# Fishing pics and need Fish ID?



## KodiakZach (Mar 16, 2005)

Decided to throw some crank baits last week since I wore out the fish on the soft plastics and they are overly cautious now. 

Threw a Rapala Shad Rap:










White Rooster Tail:










Fat Free Shad:










Black Rooster Tail:










Then I decided the Rooster Tails are working well:










They were hitting so good I decided to let my 2 boys give it a shot:










He then gave it a smooch like Jimmy Houston on TV:










Finally, my little guy landed this fish that fought pretty darn good. What is it though?:










Is it an overgrown Bluegill or Bream or something? It was a biggun!


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## F I LetsGoFishin (Apr 24, 2007)

picture is a little blurry on the face but I would say Talapia or the biggest darkest speck I have ever seen


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## LiteTackleChamp (Jul 29, 2005)

i believe that is a tilapia also, there colors pattern will very from pond to pond but they are not uncommon to catch in stocked ponds, they are sometimes put in there as baitfish and a few that make it into hidding get big


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## fishinmama (Oct 14, 2006)

pectoral, dorsal & tail look right for a tilapia 
congrats on another great fishing day!


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## toejam (Jan 28, 2005)

Blurry pic but it looks like what we use to call "War Mouth".


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## sprtsracer (Apr 27, 2005)

Kinda looks like one of those tropical aquarium fish...think they're called "Oscars" that may have been let loose by someone. They get pretty big in the wild. Never know what you'll find in the freshwater around here. Did you ask Fish and Wildlife, or, if not, what did it taste like?


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## hokieboy (Jan 19, 2006)

That looks like a tilapia to me...


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## Desperado (Mar 12, 2007)

KodiakZach,
I've been enjoying your reports from your backyard pond. Thanks! Wish I had one. 

The unknown fish looks like a tilapia to me. They sell them in fish markets & supermarkets around here. Curious, was it caught on rooster tail too?


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## LiteTackleChamp (Jul 29, 2005)

if thats a war mouth im pretty sure it would be an all tackle world record









tilapia, same features urs is just darker but thats due to the water its in


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## stonemason (Aug 4, 2006)

tilapia eats plants and crap ont he bottom, not other fish, no?


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## hokieboy (Jan 19, 2006)

Correct. They are similar to a carp in what they feed on. But of course all fish are opportunistic feeders...


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## KodiakZach (Mar 16, 2005)

Yes, that Tilapia was caught on a rooster tail. He came half outta the water to crush the rooster tail as it was steady-retrieved right in front of some reeds.


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## Jigmaster (Apr 3, 2006)

*Talapia*

They are good eating kinda like sheepshead. From what i understand they taste different from lake to lake pond to pond depending on water food quality. The neighborhood kids catch the crap out of them along with some folks that show up to the pond with Cane Poles, they are usually taken on frozen corn or worms sometimes artificials..If they are protecting a bed they may strike like a bass. The meat is flaky kinda like sheepshead.
You might see them around a sandy fanned out Bed 3-10 Ft. from the Bank. 

So far i have Baked and Fried them.
Much better eating than a Bass dont really care for them.


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## eaglesfanguy (May 1, 2003)

Yep ... That there is a tillapia.... Weve got em up to 10 lbs here in our pond.. Ive caught several of them on bread... sneak a small treble hook into a piece of bread floated on the surface.. they cant resist..


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## outfishin28 (Jul 15, 2005)

> Kinda looks like one of those tropical aquarium fish...think they're called "Oscars" that may have been let loose by someone. They get pretty big in the wild. Never know what you'll find in the freshwater around here. Did you ask Fish and Wildlife, or, if not, what did it taste like?


def. not an oscar, an oscar would have eaten everything in the pond, or killed it.


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## sprtsracer (Apr 27, 2005)

outfishin28 said:


> def. not an oscar, an oscar would have eaten everything in the pond, or killed it.


LOL, Yup! My brother-in-law used to feed his Oscars raw hamburger in the aquarium!


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## BubbaBlue (May 11, 2004)

Definitely not an oscar. Had a breeding pair in my younger days. Challenging, but a fun fish to breed and raise. 

I also think the fish you caught is a tilapia. Funny you mentioned oscars though. Tilapia and oscars are both cichlids. Cousins. Similar dorsal fin pattern.


Here's an oscar and a few other cichlids:

Red oscar













Hornet cichlid













Jaguar cichlid


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## VICIII (Apr 8, 2005)

I used to have a Oscar and Jag they were eating and pooping machines...


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## KodiakZach (Mar 16, 2005)

Guess who showed up on the Florida Sportsman forums since getting a permanent leave ticket here... JETTYPARK!


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## emanuel (Apr 2, 2002)

KodiakZach said:


> Guess who showed up on the Florida Sportsman forums since getting a permanent leave ticket here... JETTYPARK!


Hahahaha, so I noticed.


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## Surf Fish (Dec 16, 2005)

KodiakZach said:


> Guess who showed up on the Florida Sportsman forums since getting a permanent leave ticket here... JETTYPARK!


Hopefully they'll treat him better over there than they did over here.


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## KodiakZach (Mar 16, 2005)

He's not a bad guy. I rather enjoyed his drunk posts most of the time, made me


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## fishinmama (Oct 14, 2006)

with all this talk about JettyPark, i'm wondering if that fish just might not be a Pacu!
i miss him too.


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## eaglesfanguy (May 1, 2003)

here is a tillapia


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## jhmorgan (May 16, 2007)

You know, I was just thinkin to myself as I was viewing the Florida Forum "wonder what Jettypark is doin these days"....for all of the arguments I got into with him, he did love to post 5,000 words that at least gave me somethin to do on a boring day..


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## Sand Dollar (Nov 26, 2005)

I never heard of Tilapia hitting anything resembling another fish. I thought they were vegetarians or eat algae and such.


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## KodiakZach (Mar 16, 2005)

Perhaps the rooster tail looked like a lightning fast bread ball??


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## LiteTackleChamp (Jul 29, 2005)

reaction strike


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## BubbaBlue (May 11, 2004)

Tilapia are omnivorous, meaning they will eat anything that they come across... plant or animal. They prefer plant matter but will eat small fish and crustaceans.

Also, the term "tilapia" is a generic name that applies to over a hundred species of cichlids. It's kind of like the term "bass". Different species of tilapia may look and behave differently.
.


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## sprtsracer (Apr 27, 2005)

KodiakZach said:


> Guess who showed up on the Florida Sportsman forums since getting a permanent leave ticket here... JETTYPARK!


Now this may be a first...a guy who highjacks his OWN post, LOL


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## TheNextKB (Oct 24, 2007)

I once tried to fish in my backyard pond, caught some small bass, small catfish, and bream. I caught them on dead shrimp. That was the first time I fished in freshwater.
Nice fish though.


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