06-19-2007, 07:56 PM
[cool][size 3][font "Times New Roman"]Tuesday, June 19, 2007[/font][/size] [font "Times New Roman"]Hooking up with tasty tilapia[/font] [font "Times New Roman"]The panfish caught at Corona Lake makes great table fare[/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]By DAVE STREGE[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The Orange County Register[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"]CORONA - The red-and-white bobber hit the water and instantly gave the telltale sign a fish was nibbling at what was underneath.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]"Look at that, it's already hitting it," David Horn said. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]A panfish not common in most area lakes was consuming a nightcrawler and pulling the bobber under the surface as part of a wide-open bite at Corona Lake.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Horn raised the rod and reeled in another tilapia.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Yes, tilapia, the fish with the white-meat fillets that more people know from the seafood section of the supermarket, has become a light-tackle target alongside crappie and bluegill at Corona Lake. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]The tasty tilapia is the sixth-most consumed fish and seafood in the U.S. and its consumption is rising more than any other fish, according to the Agriculture Marketing Resource Center. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]The fish is farmed raised in at least 85 countries. The largest number of tilapia farms in the U.S. are in Hawaii (19), Florida (18) and California (15), the latter ranking first in sales at more than $8.1 million annually.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]They don't come much fresher than at Corona Lake, where some anglers come out simply for the sake of catching fish for dinner.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]But they are also fun to catch. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]"We were the first ones to (stock tilapia) and our anglers really like them now," said Craig Elliott of Corona Recreation Inc., the concessionaire of Corona Lake and Santa Ana River Lakes. "In the summertime, it gives you a variety instead of just catching catfish all the time.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]"You can throw a catfish pole out and on the other one catch tilapia. It breaks up the monotony in the summertime."[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]The fish are stocked weekly from June to August or September. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]"They'll bite all summer," said Horn, the manager at Corona Lake. "The 70-80-degree water is fine for them because they are tropical fish and they love the warm water.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]"They tend to be aggressive all day long in the coves, shallow water — anywhere you see the moss and greenery growing because that's what their native habitat food is."[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Tilapia originated in the shallow, turbid waters of the rivers and lakes of Africa. Though they do eat nightcrawlers, tilapia mostly feed on plankton, algae and moss, which is a plus at Corona Lake. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]"We were having real problems at Corona Lake until we put the tilapia in," Elliott said. "They kind of go in and clean up the moss and keep the water nice and clear. It's a real benefit.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]"There's not even one tenth the moss that used to be there."[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]A variety of techniques can be used to catch tilapia. A full nightcrawler wrapped around a No. 2 bait hook with a split shot a foot or two up the line has always worked for Horn.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]But in the shallow water, a smaller bait hook with a piece of nightcrawler threaded on it and a bobber a couple of feet up the line easily does the trick.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Jeff James of Long Beach is a regular at Corona Lake and started fishing for tilapia this year. Wednesday, he caught his limit of five, much to the delight of his wife.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]"My wife is from the south and knows all about them," James said. "I think if the word got out, they'd have a whole lot more business (at Corona Lake)." [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]By DAVE STREGE[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The Orange County Register[/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"]CORONA - The red-and-white bobber hit the water and instantly gave the telltale sign a fish was nibbling at what was underneath.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]"Look at that, it's already hitting it," David Horn said. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]A panfish not common in most area lakes was consuming a nightcrawler and pulling the bobber under the surface as part of a wide-open bite at Corona Lake.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Horn raised the rod and reeled in another tilapia.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Yes, tilapia, the fish with the white-meat fillets that more people know from the seafood section of the supermarket, has become a light-tackle target alongside crappie and bluegill at Corona Lake. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]The tasty tilapia is the sixth-most consumed fish and seafood in the U.S. and its consumption is rising more than any other fish, according to the Agriculture Marketing Resource Center. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]The fish is farmed raised in at least 85 countries. The largest number of tilapia farms in the U.S. are in Hawaii (19), Florida (18) and California (15), the latter ranking first in sales at more than $8.1 million annually.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]They don't come much fresher than at Corona Lake, where some anglers come out simply for the sake of catching fish for dinner.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]But they are also fun to catch. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]"We were the first ones to (stock tilapia) and our anglers really like them now," said Craig Elliott of Corona Recreation Inc., the concessionaire of Corona Lake and Santa Ana River Lakes. "In the summertime, it gives you a variety instead of just catching catfish all the time.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]"You can throw a catfish pole out and on the other one catch tilapia. It breaks up the monotony in the summertime."[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]The fish are stocked weekly from June to August or September. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]"They'll bite all summer," said Horn, the manager at Corona Lake. "The 70-80-degree water is fine for them because they are tropical fish and they love the warm water.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]"They tend to be aggressive all day long in the coves, shallow water — anywhere you see the moss and greenery growing because that's what their native habitat food is."[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Tilapia originated in the shallow, turbid waters of the rivers and lakes of Africa. Though they do eat nightcrawlers, tilapia mostly feed on plankton, algae and moss, which is a plus at Corona Lake. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]"We were having real problems at Corona Lake until we put the tilapia in," Elliott said. "They kind of go in and clean up the moss and keep the water nice and clear. It's a real benefit.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]"There's not even one tenth the moss that used to be there."[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]A variety of techniques can be used to catch tilapia. A full nightcrawler wrapped around a No. 2 bait hook with a split shot a foot or two up the line has always worked for Horn.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]But in the shallow water, a smaller bait hook with a piece of nightcrawler threaded on it and a bobber a couple of feet up the line easily does the trick.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Jeff James of Long Beach is a regular at Corona Lake and started fishing for tilapia this year. Wednesday, he caught his limit of five, much to the delight of his wife.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]"My wife is from the south and knows all about them," James said. "I think if the word got out, they'd have a whole lot more business (at Corona Lake)." [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
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