Flies for Tilapia?

[fishtricity]

I would like to catch small tilapia with flies. At this point, either surface or sub-surface would be fine. I've tried with beadhead nymphs, black ants, woolly bugger, caddis attractor, and mosquito. The fish seem to have the most interest in mosquitos. However, they turn away before the take. I am using 2# test leader. I've also tried things like poppers and blue gill flies with rubber legs, like th bully bluegill fly.

I want to catch the tilapia in the middle of the day, not just at sunrise.

I'm not sure what tilapia eat other than bread. When I fish for tilapia with a bobber, they consistently hit the bobber and the lead. However, they won't take a fly by itself. Has anyone actually caught a tilapia on a fly? If so, what type is best?

[Stan Wright]

I don't think your going to like this.....
Tilapia are vegetarian, in that they don't usually hit a lure or fly.

They will take earth worms, dough bait, and bread most of the time.
Especially where people feed or fish for them with food scraps.

It's like the Red Devils that gather around the boat ramp. Everyone uses bread to catch them so that now they won't bite anything but bread. Clay said that they are so "trained" that he calls them "Bread Devils".

So, short of using a fly that resembles a piece of bread (flesh fly), dipping your fly in a fish attracting "scent" like the bass fishermen use, or adding a tiny piece of earth worm to your fly..... I don't know what else to try.

When fishing places where a feeder scatters fish pellets, I use a Salmon Egg Fly that matches the size and color of the fish food. My "dog food brown" egg flys work pretty good.

I wish we had the species of tilapias we ran into while bass fishing in Mexico. Those guys hit all kinds of lures and flys with wild abandon. You get a 2 or 3 pound Mexican tilapia on your rod and it's good fun.

[BASSTRACKER]

the guys on kaui catch talapia all the time on lures, wonder if its a diffrent species than here on oahu??

[Ahnkochee]

When I was a kid growing up along Kaelepulu Stream in the mid 1960s it was filled with large Tilapia which grew to an easy 16" and took lures quite readily. These Tilapia where mouthbreeders (Oreochromis mossambicus) with the males having especially large mouths. I remember the males would hollow a crater on the bottom under our pier and a breeding couple would defend the nest, and protect the young vigorously from intruders sucking up the eggs or young into their mouth for protection, very interesting to watch. During the mid 1970s a new species of Tilapia started Showing up and increasing in numbers. They were not mouthbreeders, and grew to a much smaller max size maybe half that of the larger Oreochromis mossambicus but they were much more prolific so they eventually took over the stream and by the late 1980's all the larger Tilapia were gone. These smaller Tilapia are the Black Chin Tilapia (Sarotherodon melanotheron). They are not as aggressive but I have caught a few on lures, a tiny white streamer fly, a Rattl'Trap, and a Kastmaster all definite bites not snags. I'm thinking they were more aggression behavior than feeding. I see them grazing on the algae growing on mangroves roots around my pier but they are quick to grab old rice or bread I throw in there.

Caught this little guy trolling.


Oreochromis mossambicus


Sarotherodon melanotheron

[fishtricity]

I want to thank everyone for giving me these great responses. Merry Christmas to everyone here. This is a real nice set of people on this message board.

From my research, there are different types of tilapia and depending on the location, they will eat different types of foods. I suspect that the ones on Oahu primarily eat vegetation.

My theory is that they may eat local bugs when their access to vegetation is limited. My father tells me stories of tilapia hitting shrimp. However, I've never seen this happen.

There are guys around the world that catch tilapia on flies. However, it doesn't seem to be happening on Oahu right now. I'm hoping that it is just a matter of finding the right technique. Though, I suspect that it is more likely that the tilapia on Oahu can find abundant edible vegetation and have no need to eat bugs.

In lieu of tilapia, are there any reef fish or anything that is easy to catch on a fly rod? Santa gave my son a trout fly rod for Christmas and I want to help him to try it out on Oahu.

Are there a lot of blue gill at Lake Wilson? I saw a lot of fish, but I always assumed they were tilapia. Now that I think about it, I wonder if they were blue gill?

Here's some info on catching tilapia with flies in different areas of the world.

http://fish-tilapia.blogspot.com/

http://talkflyfishing.com/index.php?showtopic=9579

[roadwarriorsvt]

The bluegills love the grass, especially around Boy Scout Island. The best grass beds accessible via land are the ones behind and just south of the Masonic Lodge on Wilikina Dr. My father-in-law and I caught 47 BGs (on crickets) last year near the dam. Red devils also love to hold a foot or two next to steep banks.

[Stan Wright]

We use to catch a lot Moano using a gold CastMaster. Worked it very slow near the rocks and near shore. I've been wanting to try my little gold flash-a-boo fly on them.

I bet those sand gotie things that sit in the sandin shallow water would be fun on a fly. They are the fish that seems to be all mouth and atapered body. Huge mouth full of teeth. They just sit on the bottom and wait for food to swim by. Donald Kita use to call them alligator fish.

[boneless]

Fishtricity, there are a number of streams on the island with well established populations of smallmouth bass. Bad for native stream fish but good for someone needing a River Runs Through It fix. Trout gear, some small woolly buggers or clousers, and the ability to cast far enough to clear the leader from your rod tip are all you need. Both of my kids have caught a good number of small, but hard fighting smallies on flies. Also, the lizard fish that Stan refers to take flies readily enough to be a nuisance when I'm out not catching O'io on the flats.

[fishtricity]

Thanks to everyone for this discussion. I can verify that that some tilapia on Oahu take streamers. I think these are Hawaiian Superfly white/sparkle, about #4 I think. These are the same flies that people use to catch the Peacock Bass.

Is anyone willing to send me a private message about what streams I can try for smallmouth bass.

I was using a bass tapered leader on 5 wt rod. I think that the tilapia went to 2#. This is not a public area, or I would post the location. Water was muddy and the tilapia were not leader shy. I think that my taper is about 12#. Hitting close to shore, basically the same as bass. However, no bass hit.

I am going to try the same fly at other streams. I bought it at Sears at Pearl Ridge. This seems to be more productive than my shad streamers I got in California. I think that the sparkle makes a difference.

[fishtricity]

Here is the exact fly I used. Basically stripping on the surface. I may try this same fly at Ala Wai canal with a stainless steel leader and attempt to hook a small barracuda.

The flies I brought from California don't seem to be effective. Maybe it's the "Hawaiian" part of the name that is making the fly work.

[fishtricity]

Nice article about Kaukonahua stream here. It sounds like the water might be too high with all this rain.

http://www.tuhi.org/ourChapter/pdf/smal ... Stream.pdf

Well, no worries. I may try saltwater tomorrow if there is time.

[roadwarriorsvt]

The Kaukonahua stream is THE contributarity to the north fork of Lake Wilson. That would be where you'd find some smallies. Good luck.

PS: Good directions given in the link. Just don't leave any valuables in your car.

[Ahnkochee]

Just this afternoon right before dark using my 2 lb. ultralight rig and a small 1" brass spoon I hooked into Tilapia twice off backyard pier. I was quite surprised at their aggression as when I used my small brass Kastmaster they don't bother it but the Lai'i love it. The spoon today had a wider profile so maybe they mistook the spoon for a fellow Tilapia they were trying to drive away.