Tilapia spawning questions

[CKTC]

I live in Florida and I am currently trying to peace together the process of bass spawning.  So far some of the lakes i fish have beds and have seen few bass on them, however in lakes where tilapia exist,  they are the only species I see spawning.  I was just curious if they spawn before bass, and if so will their beds be reused by the bass afterwards. 

[Biglittle8]

5 hours ago, CKTC said:

I live in Florida and I am currently trying to peace together the process of bass spawning.  So far some of the lakes i fish have beds and have seen few bass on them, however in lakes where tilapia exist,  they are the only species I see spawning.  I was just curious if they spawn before bass, and if so will their beds be reused by the bass afterwards. 

Maybe Aaron_H will respond to this, he seems to have a handle on the Tilapia. *See latest catch pics 2nd to last page*

[J Francho]

Tilapia will spawn year round, when conditions are acceptable.  I've never heard a bass reusing a bed, though they often use the same sites year after year.  Also, some tilapia are mouthbrooders, and only clean a temporary site to deposit the eggs before they are picked up by the female.

[soflabasser]

I have seen bass and tilapia spawn at the same time in South Florida.

[Mike L]

Thier spawning season overlap a little down here especially in early spring to mid summer. 
Tilapia will spawn a second time in late summer to late autumn. 
 

Tilapia beds are deeper and wider than bass or bluegill. Also like bluegill their beds will be right next to each other. 
It’ll look like the area was carpet bombed leaving craters. 

Ive see bass beds near tilapia beds but not close by any means. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

[J Francho]

14 hours ago, Mike L said:

Ive see bass beds near tilapia beds but not close by any means.

Based on what I've seen from my aquarium tilapia, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near a Tilapia bed, if I were a bass.  They're downright violent.

[soflabasser]

Bass are much more aggressive than tilapia and bass grow larger than tilapia. This is what I learned from observing these fish in the wild and catching them. Observing pet fish in an aquarium is not the best way to learn about how fish behave in the wild.

[N Florida Mike]

Tilapia bed in April mostly here . I cant get one to bite anything after watching  several videos advising diffrent baits.