Tilapia Fishing - Part 1

Nile Tilapia
(Oreochromis niloticus)

Introduction

This was the first fish I landed as a little 4 year old boy & was thoroughly hooked on fishing ever since.

Mozambique Tilapia
(Oreochromis mossambicus )

Tilapia is a fish native to the African continent & was first introduced into Malaysia back in the 1960s as a form of sewage control. The fish, being omnivorous feeders would clean up any edible garbage at rivers & any drainage or irrigation canals. To this day, the fish is still stocked at water catchment lakes & ponds around urban areas. Tilapia can grow & spawn fast as well as survive in low oxygen waters which makes them ideal to be cultivated as a cheap source of food fish for poorer human populations. Tilapia has been exported to most parts of the world & through years of research & development, had spawned several hybrid species meant as food fish. The most prolific species of Tilapia is the Red Tilapia that was first introduced by Taiwanese aquaculture industry in the late 1980s. This species of Tilapia is the most common freshwater food fish in Malaysia & they taste good! Generally there are 3 species of Tilapia in Malaysia, the Nile Tilapia, Mozambique Tilapia & Red Tilapia. Anyway, enough with history, let's move on to fishing!

Red Tilapia
(Oreochromis mossambicus)

Easy my Foot!

Most seasoned anglers look upon Tilapia fishing as a child's play. The usual comments are "it's too easy", or "where is the challenge?". The truth is, although it may sound easy, it's actually quite a challenge to catch them. My focus in this article is on the common Red Tilapia that is easily found at most payponds throughout Malaysia. Although the original Tilapia & Red Tilapia share similar biological features, they differ in their behaviors. Red Tilapia prefers to feed at top water as they have been accustomed in that way since fries. Nile Tilapia being wild fishes, prefers to filter feed at the bottom.

The challenge in Tilapia fishing is not about how strong they pull or fight. It's the challenge of enticing such a cowardly fish to take your bait!

Knowing Their Behavior & Biology

The Red Tilapia isn't as tough as their cousins, the Nile Tilapia. They require moderately clean water to thrive. They also have a keen sense of eye sight and are easily spooked by human presence. Observation of Red Tilapia are they move & feed in a pack, often in groups of 5 to 10 of similar sizes. Being omnivorous & a big eater, Tilapia are also cannibalistic. They would often prey on their young if it fits in their mouth. Accustomed to feeding on floating fish pellets, means they are top water feeders.

So below lies the critical points to consider when fishing for Red Tilapia.

(A) keen eye sight - the angler should use thin & transparent fishing lines. Most obvious choice are monofilament fishing lines in the poundage of 6 to 12lb with a diameter no more than 0.25mm.

(B) Easily spooked - the tackles used must be small & discreet. We are talking about using the smallest clips & swivels, those in the rating of < 30lb. Sinker too has to be kept as small as possible, only enough to cast bait out or better with no sinkers at all. Using very light lines also does not scare the fish too much if they bump into your lines. Being easily spooked, the angler's reaction to setting the hook must be correct judgement too. Setting too early fish gets away, too late fish gets away.

(C) Huge appetite - Unlike other fishes, the Red Tilapia was bred as human food source & so the faster they grow, the better it is for the fish farmer. We can do Red Tilapia fishing anytime during the day or even at night. Burley would attract them to go into a feeding frenzy as they scramble to compete for food.

(D) Omnivores - the bait used can be either protein based such as Earthworms, insects & chicken gizzards or vege based such as corns, beans or bread. By far, the simplest bait to use are fish pellets.

(E) Filter feeder - like all filter feeders species, this fish does not bite or chomp onto it's food. It just suck food into it's mouth, like a vacuum cleaner. To hook this kind of fish, we've got to use smaller, thinner hooks which is lighter in weight so when the fish sucks the bait, the hooks goes into the mouth as well.

How to Catch Tilapia

The SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for Tilapia float fishing is listed below:

STAGE 1 - Bait Preparation

Fish pellets

Ground bait (dedak)

My favorite bait for Tilapia fishing is using fish pellets. I always prepare my baits at home or at least an hour before fishing. The proper way to soak pellet is NOT to flood your bag of pellets & leave it there for 5 to 10mins. This will only cause your pellets to expand too rapidly, turning into a soggy pile of goo. Instead, pour a small cup of hot water into the bag of pellets & shack it a bit to wet all the pellets. After about a min, pour away the water. By now, the pellets would be expanding but slowly. Leave the pellet to expand by itself for another 30mins. The objective is to allow the moisture to sip into the core of the pellet so that it turns soft & spongy. Once this is achieved, I would pour in some ground bait powder (dedak) & mix it well to give them an added flavoring.

STAGE 2 - Rig Preparation

Light tackle float fishing

Since being introduced to the Umbrella rig by a senior angler, I have been fishing Tilapia with this rig ever since. Refer to my earlier article about the Umbrella rig. NOTE: This rig has to be prepared at home first or bought off the shelf at tackle shops. Personally, I always love to make my own rigs as it gives you that added satisfaction of landing a fish with your own crafted rig. Other simpler rigs with a single hook & float would be applicable but remember to use very thin lines, small floats & tackles.

Regards to rod & reel, use Ultralight tackles. 6ft rods, 1000 size reels, use 8 to 12lb mainline, transparent mono.

STAGE 3 - Burley the waters

Using the earlier soaked pellets, toss out a generous handful of pellets into open waters at least 5 meters from the banks. Do this once then if the fish has not started a feeding frenzy within 5mins, toss out another handful. Do not overly burley as this will only waste your baits. This is the part where fishing patience is observed. Once the frenzy begins, it's time to cast your bait out near or at center of frenzy. The closer to the frenzy, the better.

STAGE 4 - Take the bait!

NOW is the part of the heart racing, adrenalin pump of waiting for that float to dive. The Tilapia will be chomping down the floating pellets one by one & it's only a moments before it's your bait's turn. The moment the float dives, you only have perhaps 1 or 2 seconds to strike. If you're lucky, the Tilapia would even hook itself without setting it.