Introducing the newest gamefish!!!

[prjavelin]

so i was in the lake looking for some bass when this fish hit my rapala. i was fishing with a silver shad rap. what hurt me the most is this fish is considered a vegetarian. people ignore it. it fight pretty good for its size and theres plenty of them where they are. they reproduce fast. and ive caught pounders and bigger. keep in mind they eat nightcrawlers, crawfish and other combination such as corn with lake shells:D my invention !!

without further ado here it is our beautiful lake and the pics of this new gamefish.






i love tilapia fishing!!!

that one hit my rapala as i was casting from the shore in front of the concrete boat ramp. i had other hit but it started pulling to a side and got away. it was in a hour period time and i had to go. It was pure fun.

if you know your lake has them give them a try!! they wont dissapoint you!!!

[LepomisAngler]

I bought some awhile back. They tasted pretty good, nowhere near as good as crappie. Don't think we have any up here, but I wouldn't mind catching them. I understand they are an Introduced Species. Do you know of any research that has been done on them vs other panfish?

[nralover]

My wife bought some at the store and steamed them. Not my favorite fish to eat, but certainly enjoyable.

[prjavelin]

I bought some awhile back. They tasted pretty good, nowhere near as good as crappie. Don't think we have any up here, but I wouldn't mind catching them. I understand they are an Introduced Species. Do you know of any research that has been done on them vs other panfish?

remember that those fish from the supermarket are farm raised so they just eat the crap they feed them. since i have eat both i think the wild ones taste much much better given the fact that they would fed on other fish and with lake plants.

for taste i prefer to eat small catfish(1-4 #) and bluegill :p all this talking has left me hungry.

no i havent found that kind of research. i will keep looking around if something pops ill post it.

Tilapia king :D
prjavelin

[ArkieFlyGuy]

Tilapia is an introduced species to North America. Legend has it they may be the fish talked about during the time of Jesus - The fish Peter was fishing for and the fish Jesus fed the multitudes with.

Most of the Tilapia we find here were imported from Latin America. They were first used to reduce mosquito larvae and weeds, but they were also found to be quite tasty. So aquaculture of Tilapia began and has taken off. But, yes, the "wild" ones are better tasting for sure.

You probably won't find a lot in Illinois, but they are in some of the lakes in the southern part. The one problem is that they are a very warm water species and they can be stocked in the spring, grow fast, and then die out at the first drop of water temps below 70 degrees.

Tilapia are found in the Gulf Coast states, but just a little north, they will be stocked and die. So catch 'em while you can when you can in the lakes that are stocked.

[prjavelin]

i live in PR. temperature neves drops below 70:D matter of fact we pretty much have 80something temperature days year round so those fish does not have that big of a problem here.

i read that they can be found on most of the southern states. its a fish that can overpopulate very fast since they reproduce in 23 days at the most. they are very protective of their eggs too the males carry the eggs on the mouth while the female is gone feeding. because of that theres no limit when fishing them.


i remember as 2 or 3 years ago we(6 people) caught 67 tilapias in a 4 hour period(all were the size of the one on the pic and bigger). it was fun for sure. they love nightcrawlers!!!

aquaculture sucks as those fish sometimes stay for weeks feeding on their own filth. its a shame!!!

prjavelin

[Ken Kinser]

Looks like it would be fun to catch on lite spinning and a crappie jig,the fight would be on

[nralover]

remember that those fish from the supermarket are farm raised so they just eat the crap they feed them. since i have eat both i think the wild ones taste much much better given the fact that they would fed on other fish and with lake plants.

for taste i prefer to eat small catfish(1-4 #) and bluegill :p all this talking has left me hungry.

no i havent found that kind of research. i will keep looking around if something pops ill post it.

Tilapia king :D
prjavelin

I have to agree- bluegill and cat are the best table fare

[dr_duff]

I am in the military and I have been out of my home state for a few years, about 15 at the time this happened. We were fishing in a little pond in Northport Florida about 70-80 miles south of Tampa. Me and my farther in law caught a couple of fish and I have to say I was confused. Northport is just south of Sarasota by like 20 miles. I did alot of fishing from my bike at a lot of little lakes in Sarasota Florida when I was a teenager and I had never seen what I had just caught. I asked what type of fish it was that we had just caught and my father in law had no idea. We thought maybe some type of Bluegill Highbrid. It was similar to one but that back fin and the scales were different. Turns out we had just caught our first Talipias using some red wigglers. We brought about 4 of them home and filleted them. Meat was a nice white like a bluegill. We added a little flour, cornmeal, and scrambled eggs to the mixture with some good hot grease. All I can say is dang those were good. I am stationed in San Diego but doing a little time overseas now and I here we have some out there. I was told buy the bait store that we asked about them that they are a new fish in florida introduced about 12 years ago and that they can live year round about as far north as Tampa. Afther going further north it gets to cold and they die off.

[Bowfin]

"i love tilapia fishing!!!"

I love Tilapia eat'n. We have a group of guys at our church that go down to Florida and fish every year. They always do a big fish fry with their catch and it's some awesome eating. Oscar, Mayan (Red Devil), and Tilapia. No limits since their all non-native.