A 16-year-old Miami angler has set a new Florida state record for jaguar guapote after reeling in a 3.02-pound fish in the Westwood Lakes area, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.<\/p>\n
Xzavier Peon caught the 16-inch jaguar guapote using live bait. FWC fisheries biologists certified the catch as the new state record in September 2026.<\/p>\n
“When I hooked it, I thought it was a peacock bass,” Peon said. “But once the giant jaguar came up I knew that it was a state record almost instantly. We started freaking out once we realized it was a state record.”<\/p>\n
The previous record had stood since 2017. Jaguar guapote became eligible for Florida state-record recognition in 2012, and the first record for the species was certified five years later.<\/p>\n
Jaguar guapote are primarily found in urban canal systems in Southeast Florida. They are among more than 30 nonnative freshwater fish species established in the state.<\/p>\n
FWC encourages anglers to catch, keep and eat nonnative fish \u2014 with the exception of legally introduced peacock bass and triploid grass carp \u2014 as a way to help limit their numbers and reduce potential impacts on native fish.<\/p>\n
The agency also warns that releasing aquarium fish into the wild or moving nonnative fish between water systems is illegal and can harm Florida’s native ecosystems.<\/p>\n
Click here<\/a> to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here<\/a> to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.<\/p>\n
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