Boatless Fishing Forum, Reports, Info

I was walking around the lake at work today and noticed all these holes underwater, generally right next to the bank. As I walked around, I noticed a single fish was hanging out in the middle of each one.

Does anyone know what this fish is? The only thing I could tell due to the water being windblown, was that it had a bit of resemblance to mullet in shape and scale size, but with a light bluish face. It's a freshwater lake.

I tried to Google with what keywords I could think of, but turned up nothing that matched it.

Thanks!

not sure what part of florida you are in, but in South florida, tilapia and other members of the cichlid family will make large beds and sit on them. How big is the fish?

I'm in West central outside of Tampa.
They seemed to average between 6-10 inches or so.
I pulled up some photos of talipia, but none of the ones I saw resembled it much. I'm no freshwater fisherman, so my knowledge of fish there is admittedly limited though.
If the wind dies down when I go out next, I'll try to get a decent photo

Plecos or armoured catfish I am sure. Aquarium releases that have been running wild for a while and spreading. You can catch them on live worms.

fishnfool73 wrote:Plecos or armoured catfish I am sure. Aquarium releases that have been running wild for a while and spreading. You can catch them on live worms.

The tilapia make large beds, but holes in the bank are usually the plecos/rubber cats or whatever you want to call them

we need pictures of the mystery fish

Thanks, fellas. The pleco are pretty cool looking. I'd never seen one before. It's fun definitely wasn't that large though; however it did sort of look armored like a mullet or gar.
It's possible they're blue talipia. The wind kept up too strong to get a decent look yesterday, but I'll try again for that photo Monday.

its those sucker fish that people toss out of there tanks

Pleco or tilapia, they both will make large beds and undercut the banks. Place I lived in West Palm was loaded with huge plecos...you would see dozens of them in a 50 yard stretch of shoreline.

is it time to start a betting pool on who is corrrect? Is their a good oddsmaker out there?

Lol. Well, getting a look at them without the wind rippling the water, it's definitely a blue talipia. Sadly, it's at a wildlife conservation, so fishing is prohibited. Are they different in taste than regular talipia? I may have to find another Lake with them if they're good.

miguel456 wrote:Yes Blue Tilapia taste good and are much lower in mercury than bass or other predatory fish. You should try using bread or corn as bait in locations that fishing is legal for blue tilapia

Awesome. Thank you, sir. I'll definitely give that a go. There are numerous freshwater lakes near me, but I've yet to find a freshwater fish that I like as much as some of the saltwater species. Hopefully, blue talipia will fix that problem