No fish tale: Record Mayan cichlid caught in Collier canal

Jonathan Johnson knew it was a Mayan cichlid the second the fish hit the lipless crankbait he was pulling through a Collier County canal the morning after Thanksgiving Day.

When he got the cichlid up to his kayak, he put it on his stringer instead of throwing it back, suspecting it might be the one.

Johnson, 31, of Fort Myers, had been trying to catch the state record for six months. The next Monday, he got the official word from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that he had done it: 2.37 pounds.

"I caught hundreds of Mayans before I finally got one that made the grade," Johnson said Saturday, returning home from another fishing trip.

Johnson, who moved to Florida six years ago from Warren, Ohio, was fishing that day specifically for the nonnative species nicknamed the "atomic sunfish" for its radioactive red color and reputation as a scrappy fighter.

He had caught a couple dozen that day — he's keeping the spot a secret — before he snagged what would be the first Mayan cichlid to qualify for the record books since Florida made the fish eligible in 2012.

"It was a challenge, and I love a challenge," Johnson said. "It was, 'Let's see if you can do this.' I love a challenge. I'm all about it."

The Mayan cichild, a Central American species, was first reported in Florida in the 1980s. Since then, it has become a popular catch in Florida's freshwater lakes and canals. More than 30 nonnative freshwater fish species are established in Florida, but wildlife monitors say they have not disrupted native ecosystems or reduced native sport fish populations.

Still, the FWC encourages anglers not to release them, although Johnson almost always does, he said. Occasionally, he'll eat one. He would have eaten the record fish had it not made the cut, he said.

Instead, he plans to put the record-winner on ice and overnight it to his favorite taxidermist in Ohio. He said he'll wait until later this winter to be sure it won't thaw on the trip.

Johnson, who works as a Florida business inspector when he's not tossing a lure, said he has some other records in his sights.

"I've been catching some big tilapia," Johnson said.