Here’s a large blue tilapia I caught on a terrestrial fly during the summer. It was a strong fish that made several runs.

Tilapia Facts

Tilapia are African cichlids and, as such, they’re mouth-brooders. This means the female will collect her eggs into her mouth, and spit them out so the male can fertilize them. Once the eggs are fertilized, she once again gathers the eggs into her mouth. She then allows the eggs to incubate and hatch inside her mouth.

There are over 100 different species of tilapia, but there are only three species found with regularity within the United States. More on that below.

These fish are the fourth most popular food fish in America, partially because they are simple to raise in an aquaponics system, and they can withstand poor water conditions. Their flesh has a mild taste.

Where to Find Tilapia

The species of tilapia that you’re most likely to encounter is the Blue tilapia (Oreochromis aureus). It’s the most prolific of the three main tilapia species found within the United States.

There are two other much less populous species invasive to the US, including the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and the Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus). All three species can hybridize, which can further complicate identification.

Florida and Texas are hotspots for the blue tilapia, but this species is also peppered throughout Arizona, Oklahoma, Idaho, Colorado, southern Nevada, and several coastal states in the southeast.

Nile tilapia are found across most of Florida, but are also found in Texas, Utah, Arizona, Lake Erie, and several gulf coast states.

Mozambique tilapia are found sporadically across the entire country, but are concentrated in southern California, Arizona, and Florida.

Arkansas stocks quite a few ponds with tilapia to help control algae growth, and to provide fishing opportunities.

Believe it or not, tilapia are on the IUCN’s list of the 100 worst alien invasive species. If you catch one, you might consider donating it to the local fauna.

Here are three USGS (United States Geological Survey) distribution maps showing the estimated distribution of tilapia throughout the United States. The first map represents the Blue tilapia, followed by the Nile tilapia, and finally the Mozambique tilapia.

Here’s one of several ponds I found with populations of blue tilapia eager to take my flies. The hard part was casting amongst the brush, trees, and thorns. Above my head are tall trees.

TILAPIA HABITAT

First of all, focus on freshwater. Certain populations of tilapia can survive in brackish water, and reproducing populations even exist in the Salton sea (which is saltier than the ocean), but these are the exceptions.

Secondly, focus on warm water.

Most species of tilapia will perish when the water temperatures hit between 53F and 63F. Blue tilapia can take colder temperatures down to 50F. But as a rule, they do best in water that’s 75F to 80F.

When given this type of environment with plenty of food, they’ll grow quickly and will reproduce successfully.

After doing some research, I discovered that the ponds I was fishing were planted with tilapia over 15 years ago. But, several years ago the fish farm was abandoned and the tilapia were left to live (or die) on their own. As the generations came and went, they weren’t eaten or sold.

Here’s another picture of the abandoned pond I was fishing. It would’ve been nice to have been able to cast from that dock in its prime.

In the above picture you can see the first of many blue tilapia that took my terrestrial fly over the course of two days. This one was on the small side, but feisty nonetheless.

I’m convinced that any hopper-style pattern would’ve worked just as well as the fly I was using.

My tactic once the fly hit the water was to let it sit for just a few seconds.

Then, I’d use my rod to twitch the fly towards me 3-6 inches, wait a few seconds, then repeat.

Nearly every cast garnered attention.

As is always the case, the juveniles were far easier to fool into eating.

But, I wanted to catch the handful of big tilapia in the pond. For starters, I tied-on a bigger version of the same fly pattern so the smaller fish couldn’t inhale it.

The big tilapia would notice my fly, but would consistently demur at the last moment. I began to notice that they’d lose interest when I stopped moving the fly.

New plan.

When I got the attention of the next large fish, I slowed down my retrieve, but kept it moving. Instead of twitching the fly 3-6 inches at a time, I smoothly pulled the fly towards me at a slower pace.

That was the ticket.

I hooked into three big ones over the ensuing hour or so, but each of them threw the hook. My guess was that my rod set wasn’t strong enough to drive the hook home in their tough jaws.

So, I actually started strip-setting and that was the key.

The bigger blue tilapia I was catching would pull hard, and I’d need to muscle them in to prevent them from running into the submerged structures. Once I got them near the shoreline, they’d make another fast run in a straight line for the center of the pond. They’d do this repeatedly before I was able to land them.

Their dorsal spines are sharp–noticeably sharp, so be careful. I was poked several times and it wasn’t pleasant.