How would one go about fishing for a mess of tilapia?

How do you find them?

What do you use for bait?

Has anyone gone out and caught a bunch on Gibbons Creek or Fayette?

The best way to catch a bunch is by cast net! On power plant lakes look for coves that are not that far from the outtake during the colder months. During the summer you can usually find em around the intake areas in shallow water. I have caught several nice Tilapia while fishing the Nueces and Frio Rivers. I was fishing for Sunfish and caught six Tilapia using worms Texas Rigged.

I have heard of people using moss on a treble hook but never known anyone personally that catches them.

We stock our irrigation ponds with Tilapia to take care of the duck weed and algae. In years where we do not get a big algae bloom you can catch them with worms. However, when they have plenty of their preferred food available the only reliable way to catch them is with a cast net. Down at Lake Fairfield we go over to the hot water output in winter and drift the cove until the depth finder screen fills up. Throw the net and get ready to pull up some weight. Not uncommon to catch so many that it takes 2 people to pull up the net. In really cold weather every tilapia in the lake will be by the hot water output. In the summer we usually bow fish for them at night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7Og_2-ubDc

check out me and my dad catching them on Squaw Creek, its a blast and fun for women & young kids if they are only interested in "catching." Very entertaining and a blast once you find them.

My Dad told me that he was with someone at a power plant lake that would catch a load of Tilapia. His method was using a small fish shaped lure with treble hooks and cast it to where Tilapia were. The Tilapia wouldn't bite the lure instead they would swat at it and the fisherman would hook them in the body and catch them that way.

I watched them catch them in thailand in the ponds with pics of string tied above the hook like a big fly or jug and just drug it across the top of the water with a bobber those and snake head seem to love it i alway figures a fly or crappie jig would work for them but we dont have a power plant lake here any more and its a long drive to the closest one