Tilapia is one of the most tasty and interesting fish to catch using a fly fishing rod. Male tilapia are more aggressive than female counterparts. In this article, you will learn about fly fishing for tilapia and how to catch tilapia on a fly rod. Let’s start learning more about them!
How to catch Tilapia on a fly rod?
The tilapia is a very aggressive warm-water fish species. Most anglers use nets to catch tilapia from ponds and freshwater bodies. It will require patience and passion to catch tilapia on a fly.
You can catch tilapia on a fly rod by targeting them with their favorite cheese tackles or lures. The tilapia likes to eat grasses, vegetation, bugs, and flies. Fly fishing for tilapia is a bit tricky because it easily sees the little movement on the water.
It is the best approach to first scatter them with your presentation by using real or fake lures. You can catch tilapia on a fly rod by understanding the angling techniques, basic instructions and equipment usage.
This equipment to catch tilapia with a fly fishing rod includes:
- The fly fishing rod
- Fly reel
- Fly line
- Cheese pieces
- Artificial lures with a cheese coating
- Bread balls
- Dry and wet flies for tilapia
Related: How To Catch Steelhead On A Fly Rod: 2 Most Effective Strategies
Tactics to catch tilapia with a fly rod?
The tilapia patrol and hang out around the edges of the dams, ponds, and rivers. Tilapia do not live deep in water and can easily be scared or spooked by a small movement. You can often see tilapia when fishing or walking along the shoreline.
Tilapia have big black or colorful spots on the skin and they spark in the daylight. You can catch tilapia on a fly rod, but you need patience and learn how to cast effectively to catch tilapia on a fly.
So when you see tilapia come across the shoreline, you can target the lure or flies for tilapia. You just need to make sure that you tilapia flies sinks into deep water. Almost 4 to 5 accurate casts from fly fishing rods will result in a tilapia on the fly.
Related: How To Catch Carp On A Fly Rod: 8 Tips To Get Carp On A Fly
Top angling technique to catch tilapia with a fly rod
Some of the foremost steps that help in catching tilapia on a fly rod by using the angling technique are:
- Casting lures in the right place
- Use right flies for tilapia
- Gently cast the fly line
- Carefully grasp the hooked tilapia
1. Casting lures in the right place
The tilapia moves real quick in the water so you need to be careful when you are casting for it. It is best that you maintain the distance from tilapia and never give out a signal that alerts them.
Pay attention to the shoreline’s edges to find the right place to catch tilapia on a fly. By spotting them at right place, you’ll be able to catch tilapia with a fly rod. Proper casting is crucial as it also help when you want to catch bluegill on a fly rod or bass with a fly fishing rod.
2. Use right flies for tilapia
The selection of food or right flies for tilapia is the most critical step. You need to make sure that you are using the best tilapia flies to catch it more effectively.
Some of the best flies for tilapia include earthworms, nightcrawlers, bread balls, artificial crankbaits, dry tilapia flies, wet tilapia flies, or cheese coatings. It is extremely important to select tilapia flies as per the flow of water and environment.
Tilapia is just like crappie which will not bite larger bait. So, we recommend not to use heavy baits because tilapia cannot bite a big bait. Make sure you use quality bait with good food for fish to bite it.
3. Gently cast the fly line
When you are fly fishing for tilapia, it is crucial to cast the fly line gently and smoothly. Try not to hide the hook with a large number of lures. Cast the fly line as you do it for catching trout on a fly rod.
You can cast tilapia more effectively with exposed hooks. If you are casting frequently, do not cast the line more than five times in one place. Let the lures sit patiently and wait for a bite.
4. Carefully grasp the hooked tilapia
Do not put extra effort into catching tilapia on a fly fishing rod. Give time to strike hard or hook properly.
Then carefully grasp the hooked tilapia and retrieve the line. Prepare for the next trial and cast again for another tilapia, carefully handling it.
Major things an angler must know before catching tilapia with a fly rod
Tilapia will drastically resist your line, but you do not have to cast the line before seeing it. If you use hard angling, you will spook tilapia far from the surface of the water and scare them away without knowing it.
You should practice catching tilapia before going and keep practicing how to use perfect tackles. This reading will help you understand the main things that can help you successfully catch tilapia from the water.
Some of the preventive measures for your ease are:
- Do not cast the line until you see tilapia on the water’s surface.
- Do not cast fly lines more than five times at targeted places.
- Use the favorite edibles of tilapia during their feeding time and let them drift along with it.
- Do not fight hard with tilapia at the beginning; they are aggressive and scared with little interference.
- Keep the hooks sharp and push the steady pressure on the rod’s tip for perfect control.
- Retrieve the line when tilapia swallows the hook.
Wrapping Up
Fly fishing is one of the oldest fishing technique that people are still using. There are a lot of fish you can catch with fly technique. Tilapia is a freshwater fish specie that is sensitive and swims quickly on the water.
In this guide we have tried to provide you ways through which you can learn how to catch tilapia on a fly rod. The process and steps are simple when you are fly fishing for tilapia. We hope you understand these steps properly and this guide will help you a lot in tilapia fly fishing.