# Tilapia



## azevedo16

Has anyone ever caught any around here? I believe that I have found a lake that has them and but do not know what to use for bait.


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## FishWalton

Haven't heard of anything close by but over in Lake Seminole I have seen reports they are plentiful.


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## BananaTom

From a source, not me typing this:

What I like to use for tilapia is peas, corn or bread balls. I have caught them on small worms, wax worms. I even have caught them on small lures during their spawn. But this method has been the most consistent:

Once you find a lake, pond or body of water with some tilapia, buy some canned peas, corn or both. For the next few days, chum the lake or pond with the canned peas and corn in the area you see the tilapia. Now go get some frozen peas and corn. Keep them frozen even while you are fishing with them.

Using two rigs, put one piece of frozen corn on a small hook just free-lined (no weight or float), and on the other rig, place one piece of frozen pea on a small hook suspended below a float. You should be fishing in the area you chummed during the prior days.

Tilapia stay suspended so keeping the bait in front of them is key. If you see their beds, which are almost perfectly round, deep, bowl-like holes, keep a bait in the bed on the bottom and one suspended in the bed. I also like to move the bait to the edge of the bed or along the drop-off of the bed. Be patient and make sure your shadow does not scare the tilapia. I also like to fish with 8-lb. fluorocarbon as my line with no leader. Hook sizes should be # 4 or smaller. Sometimes I would use a tiny split shot along the line in order to cast the corn or pea. Many times I use my fly rod with a pea or piece of corn as my fly. I have also caught tilapia on a tiny white fly.


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## Fishing Dad

dynamite


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## JoeZ

Cow poop. They like the turds.


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## GROUPERKING

It really gets to cold for them here. Before I moved to the river , I use to raise them in a one acre pond. They did well for about six years, then a cold snap killed them. It killed every single one of them. I had a stinking mess on my hands, with thousands of dead fish. Back to your question, I used small dog food pellets and bread for bait.


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## CatHunter

I have been catching tilapia in Pensacola since I was a kid. They are here by the millions. I know of a few lakes that I have snagged Blue Tilapia up to 10lbs when they are spawning on the bed. 
Their beds are giant white circles that they fan out. Huge big eyes that they catch every movement with. You have to hide in the grass to sneak up on them. 

Bayou Chico is loaded with Nile tilapia. There is a guy who has a stocked tilapia pond in Brewton. You can pay to fish there.
Ask anybody that's thrown enough nets in the back of Chico. They will tell you about giant tilapia busting holes in nets. But if you really want to see some tilapia go here, the Pensacola Bird sanctuary and this is where the tilapia invasion began in Bayou Chico. Their pond is loaded with tilapia that flood into Chico on high waters.

Snake heads, don't get me started on them...


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## Try'n Hard

I had no idea they were here but I did see them in an episode of dirty jobs and they were eating pond raised rainbow trout poop


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## GROUPERKING

I had both blues and whites in my pond. I got them from a man that grew them in Andalusia in a pond that had pig pens over the water to feed the fish. He had a heating system on his pond to get them through the winter. I think mine all died in the winter of 96 or 97 ? I'm surprised to hear of surviving wild populations without cold protection.


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## CatHunter

GROUPERKING said:


> I had both blues and whites in my pond. I got them from a man that grew them in Andalusia in a pond that had pig pens over the water to feed the fish. He had a heating system on his pond to get them through the winter. I think mine all died in the winter of 96 or 97 ? I'm surprised to hear of surviving wild populations without cold protection.


As one man said


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## Try'n Hard

GROUPERKING said:


> I got them from a man that grew them in Andalusia in a pond that had pig pens over the water to feed the fish.


We have them for Wednesday night supper at church every couple of months. Everyone has heard my Dirty jobs trout poop story. Thanks for giving me a new one to tell!!


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## GROUPERKING

You might get tilapia night cancelled .


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## Gnwdad

Why would anyone want to catch them? They taste awful and are nasty to me.


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## Try'n Hard

Gnwdad said:


> Why would anyone want to catch them? They taste awful and are nasty to me.


 I always thought they tasted fine just wish they were a little more private with their eating habits. I gotta figure most fish will eat a turd but tilapia seem to enjoy it


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## stauty trout

Try'n Hard said:


> I always thought they tasted fine just wish they were a little more private with their eating habits. I gotta figure most fish will eat a turd but tilapia seem to enjoy it


I've seen them use them to clean up after raising striped bass... i mean there's free food for em all over the bottom of those stock ponds 

Also I'm sure they have an endless supply of "food" coming from the birds at the sanctuary


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## Blake R.

Won't eat a farm raised one. If I catch one, it's on though.


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## FishWalton

Have read this fish is heavily used in restaurants for fried fish. No telling was Asian county they come from.


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## Blake R.

Most of the tilapia you see in restaraunts and stores are farm raised. On other fishes poop.


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## Try'n Hard

Well I put chicken poop around my tomatoes so I guess it's about the same type deal


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## Blake R.

Yeah, but I don't visualize tomatoes wrapping their lips around a log and sucking it up like a spaghetti noodle.


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## Snagged Line

Try'n Hard said:


> We have them for Wednesday night supper at church every couple of months. Everyone has heard my Dirty jobs trout poop story. Thanks for giving me a new one to tell!!




But, Wednesday Night is Halo Night...


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## spinfactor

Not a big fan of farm raised either but fresh are good. Ifeel the same about catfish. Hate the taste of farm raised but love the wild ones.


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## Luck E Strike

I used to live in Memphis. Fished the Mississippi river all the time. Great bass fishing. We got the idea to run a few brush lines and a trot line for catfish. Caught quite a few. Took them home to clean. Gutted a big channel cat and found what we believed to be a condom in its belly. Havent eatin catfish since.


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## billin

*turd eater*

so what you are sayin is its a fresh water mullet?


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