temperature and why that window produces the most aggressive fish. Hear it in the episode.
The canal system can look featureless, but Debbie knows how to find the structure and water that holds fish. She talks through what to look for and how to position. Watch the YouTube player above.
Debbie gets into the retrieve, the pace, and the lure action that turn a follow into an explosive strike. It is the difference between watching fish and catching them. Listen to that section.
Debbie explains how peacock bass relate to structure and how to present to them once you have located it. If you want to target these fish on purpose, this part is gold. Hear it in the full episode.
The day after talking with Debbie, what stuck with me was how approachable she makes peacock bass fishing sound. These are exotic, aggressive, gorgeous fish, and she lays out a clear path to catching them right in the South Florida canals.
If you have ever wanted to throw topwater and get an explosive reaction strike, this is the conversation. Debbie gives you the timing, the water, and the cadence to make it happen.
The Tom Rowland Podcast brings you long-form conversations with the most accomplished anglers, hunters, conservationists, and outdoor professionals in the game. Listen to every full-length Tom Rowland Podcast interview.
Debbie Hanson is an award-winning outdoor writer and angler who specializes in peacock bass fishing in the South Florida canal system. She is known for clear, practical instruction that helps everyday anglers catch more fish, with particular expertise in reading canal structure and triggering reaction strikes on topwater. Her work focuses on making technical fishing accessible and getting more people, especially newcomers, onto the water with confidence.
Full transcript of the Tom Rowland Podcast, Episode 536, featuring Debbie Hanson. In this How 2 Tuesday segment, Debbie shares her peacock bass topwater secrets, covering where to find them, the best structure to target, and how to work a topwater lure to trigger a strike.
Tom Rowland: Hey, everybody. Welcome to How 2 Tuesday. This week, we're going to go with Debbie Hanson. We're going to talk about peacock bass. If you've wanted to catch a peacock bass, there's a time of year, summertime, that's a really good time of year. She's going to go over what you're looking for and how you can find these peacock bass. Debbie, what do you tell people about finding the peacock bass? Maybe summertime is the best time. I don't know. What do you tell them?
Debbie Hanson: They love those warm waters, Tom. In fact, they're native to the Amazon in South America, so summertime is prime time to get out there and target peacock bass. And what you're looking for primarily is limestone rocks, culverts, and canal bends. Those are the types of areas where you're going to find peacock bass hanging out.
Debbie Hanson: They're ambush predators, so any type of structure they can hide behind and ambush their prey is key. And topwater lures are my favorite. So when those peacock bass are fired up during those really warm water temperature months, summer into fall, that's when topwater is going to be your best bet. What I like to use are bass-style lures, like topwater walk-the-dog lures. I'll use the Rebel Top R as one of my favorites for topwater.
Debbie Hanson: The main thing to keep in mind when you're working those topwaters is you've got to cast it up as close to the shoreline as you can, and then work it back towards the boat, maintaining that cadence. A lot of times people will see the wake coming up behind that topwater, and they break their cadence. But in a lot of cases, what you want to do to elicit that strike is speed it up a little bit, because when those peacock bass feel like whatever that prey item is, it's escaping and you pick up that cadence, that's what's going to trigger the strike.
Debbie Hanson: A lot of times, if I've got a client out and we're fishing topwater poppers, that client goes to lift their fly line off the water, and that's when they'll get a strike, right when that fish thinks the popper is going to escape, then they'll go up and grab it. So those are just a few quick tips. Again, look for those areas of limestone structure, culverts, and canal bends, and get those casts as close and as accurately to the shoreline or structure as you can.
Tom Rowland: Those are awesome tips. Now, when you find those types of places, the limestone, the culverts, the bends, are you looking for anything else? Is the water typically clear enough that you're actually seeing the fish, or are you just blind fishing those areas that you described? Or are you looking for bait, for birds, for other activity that tells you the fish are there?
Debbie Hanson: A lot of times those fish will be busting up on bait near the surface. So a lot of times what the peacock bass will do is try to pin baits up against the rocks, or in some areas, a lot of the canals I fish have concrete seawalls, and you'll see those fish driving those baits up against the sides of the seawalls to pin them there. So look for those fish busting on bait. And in most cases, they're hanging out in areas where the water is a little bit clearer, so water clarity can make a difference.
Debbie Hanson: When you're out there, look for those areas of clean water, especially when you're fishing artificials. That can make a big difference in terms of getting those strikes. And look for bait busting on the surface. You want to look for any type of activity or commotion along the shoreline specifically. And keep an eye out for the usual pattern, usually those peacock bass will hang out in pairs, so often you won't just see one fish, but there'll be maybe two or three of them hanging out in one spot, and that's when you want to make your cast.
Tom Rowland: Alright, man, great tips. That's awesome. Alright, so we're going to go out and catch some peacock bass this summer. It's going to be fantastic, and that's exactly where you go, how you do it, and what to use. That was awesome, Debbie. Thank you very much. Alright, that's How 2 Tuesday for this week. We'll be back with another awesome guest and some great information just like that from Debbie. If you want to go fishing with Debbie, if you want to check her out, what do they do? Where do they go?
Debbie Hanson: They can find me on the web at shefishes2.com, that's shefishes and the number two dot com, or on Instagram at shefishestwo, and that's the number two.
Tom Rowland: Right on. There you go. Alright, we'll see you next week.
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