Youth angler lands state record jaguar guapote

How do you catch a jaguar guapote? With patience, skill, and the right bait. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) fisheries biologists certified a new state record jaguar guapote weighing 3.02 pounds and measuring 16 inches long, caught by 16-year-old angler Xzavier Peon from Miami. Xzavier caught his jaguar guapote in the Westwood Lakes area with live bait.

"When I hooked it, I thought it was a peacock bass," said Xzavier. "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."

Jaguar guapote are found primarily in the urban canal systems of southeast Florida. The jaguar guapote was made eligible for state record status in 2012, and the first state record for the species was certified in 2017. That record stood for nine years until Xzavier's catch was confirmed in September 2026.

Jaguar guapote are one of more than 30 nonnative freshwater fish species that have become established in Florida. The FWC strongly encourages anglers to catch, keep and eat nonnative fish (except legally introduced peacock bass and triploid grass carp) to control their numbers and reduce potential impacts on native fish. Most nonnative fish provide excellent table fare. In addition, releasing fish from aquariums into the wild or moving nonnative fish between water systems is illegal and could produce detrimental effects on native fish and Florida's ecosystems.

Anglers can check the current state records at MyFWC.com/Freshwater by clicking on "State Record," and can notify the nearest FWC regional office if they believe they have caught a record fish. Contact information for FWC regional offices can be found at MyFWC.com/Contact.

The FWC recognizes other freshwater catches through its Big Catch program which provides certificates commemorating memorable catches of more than 30 different freshwater species. Florida and largemouth bass catches are recognized by the TrophyCatch which is a citizen-science program that rewards anglers for catching, documenting and releasing bass weighing 8 pounds or heavier.