Florida

[mikemac1 0]

23 hours ago, skeet3t said:

Tilapia, according to Capstick's book, Death in the Long Grass, are sort-of plant eaters...after hippos eat the plants. Hippos defecate and swish their tails to disburse it in the water. Guess where the tilapia hang out to feed?

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

Tilapia is a broadly applied common name to over a 100 species of cichlids, most of which are omnivorous.  Like many fish, the larger they grow, the more they feed on live prey—aquatic insects, worms, baitfish, etc.  There are multiple species that have established viable populations in the U.S.

[vicrider 0]

Most of the Tilapia populations in the US are only in those rivers where we have a lot of Hippos and Rhinos in the water swishing their tails. Those rivers are mainly in Florida and TX.

[Poopdeck 0]

On 3/2/2022 at 9:42 AM, mikemac1 said:

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

Tilapia is a broadly applied common name to over a 100 species of cichlids, most of which are omnivorous.  Like many fish, the larger they grow, the more they feed on live prey—aquatic insects, worms, baitfish, etc.  There are multiple species that have established viable populations in the U.S.

I caught my 1st tilapia on a 6” red shad culprit rubber worm so omnivorous they are. 
 

On 3/2/2022 at 10:02 AM, vicrider said:

Most of the Tilapia populations in the US are only in those rivers where we have a lot of Hippos and Rhinos in the water swishing their tails. Those rivers are mainly in Florida and TX.

alligator poop will do in a pinch.

well, I finally got home from Florida. As I said, there are worse places to be stuck but it cost me 3 extra vacation days. This means my striper fishing was just reduced by three days. It’s going to be a lean year. 

for you guys in Florida, how the heck do you keep the alligators away. Every time We caught a fish an alligator would come and try to eat it. It came up on the bank and got one. It became a race to unhook the fish and throw it back in before the gator got to the bank. He would then hang out to wait for another but we would stop fishing, go in the pool and wait for him to leave. Sometimes he stayed for hours and sometimes he would disappear only to reappear the very next fish. We could than run out and catch another before he returned. Were we just Northern wussies? Should we have just kept on fishing? I wasn’t afraid the gator was going to eat us but he seemed to know he was an apex predator.  The pond bass were fun to catch though. Most were 1 to 1 1/2 lbs and the big ones were  2 1/2 to 3 lbs. not monsters but a blast to catch if not for the alligator. 

[caloosa bug 0]

Sounds like someone has been feeding that gator and it has associated people with food. Most will come after a flopping fish but should shy away at a certain distance to a decent sized human with arms raised. Your friend should call fwc and they can relocate it. 

[Poopdeck 0]

Well, my buddy is definitely not a photographer for National Geographic and I didn’t even think to take a video. I did say I’d try to get pictures up when I got home so this is the best there is. The black circle is where the fish was pulled up on the bank. The red circle is the alligator about to come up on the bank. 
 

We then retreated to the safety of the screened in patio. The other picture is the alligator sliding back into the water and arching his neck as he eats the fish. 

[skeet3t 0]

Don't go near the water. It was sad that a small kid was taken by a gator at Disney World a few years ago. Wandered down to the water's edge...wrong place, wrong time.

[niveker 0]

Looks alot like the photos I've seen of Sasquatch.   

[Poopdeck 0]

The Patterson-Poopdeck film. 

[Sandan 0]

On 3/2/2022 at 8:02 AM, vicrider said:

Most of the Tilapia populations in the US are only in those rivers where we have a lot of Hippos and Rhinos in the water swishing their tails. Those rivers are mainly in Florida and TX.

No hippos or rhinos in the Washita? 

[skeet3t 0]

Rhinos don't live in the water. Hippos do.