Cichla ocellaris

Commonly called the butterfly peacock, borboleta, or in Spanish, mariposa.  This is probably the most colorful of the peacocks and widely distributed. All the specimens we have caught have been a bright olive green color with three bright ocelli running laterally along the body as well as the one on the tail. Some specimens are often colored a bright red under their jaws. They have deep red eyes, which has prompted one quote that I have heard "They have blood in their eyes and violence in their hearts".

 
They are generally smaller than the other peacocks and often swim in shoals of fish weighing about three pounds, larger specimens are usually solitary; the best we have taken weighed 7lbs. For the fly fisherman they offer great sport.

 
There is a small lake situated not far from the camp which requires a short walk to get in  to it. It is a shallow lake with a few deeper holes in the middle. Thick weed beds fringe the water and around these submerged weeds shoals of around twenty or so butterfly peacocks hunt. Casting a streamer into these feeding packs brings an instant take and a superb fight .It is an excellent place for a newcomer to introduce himself to the not so gentle art of fly fishing for peacocks, but beware, occasionally from the deeper holes large 'grande' peacocks sally forth and instead of a small 'butterfly' you could well be struggling with a lunker fish weighing between 15 and 20lbs.

 
I was startled one morning with such a belligerent peacock and after the initial surprise and shock to my frail system, it finally came to the boga grip. It weighed in at eighteen pounds not bad eh! When you consider that all I was anticipating were the small 3lb 'butterflies' that were breaking the surface all around the boat.