I'm trying to decide if I'm ready to try Tilapia in my pond this year or not. I've had my bass in my pond for about a year and a half now. Before the bass, I stocked it with thousands of copper nose bluegill and fathead minnows. There are also thousands of frogs in there plus snakes, turtle and channel cats. We've only fished for catfish and have taken out over 100 pounds of them last year. I'm trying to get the catfish out of there, as that was a mistake to put them in there in the first place. But I realize that's a lost cause and what is done is done.
The pond is 4 acres.
It's cloudy with silt for months at a time, but when it warms up and the rains slow down, it clears up nicely.
From what I've read on here and the comments of those who have added Tilapia to their ponds, it sounds like an excellent food source for their bass. My bass are pretty young, is there an age or size that they need to be in order to take advantage of the Tilapia? Is this something that I'll even see a return on this year, or should I wait longer for the bass to get bigger?
When do I have to make this decision? Water temps? Lead time to order the fish before they are sold out?
Thank you,
Eddie
