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Aerojet Canal

 The Aerojet canal is located in Homestead just minutes from the Florida Keys. You fish a casting distance from Saltwater all while enjoying the catches only provided by freshwater.
Because of it's location it gets very low pressure and in return grows really big BASS, a few of the side benefits of being located so far south is the capabilities to grow and maintain PEACOCK BASS in the same fishery. Never noisy and congested like some commercial, maybe a few extra anglers on the weekends.

Traveling from the boat ramp, it doesn't look like must. But like most canals, this one especially it has it's SWEET spots that always seem to hold fish. With that said, this place has quite a few and generally productive for most anglers with a little knowledge of the area.
The entrance off the road of US1 can be a bit difficult to see and access, especially with weekend traffic.

The Aerojet canal is a flood control and has a structure on both ends. It fishes like a combination of Tamiami and Snapper Creek canal systems all while providing urban anglers more exciting fishing opportunities.

Peacock Bass Fishing

 Aerojet Canal offers some of the most exciting and varied canal fishing in all of southeast Florida. Several anglers have reported canal 'trifecta' or 'grand slam' catches of butterfly peacock and largemouth bass topped-off with a snook. The butterfly peacock is a world renown gamefish that was successfully introduced in the mid-1980s by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to eat undesirable exotic fishes, and to provide more sport-fishing for anglers in the metropolitan Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area. Fallen trees, canal intersections, sharp bends, and dead ends are generally productive areas for catching most species of fish. Sport-fishes also congregate in the shade of the pump structures. Shoreline vegetation, rip-rap, and even some residential seawalls (particularly in lateral canals) also provide good fishing opportunities. If there is a strong current in the main canal, spend more time fishing lateral canals, small lakes, and other areas that offer refuge from the current (e.g., cut-outs, bridge pilings, and the downstream side of spillways).
 

Aerojet Canal supports excellent populations of butterfly peacock and largemouth bass that average about 14 inches (1.5 pounds), and nearly 50% of the harvest-able butterfly peacock and 40% of the large-mouth bass are larger than this. The biggest butterfly peacock (10 pounds) ever confirmed in Florida came from this canal. The bag limit for butterfly peacock is two fish per day, only one of which can be greater than 17 inches; up to five largemouth bass can be kept, but only one of these can be greater than 14 inches. Fishing for butterfly peacock is usually best from March through May, but they are caught consistently throughout the year. Butterfly peacock feed only during daylight and normally close to shore, although schooling peacocks will sometimes feed aggressively in open water. Large-mouth bass fishing tends to be best during the winter when the water cools, and early in the morning, evenings, and even at night during the summer.
 

Butterfly peacock are more likely to be caught using live fish for bait than are largemouth bass, which make them an excellent fish for younger anglers, as well as those just learning to bass fish. Live fish such as small golden shiners purchased at local tackle shops, are the best overall bait for both butterfly peacock and largemouth bass. It is illegal to use goldfish or any other non-native fish for bait, except those legally caught from and immediately used in the same canal. For those who enjoy fishing with artificial lures, just about any fast moving minnow imitating plug or fly can be used to entice a peacock. Early in the morning look for tarpon rolling at the surface, especially if the water is running or moving swiftly.
 

The number and quality of panfish over six inches in Aerojet Canal is about average for area canals. Live worms and crickets are the choice baits for many panfish anglers, although fresh bread or bread dough works well, is readily available, and it costs less. Shoreline anglers will need to do some exploring to find the best locations for shoreline fishing, and always be sure to park cars safely out of the right of ways.
There are some non-native panfish species like the Spotted tilapia, which are also bream-shaped, golden in color with black spots or bars, and some adults have red on them. These exotic fishes are good to eat, and you can keep every one you catch.

Miami Peacock Bass Fishing Reports