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How do you catch Tilapia?

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:05 am
by nuts4hotwheels
Seeing Greyloon's monster Talapia makes me want to go out and catch one. Has anybody been successful at Talapi fishing? I've heard of people catching them on flies and know they are delicious fish, but that is the extent of my Talpia knowledge.

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:17 am
by double dip
I see them in large schools. I usually put a 1 oz. weight at the end of the line and 4-5 large treble hooks. Jerk REALLY hard and you can snag a few.

But it really ticks off the guys in the seafood mart at Fiesta and they have now banned me from the store!! :lol: :lol:

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:03 am
by Pogo
Couple notes: First, a TPWD game warden I talked to said it's illegal to return live tilapia to the water. Either kill 'em first or don't throw 'em back. Really, he said that, could conceiveably issue a citation for it! This means, of course, no limits, and feel free to use a cast net and catch tons. Invasive species. That's the official word as I understand it.

Second note, DD's (partially :D ) right: take any lure with a big sharp hook and rip it through the school, it's almost easy to snag biguns and have a decent little battle on your hands.

I don't yet know what it takes to get 'em on the fly, but can't wait to find out. Geeze, that'd HAVE to be FUN. :D :D

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:05 am
by Electric Water Boy
Back in the freeze of '89 or '90, there were islands of these fish in the hot water coming off the boilers at Calaveras Lake. Some of the employees threw a cast net out to catch some of these fish. They had to hook it to a tractor to pull it out.

So, go to a power plant in the winter. Get to the warm water. Throw a cast net.

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 12:44 pm
by Lagoonfisher
There topped off in the bayou behind Fiesta on hwy249 and 1960. I have only been able to catch them on worms. They wouldn't touch a lure or fly to save there lives....at least not in that bayou.

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:55 pm
by coach_lancaster
But I think snagging is a NO NO according to TWPD

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 3:13 pm
by galvestonaggie
I have been able to catch tons of them in Kingwood. I usually catch them out of my canoe with a flyrod or really light tackle. If I ever fish freshwater, I always try to fish the lightest tackle possible. I work the shore lines of the golfcourses and you will sometimes snag them, but I have been more succesful at getting them to hit flys. If you don't flyfish, you can use rooster tails on light spinning tackle to catch them. I have taken many of my friends from high school out and they have had success catching both monster tilapia and bass. I always think that it is funny watching bass fishing on television and then I go out in a canoe and catch bass that are the same size as the ones caught in the tournaments. I never eat the tilapia I catch, so I guess that I have been commiting a crime. It makes me mad when people will go after the tilapia with castnets because, some of my good spots have been ruined for certain periods of time. I have had more luck with submersible flys ripped underneath the surface, but sometimes, they will only hit the fly when you let it drift.

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 3:55 pm
by daniel78222
used to catch them when i was younger and then only wat we did any good was a cast net catch about a hundred and spent hours at the cleaning table


amd EWB you can not get anywhere close to the powerplants anymore they have closed off the hotwater discharge back 90's

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:56 pm
by Lollipop
Electric Water Boy wrote: So, go to a power plant in the winter. Get to the warm water. Throw a cast net.
I heard the power plant lakes were loaded with DihydrogenMonoxide and DiMethylDouble Death. What are the health hazards if I go out to Braunig and catch a years supply and eat them 4 times per week?

Lollipop

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 5:15 pm
by Pogo
galvestonaggie wrote:I usually catch them out of my canoe with a flyrod or really light tackle.
Okay, I have a canoe, a fly rod, and light tackle sporting Roostertails. In fact, that describes my outfit precisely for when I encounter tilapia. Yet, I've never managed to get a tilapia to hit. What fly are you using? And you say to let it drift ... no stripping? C' mon, help us out here! :D
Lollipop wrote:I heard the power plant lakes were loaded with DihydrogenMonoxide and DiMethylDouble Death. What are the health hazards if I go out to Braunig and catch a years supply and eat them 4 times per week?
Herb, knowing how ornery you are, I'd have to say you'd end up corrupting the supply of DihydrogenMonoxide and DiMethylDouble Death. :P

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 5:47 pm
by yakn4fish
HERE IS A NICE CATCH. CAUGHT THESE WITH A 5' CAST NET CHUNKED 3 TIMES ON BEDS IN MARCH. THESE FISH SIT IN HUGE 3' HOLES FROM MID FEB. TO LATE MARCH. I HAVE SEEN AS MUCH AS 10 OF THESE FISH SITTING IN THE SAME BED. VERY WHITE MEAT AND BETTER ON THE PIT MARINADED IN LEMON JUICE WITH PICO. I DO KNOW YOU HAVE TO REMOVE THE INTESTINES FROM THESE FISH DUE THE SPRED OF HYDRILLA. CASTING ON MY KAYAK IS KINDA ROUGH BUT GETS IT DONE.

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:19 pm
by greyloon
The purpose of removing the intestines is to kill the fish. Its the fish TPWD wants to stop from spreading.

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:23 pm
by yakn4fish
:idea: Eight hydrilla infested lakes and ponds in Wake County, North Carolina, were used to test different biological and chemical control methods. Biological control methods consisted of stocking two species of herbivorous fish, grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and redbelly tilapia (Tilapia zilli). The number of fish stocked was based on the area infested with hydrilla. Grass carp were stocked at four pond sites (Upchurch Pond, Lake Anne, Rhudy Pond, and Cemetary Pond) infested with hydrilla. Tilapia were stocked in enclosures located in Lake Anne.

TILAPIA ALSO HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO MAKE PEOPLE SICK IF NOT CLEANED CORRECTLY. THE DARK BLACK RESIDUE IN THE STOMACH IS BEST REMOVED BEFORE COOKING. THE METHOD OBOVE HAVE BEEN TRIED HERE IN TEXAS AND HAS FAILED TO SOME DEGREE. THE ST. PETERS FISH AS IT IS CALLED IS SOLD IN ALL MARKETS. CATCHING THEM IN THE WILD IS " EAT AT YOUR OWN RISK". IT IS A GREAT FORAGE FOR LG. MOUTH BASS WHEN FINGERLINGS. MAYBE TXPD WANT THOSE FISH GONE SO WE WON'T TAKE THE GAME FISH. :?

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:34 pm
by greyloon
Tilapia are not just vegetarians. They are known to eat game fish eggs, reducing populations. They also eat forage used by other, more desirable species.

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:40 pm
by yakn4fish
TAKING THE INTESTINES OUT OF GRASS CARP AND TILAPIA IS THE RULE IN TPWD THATS MOST OVERLOOKED. REASONS FOR REMOVING GRASS CARP WHEN CAUGHT HAVE NEVER BEEN CLEAR UNLESS......THEY ALSO EAT FISH EGGS AND DEPLETE THE POPULATION. LAW DOES STATE TO REMOVE INTESTINES FROM BOTH OF THESE FISH. THESE FISH ARE AGRESSIVE AND I HAVE CAUGHT THEM FISHING ON BOTTOM WITH SPINACH.

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:50 pm
by Lollipop
yakn4fish wrote::

TILAPIA ALSO HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO MAKE PEOPLE SICK IF NOT CLEANED CORRECTLY. THE DARK BLACK RESIDUE IN THE STOMACH IS BEST REMOVED BEFORE COOKING.
I have never heard of anyone cooking tilapia without gutting them. When I gut a fish, I always remove the stomach. Are there some people who do not?
Lollipop

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:57 pm
by Bassbug
I believe one good way to catch Talipia is with corn on a small hook and bobber. Sounds easy but, it has worked for me. If you want to catch them on a fly rod, throw corn cernals in the water and then cast a yellow egg pattern in and they wont know the difference.

Hope this helps.

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:16 pm
by yakin ag
What lakes are ya'll catching these things on in cast nets? I've got a few bowfishing GIbbons Creek Res., but I've never seen them in large concentrations

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:16 pm
by yakn4fish
TILAPIA HAVE A BLACK FILM AROUND THE STOMACH AND RIB CAGE. ONLY HEARD OF THIS MAKING PEOPLE SICK. BY THE LOOKS OF IT, IF IT DIDN'T MAKE ME SICK I WOULD DO MY BEST TO REMOVE IT ANYWAY. :)
BOWFISHING FOR THESE FISH WOULD BE A TASK. I PERSONALY HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO SNEAK UP IN KAYAK CLOSE ENOUGH TO KEEP FROM SPOOKING THESE FISH. I CAN TELL YOU THIS I HAVE CAUGHT CLOSE TO 75 OF THE FISH IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS OF MARCH DURING THIER SPAWN. BOWFISHING ON THE BEDS WOULD BE FUN. SOME RATE THIS FISH CLOSE TO CRAPPIE MEAT. OF THOSE I GAVE THIS FISH TO FOR EATING ALL CAN'T BELIEVE ITS NOT A GAME FISH. JUST LIKE THE REDS USED TO BE YEARS AGO. TAKE ALL YOU WANT BEFORE THEY LIMIT THEM. AND I DOUBT THEY WOULD DO THAT. GREYLOON STATED IT BEST TPWD WANT THIS FISH POPULATION KNOCKED DOWN.

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:37 pm
by Electric Water Boy
daniel1873 wrote:amd EWB you can not get anywhere close to the powerplants anymore they have closed off the hotwater discharge back 90's
Wrong. Look at Braunig Lake on Google. You can get real close to the #1 and #2 outlets. But watch out for the steam that blows out there as well.

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:50 pm
by galvestonaggie
Pogo wrote:
galvestonaggie wrote:I usually catch them out of my canoe with a flyrod or really light tackle.
"Okay, I have a canoe, a fly rod, and light tackle sporting Roostertails. In fact, that describes my outfit precisely for when I encounter tilapia. Yet, I've never managed to get a tilapia to hit. What fly are you using? And you say to let it drift ... no stripping? C' mon, help us out here! :D"

Wooly buggers in brown and green. Where I fish, there is runoff from the golf course lakes and the water is fairly clear, thus the drifting. If this doesnt work, I will strip my line in long tugs at a fast pace. At certain times, you can see a school and sight cast for them. I generally am catching them in three to four feet of water or less. I really don't know what to tell you about your water conditions but, shoot me a p.m. if you have any more questions about this. I plan on heading back to Kingwood in May when I am done with school and I am taking a few guys with me. We will be fishing out of Canoes and Kayaks and then I need to figure out how to make my fishing canoe seaworthy for staying in galveston over the summer. galvestonaggie

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 10:42 pm
by Northsider
Tilapias are plentiful down below the dam on the San Jac river. I've never had one bite my lure but I've fouled hooked them on accident. They put up a good fight for sure. I took one home and opened him up and seen the insides and thought better about eating it. The crazy part is I've ate it at several restaurants and they eat taste good.

Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 4:30 am
by Forever Fishing
I've caught them on chunks of night crawler and once I caught one on a road runner. I've found them in more than one of the urban lakes and bayous I frequent.

I have a hard time leaving fish on the bank to die but TPWD says "..it's unlawful not to remove the intestines.." So they want them gutted and what you do with them afterwards is up to you. I'd never eat anything out of the lakes and bayou's around Houston but some people do.

I'll try the corn and bobber sometime and see how that goes. 8)

Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 11:04 am
by Maulwalker
Forever Fishing wrote:I have a hard time leaving fish on the bank to die
You could just gut it and throw it back in the water, so at least it'll feed the other fish or the turtles without stinking up the shoreline. Or keep 'em for bait/chum the next time you go in the salt.

And, Yakn4fish, you have some good things to say, but take the caps lock off so we'll actually be able to read it without getting a headache!

Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 11:25 am
by greyloon
Nothing wrong with eating fish from L. Houston. I've read all I can find about the quality of water in the lake. There's nothing of note to be concerned about. Its a different story on up Spring and Cyrpess Creek. Bacteria levels can be high in both streams.