Last Updated on September 8, 2024 by Sara Rose
Many people love the delicious taste of freshly caught tilapia. Read this article to learn exactly how to catch tilapia in a pond and why it’s a good fish choice for aquaponics.
Tilapia is a common fish that can be found all around the world. Many fish farmers work with tilapia because they are quite easy to fish and raise.
They are not very difficult to catch as long as you use some proper techniques. Tilapia are resilient fish which means they are very easy to raise. In fact, most people recommend raising tilapia if you are an aquaponics beginner.
Many aquaponics ponds are stocked with tilapia. If you want to eat them, you will need to know how to catch them.
Read on to learn more about how to catch tilapia in a pond.
Table of Contents
Basic Facts Before Catching Tilapia
Before you decide to raise tilapia, there are some specific things you will need to know.
Tilapia is part of the cichlid family which contains lots of different varieties. The Nile Tilapia is historically the first type of tilapia that was farmed.
Each Tilapia variety has a specific diet. For example, the Nile Tilapia are omnivores when they are adults. Whereas the Blue Niles are primarily vegetarian once they are adults.
Tilapias are very strong eaters. Some people feed their fish up to 3 times per day! Pay attention to their eating habits to know how much they really need.
Certain varieties grow faster than others. The Blue Tilapia grows between 3-4 pounds over a span of 3 years!
The Mozambique Tilapia grows 2-4 pounds in 1 year. This will be a faster-growing variety than the blue tilapia.
However, one of the fastest-growing varieties is the Nile Tilapia which grows 1-2 pounds in 7 months!! For aquaponics doers, this is an ideal selection.
Tilapia is an exceptionally good choice for aquaponics because they are high waste producers. The more fish waste means the more fertilizer for your plants.
The fish grow fast and are very tasty to eat. In fact, according to the Journal of Aquaculture Research and development, Tilapia is a very healthy fish for humans to eat.
Now, let’s get into specifics about how to catch tilapia in a pond.
Learn more about How To Raise Tilapia Fish?
What Is The Best Way To Catch Tilapia?
In fishing, believe it or not, you can specifically target certain fish varieties. If you do not use special techniques you can catch many different kinds of fish. Below are some tips about how to catch tilapia in a pond.
First, the best time to catch tilapia is in the early morning or in the evening. Basically, any time the sun is rising or setting is a prime time to go fishing.
Another important aspect of catching fish is using bait. Bait is any type of food you can use to attract the fish to your line.
Different fish like to eat different things. Knowing their diet will help determine which bait to use.
Tilapia loves vegetarian food. So, you do not have to worry about finding worms or buying special bait for them. You can make it yourself from common items found in your fridge.
Some things you can use are pieces of bread that you form into balls or green veggies like peas. Another thing you can use as bait is small pieces of corn.
This makes catching tilapia a cheap endeavor!
Another thing to pay attention to is the type of lure you use. The lure is basically the hook of your fishing pole. Tilapia is a small fish, so you do not want to use a lure that is too big to fit into their mouth.
The best size hook to use is Number 4. You can ask the people at the fishing store to make sure you are getting the correct one. Feel free to even mention that you are interested in how to catch tilapia in a pond.
They will point you in the right direction.
More Tilapia Fishing Tips
The next tip is to know where to fish for tilapia. It is always best to target the fish in their natural environment. This will highly increase your chances of finding what you want.
Tilapia prefer shallow bodies of water. So do not take your boat out too deep. If you do this, you most likely will not have any luck.
Stick around the banks of the pond. Find areas with high amounts of vegetation if possible. Tilapia like to hatch their eggs in these types of areas.
Tilapia nests look like small shallow holes dug into the ground. If you can look carefully at the bottom of your pond, you can find their nests. This indicates that it would be a good area to fish for tilapia here.
You cannot move too fast when catching tilapia. If you approach a group of tilapia too quickly, they will swim away. At that point, you have ruined your chances of success.
Try to move slowly and do not disturb the water too much when you see them. The quieter you are, the higher your chances are to catch something.
The best time of year to fish for tilapia is when they are hatching their eggs. Tilapia will lay eggs only when the water temperature has dropped to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. So make sure to time your fishing trip around this.
You can still find tilapia in times outside of this, but it’s much more likely that you will catch something if you go during spawning season.
Tilapia fish is a beautiful part of nature. While humans enjoy fishing for it, we also suggest that you do not take more than what you can consume. Catching and releasing fish can still do a lot of damage to the fish’s mouth.
It is important that we respect nature. Now you should know the best ways how to catch tilapia in a pond. If you stock your aquaponics pond with tilapia, it should be relatively easy to catch.
Feel free to comment and ask questions below.
Learn more about Is Tilapia A Freshwater Or Saltwater Fish
