I paddled out in the pond today and saw 8-10 large tilapia swimming under a an old oak laydown. A few more were spotted in deep water on the other side of the pond as well. Last year at this time I believe all of the tilapia had succumb to the cold weather. It doesnt look as though we will get much more cold weather in South Carolina either. I have to assume these arent the only tilapia to have survived the winter and could be many, many more. Could this be a problem or will i just be fortunate enough not to have to restock this year? Im not sure if tilpia can actually cause a problem; however, it seems like the bass and crappie will take care of overpopulation before they could anyways...

Thoughts?

What other fish are present? What are the size of the tilapia? How many were stocked? What are the sizes of other fish present?

I don't think there will be any problems from them overwintering. I'll bet it won't happen again next winter, but this one ain't over yet either!

There are lmb, bg, crappie and an occasional jackfish. The lmb i've caught are from 1-11 lb. I have been trying to remove as many crappie as possible and some bass under 14". Very few small crappie are being caught anymore and total numbers are down. The bg sizes are from maybe 2-8" and seem balanced in numbers for each size range. I believe 50-75 tilapia were stocked but id have to find the paperwork to be sure... just cant remember. Enough to help solve the FA problem, combined with the chemical treatment. The ones I saw were the biggest ive ever seen them get, each 10-14" long?

The winter has been so mild here but Feb. likes to surprise us with a week or two of cold weather, but im not sure it will be enough to matter. We did get about 2 weeks straight in the 30's in early december and that didnt phase them. By march, i usually get pre-spawn movement from lmb around here.

It probably won't be too big of an issue if they make it through the winter. You just won't have to stock tilapia this spring. Now if it we several mild winters in a row, there would be more of an issue then...