20 replies to this topic

[Li'lDave]

For those that don't know... tilapia are a pest here in North Queensland and we are not allowed to return the fish to the water if caught. (But we're not allowed to eat them either, and I wouldn't anyway from the local waterways).

They are more often than not an exceptionally finnicky target so I really enjoy it when I get onto a consistent bite. Fishing #8 bibio style nymphs and soft hackles this afternoon I managed to convert 3 out of 7 eats.... every eat came on a 'pregnant pause'. Of course I also managed a few baby tarpon but they weren't keen on playing the game so just as well plan b was a winner.

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[islander727]

Cool looking fish!  How's the fight?

[Li'lDave]

Thanks mate. They are quite dogged, and put up a respectable fight when fishing light. I can't say that they fight dirty, which is good for the country you often find them in here.

I tend not to fish heavier than a 4wt for these guys, and today they came to my 2/3. Like a lot of fish... the real challenge is getting them to eat.

[rstaight]

We had a club member who was a guru at pond management for the borrow pits the dot the landscape in Northern Indiana. In particular bluegill.

 

One of the forage fish he would recommend was tilapia. The are prolific spawners but can't survive the Indiana winters when everything is iced over. You will have to restock every spring but they will never take over your pond.

[Hazathor]

Since they cannot be returned or eaten, I'm curious as to how they prefer you dispose of the fish once caught?

[shoebop]

Since they cannot be returned or eaten, I'm curious as to how they prefer you dispose of the fish once caught?

In the states, many rough fish (carp in particular) have to be treated the same way. You cannot return them to the water so you must kill them and throw them ashore preferably in a waste container at the boat launch. Many folks use them as fertilizer in their gardens.

[Rocco]

Carp are good smoked o a cedar plank.. Just lean them over a good smokey fire for 2 hours or  so, then eat the board and throw way the carp.

 

Rocco 

[Bimini15]

Great recipe, Rocco.
I never liked it, but growing up people used to eat carp in some kind of pickled dish. The idea was to have lots of strong flavors that would completely disguise the carp's mucky taste.

[Philly]

That's the same recipe recommended for American Shad around here.

[mikechell]

Gefilte fish (/ɡəˈfɪltə fɪʃ/; from Yiddish: געפֿילטע פֿיש‎, "stuffed fish") is a dish made from a poached mixture of ground deboned fish, such as carp ...

 

When I was younger, we didn't have a lot of choices, where I come from.  We would eat any Carp less than 3 pounds or so.  Yes, the big ones can be very strong flavored ... but smaller ones have a buttery taste that we liked.  If fries up just like any fish, and tastes good.

 

Just like catfish ... if you get ones that live on the bottom(Yellow Belly and Flathead), they have a muddier (stronger) taste than those that live in the water column(Blue and Channel).

[JSzymczyk]

why are you not "allowed" to eat tilapia?  

[Jaydub]

fertilizer or crab bait?

[Fisherboy0301]

JSzymczyk,

I've never been somewhere that you weren't "allowed" to eat them, however it's not advisable in many places with the water quality. Especially since they eat lots of aquatic negotiation (edit: stupid autocorrect. Typed vegetation) which filters impurities out and those impurities in turn end up in the fish. No bueno.

[JSzymczyk]

I'm familiar with consumption advisories, having grown up around the Great Lakes... Normally this has to do with 2nd and 3rd level predators that accumulate PCBs or heavy metals from past industrial contamination.   The contaminants get "concentrated" as they go up the food chain and also predator life span is a factor-  Lake Trout are the poster children- they grow slowly, live long, and have a high fat content.  I didn't think Tilapia fit any of those criteria. 

[vicente]

Same thing with striped bass coming out of the Sacramento delta.