First introduced to Thailand in 1965 by the late King Rama IX, this wily fish was intended as a food source for rural farming communities. Since then, the Tilapia has become popular amongst the Thailand fishing community. While Thai anglers seem to be able to pull Tilapia after Tilapia out of the water, for the inexperienced, they can seem elusive and wiley.
Left unchecked, Tilapia breed rapidly and small, wild Tilapia can be a nuisance in ponds where there are no predators, such as Snakehead, to keep their numbers in check. Many ponds stock larger, farmed Tilapia, for anglers to weigh and take home for a fee at the end of their session. Often the information available to me about a local pond will be what I can piece together from Google maps and reviews, and while Tilapia may not be my favourite fish to catch here in Thailand, often when checking out a new venue, I am left with little choice but to target this introduced fish.
What Makes Tilapia Elusive?
Tilapia often stay near the bottom of the water, where they feed and create nests, which they defend from other fish. They will rise in the water to feed and can be caught further up in the water column when float fishing. They have keen eyesight, and can spook easily if they spot line or hooks.
Another reason Tilapia can be hard to catch are their rows of flattened teeth that essentially form a hard bony plate at the back of their lips. These plates, usually used for chomping vegetation, enable Tilapia to adeptly spit out hooks if you are not quick to recognise a bite and set it.
Why The Method Feeder?
The primary type of feeder here in Thailand is a coil with several tied to a swivel above it, into which, ground bait (usually rice husk) is usually pushed. While this type of feeder works, the design means that the bait may land on the bottom of the water at any angle and relies on multiple hooks being pressed into the groundbait so that the fish find a hook that is presented on the top of the bait pile. The multiple hook design often results in tangles as they often get caught on the wire of the coil.
Personally, I have found the method feeder to be a much better approach. Its weighted design ensures that the hookbait is presented neatly on top of the groundbait. In my experience, this enables better distinction between line bites as the shoal competes for the bait and a true bite as the Tilapia carries off the hookbait, resulting in better hook-up rates.
Types of Bait for Catching Tilapia
The go-to bait for Tilapia is bread for hookbait coupled with a groundbait, usually consisting of Lum (rice husk), for the feeder. As Tilapia are primarily herbivores, the type of additive you mix into the rice husk can make a huge difference. There are plenty of pre-made Tilapia mixes available at most tackle shops throughout Thailand, however, I prefer to mix plain rice husk with a black paste made primarily of either Makwit, or Sugar Palm. Both of these additives seem to work wonders for Tilapia.
