Catching Tilapia

[mac]

I have seen quite a few guys asking how to catch Tilapia they are native to Zimbabwe and i have been catching them since i was a kid there are a few methods on catching them.1)when they are spawning one of the best ways to catch them is to look for an area where they are spawning which is normaly a shallow sandy area rig up a mojo rig with a small hook and then hook a bunch of earthworms anchor in the spawning areas and cast out the rig and retrieve it very slowly through the spawning area with ocasional pauses its best to use a rod with soft tip we often use converted trout rods or the yellow eagle claw ultra light rods you feel a very soft bite pause when you feel the bite and let them eat the worms a bit more once you feel a more definite bite set the hook its important to set the drag on the reel a bit light as they like to run if you find the right spawning area you can catch up to fifty fish in a small area.

2)Another method is to use a mepps number 3 spinner in either copper brass or firetiger remove the treble hook and replace it with a single hook put a bunch of earthworms and cast out into areas where the fish have been seen you will feel a soft bite set the hook and walla if you see the fish following the spinner then imeadiately stop retrieving and let the spinner fall to the bottom and watch your line the fish will  follow the spinner down and eat the worms.You have to experiment with colours of the spinners we peel the paer with dots off the spinner leavung just a brass or copper blade.It is very important to watch your line especialy on the initial drop as these fish can bite very softly if you see them swimming on the surface cast the spinner past them and they might follow it if not retriev the spinner up to them and let it drop to the bottom they will follow it down

3)Lastly in shallow water you can rig a float i think the are also called bobbers the most poular one we use is a porcupine quill and either use a bunch of worms or use a very small hook with algae for bait and let the float drift the bait through the area grasshopers and crickets are also very effective with this method

4)The last method is two rig a up a basic rig with a weight and either one or two hooks and a bunch of worms and cast out   and and watch your line.

I hope this helps a little patience and you will pick it up the tilapia are one of the finest eating fish and are a treat to eat. They grow up to about 8 pounds in africa but the is a sub species called the nile tilapia that grom up to about fifteen pounds!!!!

[Matthys]

Are they olive tilapia, I heard they are popular in Zimbabwe.My first fish was a tilapia, I caught it from a jetty with bread are threw bread around to attract them.They were small, about half a kilogram(one pound)

[bass109]

Tilapia + largemouth bass = lake el salto tropy bass, but you can go fly fishing for tilapia.

[Tokyo Tony]

This past summer my brother caught a Tilapia on a 3 inch senko.  It was during the spawn, and my brother got hung up on some rocks in a canal, and as he was trying to wiggle it free, a Tilapia came up and sucked it off the rock.  It was pretty cool to watch.  

So, to catch Tilapia, get hung up with a senko and wiggle  ;D