Every year for the past 7 or 8 years the New Orleans Fly Fishing Club has hosted a fishing tournament to remove the invasive species Cichlid Rio Grande from the canals and streams in the New Orleans area. This fish was thought to be introduced into Florida waters from Texas in 1941 and the first species was caught in New Orleans in 1989. It was thought to have been released from someone’s aquarium. In 1996, the first recording of any significant catches was made of the Rio Grande Cichlid and now they have become a nuisance, crowding out the native fish in the canals and streams around New Orleans. They seem to be prevalent in the city park, Lake Pontchartrain and Bayou St. John.
This is the only Cichlid that is found in the U.S. Cichlids are basically overgrown goldfish. The most common one that most anglers are familiar with are Peacock Bass which are found in Brazil. They are extremely territorial and tend to run out native fish. They are voracious eaters and will eat anything from carnivorous to vegetarian.
About 6-10 inches long at the most, these little fish show a purplish iridescent scale that changes color in the sunlight.
They will readily take a fly which has made the Rio tournament in New Orleans a special event every fall. This year 285 Rios were caught by some 30 anglers. The headquarters was the No Wake Outfitters hosted by A.J. Rosenbaum. After the weigh in at noontime, everyone told their fish stories and enjoyed a meal of Jambalaya.
This is a very unique tournament and should be put on your bucket list if you live anywhere halfway convenient to New Orleans. Remember the Rio Grande Rumble.
