16-year-old Miami angler lands Florida state record jaguar guapote

Florida – A 16-year-old angler from Miami has made Florida fishing history after catching a jaguar guapote that has been certified as the new state record.

Xzavier Peon caught the fish in the Westwood Lakes area using live bait. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission fisheries biologists later confirmed the catch weighed 3.02 pounds and measured 16 inches long, making it the largest jaguar guapote officially recorded in the state.

For Xzavier, the catch was surprising from the moment the fish took the 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.”

The jaguar guapote is a freshwater fish found mainly in the urban canal systems of southeast Florida. Although the species has been eligible for Florida state record recognition since 2012, it took several years before the first official record was established.

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The previous state record was certified in 2017. It remained on the books for nine years before Xzavier’s fish was officially confirmed as the new record in September 2026.

The catch is notable not only because of Xzavier’s age, but also because jaguar guapote are among more than 30 species of nonnative freshwater fish that have become established in Florida.

The FWC encourages anglers to catch, keep and eat nonnative fish as a way of helping control their populations and reducing possible effects on native species. The agency notes that most nonnative fish are also considered good table fare.

There are exceptions. The FWC does not encourage anglers to remove legally introduced peacock bass or triploid grass carp in the same way as other nonnative species.

The agency also warns people not to release fish from aquariums into Florida’s waterways or move nonnative fish from one water system to another. Such actions are illegal and can create problems for native fish and Florida’s ecosystems.

For anglers who think they may have landed a record fish, the FWC maintains a list of current state records. Fishermen can check the records through the agency’s freshwater fishing information and select the “State Record” section. They can also contact the nearest FWC regional office when they believe they have caught a record fish.

The agency recognizes memorable catches in other ways as well. Its Big Catch program provides certificates for anglers who catch qualifying fish from more than 30 freshwater species.

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Florida also has the TrophyCatch program for largemouth bass. The citizen-science program rewards anglers who catch, document and release largemouth bass weighing at least 8 pounds.

For Xzavier, however, it was the unexpected appearance of a giant jaguar guapote at the end of his fishing line that turned an ordinary day on the water into a record-setting one.

His 3.02-pound, 16-inch fish now holds the official Florida state record for the species, ending a nine-year run for the previous record holder.