Talapia Flies

[Tom Cat]

I moved south and this pond across the fairway appeared to be full of Bass beds. Boy was I exicited. The next morning I threw poppers and streamers and, after an hour, caught only one Bass. The following morning I threw jerk baits and nothing. The next morning it was Zara Spooks and again nothing. Not even a good hit. A guy in the neighborhood said he thought the fish on the beds were Talapia. So I looked up Talapia on the internet fishing source and it said throw away your lures, they only eat vegetation.

But one sentence caught my attention. It said use a fly rod and reel with wet flies. Does anyone have any experience catching Talapia on flies. The beds are everywhere and you can see plenty of fish on the beds and you would think you found a great fishing spot, but they don't bite. Suggestions on flies would be appreciated. Tom

[waynep]

I am with you, my sister's pond is stocked with Talapia . . .

[joe cool]

I googled tilapia fly and came up with a bunch of hits right away of people catching them. Looks like they behave like other panfish, throw small dries/nymphs/mosquita larva/tiny streamers at them.

[jack]

hey, tom,
you have really struck a gold mine if they are tilapia. i have an awesome opportunity to fish in three farm ponds owned by a doctor friend of mine. every spring, just about now, he will stock all three ponds with 300 tilapia juveniles. they are about 3 inches long and most are white. doc likes to catch big bass and he says they love those tilapia. the tilapia continue to grow, if they don't get eaten and when the temps of the ponds here in mid ala. hit about 52, they start to die. i net them with a crab net and pack my freezer with 2-3 pound tilapia. about 30 is the most i have netted. well worth the effort on a cold january day. but i digress. the question is: can they be caught? darn right they can. i use a 5wt. tfo with dt5 line. use a #1 hook at the end. put one red worm about one inch long on the hook being careful to hide the hook inside the worm. i usually hook the worm at the head end and let the tail dangle. tilapia cruse the bank looking in the detritus for worms and nymphs. mostly they eat the algae but occasionally they will forage for live things.
hope this help. let me know how big they are. i'll bring the cooking oil.
jackl

[RHenn]

sponge spiders work

[bonefishwhisperer]

much depends on what species of talapia it is...the really big ones which you are probably describing as blue talapia around here...there are also spotted talapia which are way easier to catch since they are protective of the young...they are mouth brooders so when you see a pair together and small babies then they knock the fire out of anything that is dabbling around them...last around here there is Mozambique Talapia and they are the hardest to find and the most rare I guess...I have caught only 1 myself...the huge beds your describe can sometimes bring luck...if you cast a small flie into the bed and let it sit sometimes they will eventually swim over and pick it up to move it....I see really big ones here ....easy 10lbs...had other pics but too large to download...this is the blue or grey talapia

[FishnDave]

That's a NICE fish there, Cordell!
Here's a couple of spotted tilapia I caught when I was fishing with you:

[Chuck S]

I've caught quite a few Blue Tilapia, including the IGFA World Record and most were caught on my BS fly, a small fly I came up with to imitate a micro Bluegill/Sunfish, hence BS. It's a size 10, 2x long with a large copper bead, and an orange throat and a dark olive tail and wing of maribou. The body is Peacock Estaz and other than Tilapia, it's caught upward of 15 species of fish. Originally I tied it to imitate a crappie jig that was really hot on a lake in the NW. It is a crappie killer. I do think the Tilapia hit it thinking it's algea as I fished it ultra slow under a strike indicator about 6 inches. Other Tilapia anglers I've talked to from South Africa to Arizona also like the San Juan Worm but tie it in a natural color as well as a grass fly which is just the dark green maribou tied on a size 6-10 hook.

[bonefishwhisperer]

sweet Chuck S...I would love to see the BS fly...it already has great name and if it can catch world record talapia even better...what is the world record talapia BTW? please show us pictures

[FishnDave]

Yeah, sounds like some of those flies might be worth tossing to grass carp too. Pics please?