hey just a question for the seasoned pros....I'm in Bradenton now and have many bedding talapia right in front of my apt. what could i catch them on for a quick dinner?

Use your Publix card

i've heard that you can catch them on live earthworms, but if its a lake i wouldn't eat them you might start glowing in the dark

If the body of water in front of your apartment is a retention pond (likely) and not a natural waterway, I wouldn't eat those. Unless of course, you prefer your fish dinner with a side of e-coli, hepatitis, polychloryl biphenyls and such...
Retention ponds exist to capture runoff from roadways and lawns and give all the nasty pollutants an opportunity to settle out somewhat before the stormwater makes its way back to the natural watershed. Practice catch and release only.

good advice about not getting farm raised - of course did you know the #1 part of the diet of a Tilapia is poop?

i can vouch for the poop part. the crappy fish farms layer the fish from top to bottom so the tilapia eat whats left on the bottom(poop) ,while things like striped bass eat the actual food on top. the good fish farms have only tilapia in them with a current running through the cement pool so they eat only their food and there's no poop left on the bottom. luckily, for the most part the first type of farms are in places like central and south america .

There is a way to catch them especially if you can see them. They are extremely neat on the bed and territorial so, what you do is put your self a jig or something shiny on a small hook and use a split shot and put it in the bed with them then wait til they pick it up with their mouth to clean out the bed and BAM set the hook. Or you could just get you a flounder gig and well you can figure out the rest!!!

If I recall correctly, Tilapia do not have a good balance of omega fatty acids like other fish (heart healthy) and actually are not very good for you in the heart department. More specifically, they have high omega 6 fatty acids which are associated with inflammatory response in the body. Not good for the heart, arthritis, allergies, or other inflammatory conditions. Personally, I've never really liked it as a fish to eat.

I'm sure capt kenroy can tell you how to catch them. I think I've seen him post about getting them on flies before.

well i can scratch the idea about dinner but they would still be fun to catch...right?

I was watching dirty jobs yesterday and they showed how they grew the carp (tilapia), from the dirty water from the farm raised striped bass. The name tilapia kind of throws you off, but it is really just a carp. Diddo on the retention pond fish. Do not consume!

Actually it appears to be a cichlids, check out the links def not a carp.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilapia_as_exotic_species

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilapia


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carp



Alex

i used to get talapia from the canals down in the melbourne area. they would come and hit the small minnows along the rocks. i was never able to get them to eat anything but a cast net worked really well

i would agree about the them being part of the cichlid family, i never saw them eat the algea just other small fish.

Just go to Wendy's and get you a double with cheese. You'll get less fat in that meal than you will from eating tilapia.

They use Talapia to help clean out the tanks on the fish farms- they eat the crap...