Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Tilapia?

I have read that Threadfin shad should not be stocked until Bass reach 16 inches long. When can Tilapia be stocked? My bass are 8 to 9 inches long. Is it to early for Tilapia?

Not sure on tilapia, but who told you not to stock threadfin until bass are 16"? I have been stocking threadfin the spring after bass stocking for years. Bass are usually about 8 inches then and the balance is excellent. Some folks even sotck prior to bass stocking and get good results.

In the Book Raising Trophy Bass. Bob talks about making sure that the bass will be large enough to eat the Shad before most of them reach adults. I guess to prevent having to many adults, which he said would cause them to stop spawning. I may have this mixed up. If you feel its OK to go ahead with stocking, How many Shad per acre? Thanks for your Input.

I could be totally wrong but I think Bob is saying bass need to be 16" to control gizzard shad.

Buzz, you are correct,page 42 states "Once 25 to 30% of originally stocked bass reach that magic 16 inch mark, gizzard shad are wonderful".

As Buzz said that applies to gizzard shad. We usually stock a load of 4K of 1.5 to 2.5 inch adults in the spring. This has worked almost 100% of the time to establish shad in bass heavy ponds 1 to 50 acres. On the other hand I used to stock 12K about the size of your thumbnail and only established a pop. about 1/2 the time.

Thanks for the input on Threadfin shad! My Pond is Located in Southeast Arkansas, I called to the local Hatcheries and couldn't find anyone who sales threadfins. Anyone no where I could find some?

Tried southeast pond mgmt? They have office in Jackson, MS

I have bought fish off an Arkansas based fish truck. If I can find some old documentation, I'll post it.

Looking at the weather forecast for College Station, it looks like my Tilapia are going to die within couple of weeks. I will try to trap some and put them in couple of 55 gal drums in the garage. It is going to be interesting to see how that works out.

Ed,

Have you been successful at trapping them in the past? I've trapped small bluegill but haven't been able to trap any Tilapia. Technique?

This is my first year to go through the die-off. I'm hopeful that I can catch the larger Tilapia on a hook after they make a move into shallow water....and at least make a dinner out of them. I am amazed at the size some of them have reached in just one growing season.

Appreciate any comments from anyone that has gone through the Tilapia seasonal die-off.

I will let you know after this weekend. It seems that every time I pull out my 3'x 3' seine, there is at least one tiny tilapia in there.

Is your water clear enough to see them? Where do they like to hang out? Since the bullhead catfish took over my pond, my visibility is 4" on good days. I plan to use 3'x 12" net and seine the shallow areas. I expect to get mostly bluegill though. I have no idea if tilapia like to hang around the open, deeper middle, or the shallow shores. I love Tilapia meat.

Ed, I have found that seining is more productive when a couple of get in the water with the seine stretched out. Then have someone toss some pellets between us and the shore. Wait until the fish start feeding good and then start the seine moving.

Ed,

Yes, I can clearly see the larger Tilapia as they cruise the shallows. I can even "bonefish" for them with a properly placed fly, but they are very smart and very cautious. I will be extremely disappointed if these large Tilapia simply die and are wasted...which is why I'm very interested in your techniques. When I say large, I'm meaning 2 pounds and maybe slightly more. I love to watch them eat "stuff" off the bottom. They only occasionally show up at my feeders, usually only to clean up the left overs.

I'm going to really try to catch them this weekend also...after paying Todd a visit at the fish farm to pick up stockers for a new pond. Lets compare notes Monday. Thanks.

Well, I think the mission failed. We used 4'x ?' seine net with some success, but 6' cast net proved to be more effective. The problem was, that I couldn't tell Tilapia from the various Bluegill hybrids. My pond is basically chocolate milk color, so the bluegill are very washed out. Even the earlobe black spot on some of them takes on surrounding color. Once the bluegill hybridize with the green sunfish, the mouth gets bigger, body gets more elongated, and I get confused.

I did get one 2 lb Tilapia in a 3x3 seine. They are easy to ID at that size.

The good news is, that the water was still around 70 deg, so I think I will get another shot at this next weekend.

How did you do?

Ed,

It was unbelievable...see my post on Tipapia bonanza. Get them in the shallows with fish food, then throw a plain old worm at them...you will catch them until you run out of worms...at least I did. Many 2 pounders and one monster that broke my line. What a fish. Now, I'm left to wonder how many of them are present...could be a massive fish kill. I'm somewhat worried, but intend to have my freezer full of Tilapia before that happens.

Ed,

It was unbelievable...see my post on Tipapia bonanza. Get them in the shallows with fish food, then throw a plain old worm at them...you will catch them until you run out of worms...at least I did. Many 2 pounders and one monster that broke my line. What a fish. Now, I'm left to wonder how many of them are present...could be a massive fish kill. I'm somewhat worried, but intend to have my freezer full of Tilapia before that happens.