Troutin' Trip

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Didn't do too well on perch or walleyes today at Bunny Gulch (Starvation). Two excuses. One...the wind blew constantly...not serious but enough to make it tough for my brand of touch fishing. Two, the silly slimers wouldn't leave my lures alone long enough for anything else to get to them. Oh yeah, I had another "grand slime" (4 species) but it was much heavier on the slime today.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There was only a light ripple on the water when I launched about 7ish. But as soon as I headed out into the lake the wind picked up and it started white capping. Not good. Water temp was only 63 and I was glad I decided to wear waders today. 65 is about my lower limit for comfortable "wet" fishing.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Worked the rock humps out from the launch area and got a few small smallmouth on crankbaits and jigs. Also started the dinkfest for the day on small perch. Always plenty of those. Couldn't work the deeper water the way I wanted in the building breezes so I decided to power across the lake with my electric motor. Tossed out a spinner to drag during the journey. Had to stop 3 times to rassle and release feisty rainbows. Silly slimers.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Got to the other side of the channel and it was still plenty gusty. But I fished a double dropshot rig on one rod and a tandem plastic rig on the other. Very few fish on sonar. Finally found a group of likely prospects in about 28' of water. They must have all been rainbows. Didn't know DWR planted them so big. Average 16 to 17 inches. Just about every time I dropped into them I went bendo. Lots of leaping and cavorting too. Had to be careful not to whoop and holler too loud. Folks might think I was having fun. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Fought the wind, a few perch and a lot of rainbows over the next couple of hours. Then the wind began to quiet down...for about 15 minutes...before picking up from the east. Looked like it planned to settle in for the day so I figured I would go back over to a couple of my spots on the south side of the channel and get off the water if it got too bad.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Started trailing my spinner again and again had to keep stopping to unhook acrobatic troutskis. Fun? Well, maybe a little bit. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Finally got on my spot...for wallies. Didn't get much encouragement from the sonar. The only fish I saw all had their middle fins upraised and their little mouths closed. Did manage a few more dink perch and a handfull of wee wallies. Nothing keepable.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I heard Mama Nature taking a deep breath and getting ready to blow so I boogied in to shore. Surprised to see that I had about as many nice trout as perch. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Hey gang, if you want to get the kids into some great fish, take them trolling for those rainbows. I was using a nickle spinner with red spots but they will hit almost anything...expecially if you sweeten it with a worm. Most of the ones I caught near the bottom hit the red and chartreuse jigs (RC Killers) but I also got them on whites and on pale perch. I have no doubt that I could have caught them on just about anything in the zone.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Some of the biggest bows and some nice browns have been coming to net on crankbaits. Fire tiger is always good but again almost any good wiggler will do the job. The guys dragging crawler harnesses are beginning to find the rainbows more of a nuisance than dink perch.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Fly flingers can have a ball on Starvation for the next few weeks. Drag around almost any size and color fly anywhere from top to bottom. Early in the morning on calm mornings the trout are on top slurping up whatever they find and you can cast to recent swirls and hook up. If you don't use a flyrod, bring some bubbles and flies. Anything that will catch bows in Deer Creek, Jordanelle or elsewhere will catch the ones in Starvation. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Just in case there is a question, these fish have bright pink meat and are great eating. They live largely on a diet of the freshwater shrimp in the weedbeds of Starvation...but they also munch perchlets when they get a chance. I had one barf up a tiny perchie today as I was bringing it in.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[idahopanfish]

Those trout are sure good fighters for sure[cool]

Looks like a very good day of catchin[cool]
[signature]

[Bassassin714]

Looks like a nice change of pace. I've also been thinkin about targeting a different species. Corona lakes just started stocking tilapia which I have no idea what type of lures or bait to use as well as they're behavior. Are they more prevelent to top water baits, spinners, how agrresive are they, similar to bass or more subdued like trout.....
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Tilapia are cichlids...from Africa. They are naturally plant eaters more than meat eaters, but they will munch just about anything edible. They will hit small lures...and flies. However, most California "tanglers" just use a piece of nightcrawler in the waters they have been stocked. Fish worms on the bottom or under a bobber. Small jigs...feather or plastic...tipped with crawler are also good. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Since tilapia are herbivores they will take "veggies" like corn or peas. They also hit dough balls and even salmon eggs or cheese baits being fished for other species.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In the "olden days" at Salton Sea...before it died from unnatural causes...it was a fantastic place for BIG tilapia...and lots of them. The locals just fished from shore with worms or cut bait. But in a boat or tube you could move along the shore throwing RatLTraps or other noisy crankbaits and catch both tilapia and corvina. I shed a tear everytime I remember those days and then read about that body of water in its current condition.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[pontoonman]

Are these the same Tilapia that are being farm raised for table fare in restaurants these days? The ones that were stocked in our area lakes were extremely hard to catch on rod and reel, being plant eaters. They would get quite aggressive during certain seasons, protecting nests and hit just about any invading lure, perhaps even a safety pin! So that nesting was the time to catch them. They only became popular sometime later in restaurants. The meat is quite tasty, but low in omega oils compared to other species, with few heart health benefits and high in other fats. One magazine compared them to eating a jelly doughnut as far as health benefits, but I have no professional knowledge if this is accurate!

Pon

[quote TubeDude][cool][#0000ff]Tilapia are cichlids...from Africa. They are naturally plant eaters more than meat eaters, but they will munch just about anything edible. They will hit small lures...and flies. However, most California "tanglers" just use a piece of nightcrawler in the waters they have been stocked. Fish worms on the bottom or under a bobber. Small jigs...feather or plastic...tipped with crawler are also good. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Since tilapia are herbivores they will take "veggies" like corn or peas. They also hit dough balls and even salmon eggs or cheese baits being fished for other species.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In the "olden days" at Salton Sea...before it died from unnatural causes...it was a fantastic place for BIG tilapia...and lots of them. The locals just fished from shore with worms or cut bait. But in a boat or tube you could move along the shore throwing RatLTraps or other noisy crankbaits and catch both tilapia and corvina. I shed a tear everytime I remember those days and then read about that body of water in its current condition.[/#0000ff][/quote]
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Fire up your web browser and look up "Nile Tilapia". Of the many species of tilapia these have been most popular for mass producing, farm raising and stocking into fish ponds. They are extremely hardy and adaptable...and can handle a wide range of water chemistry...including brackish and salt water. But, they don't do well in cold water.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Table quality is a very subjective thing. As with all species the edibility and appeal are largely dependent upon diet and water quality...as well as how they are handled after catching and how they are cooked.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Tilapia are plentiful and cheap as a seafood item because they are not as highly rated overall as a food fish. They are a major food item in African nations, and other poor countries around the world, because they reproduce abundantly, grow fast and DO provide valuable protein when other sources are not available or are too expensive.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]But, if you know what you are doing in the fish kitchen you can turn out some very good fish dishes with tilapia as the guests of honor. Try beer steaming the fillets until they turn white and flaky and then dipping them in shrimp flavored garlic butter. Just like shrimp...if you squint a little. Also good when oven broiled with butter, seasoning, shrimp flavoring and sprinkled with shredded coconut. Bake them at 350 for about 20-25 minutes and then turn on the oven broiler for about 5 minutes to toast the coconut.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Of course you can also just fry them. Almost any good dry coating or batter will work. In Mexico they just gut them and fry them whole...in deep fryers with hot lard. The skin peels off easily when they are cooked and the flesh steams inside.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I have found the flesh to be a bit coarser than crappies or other American panfish. In fact, I have heard it compared to lobster in texture. Very mild fish flavor and it soaks up any other flavors or seasonings you want to add. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]As for catching, you are right. They can be frustrating. But, they will hit a very small piece of worm cast into them...weightless...and allowed to sink slowly and naturally. They will also hit small flies and jigs tipped with worm. Over here in Utah they have been (illegally) planted in a thermally warmed lake (Blue Lake) where about their only sources of food are the spawn of bluegills and bass and the abundant small water beetles. Thus, they will hit small jigs if they represent a little beetle.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I watched kids catching them from golf course lakes in Arizona by fishing a single green pea (frozen, not canned) on a salmon egg hook. I also watched a couple of guys on the bow of a bass boat shooting some humongo tilapia with a bow...legal in Arizona.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In short, tilapia are usually a great fish to add to the community lakes in areas where it remains warm enough for them in the winter. They reproduce naturally, they can be caught, they are good eating and they help with vegetation control without having to add carp. In some lakes around So. Cal there can be seen whole families of some cultures fishing exclusively for the tilapia and not even trying for the other species. Gotta have something going for them.[/#0000ff]
[signature]