monticello tilapia color, maybe Martin creek also

looking to have a few cranks painted to match the hatch of tilapia at these two lakes. does anyone know or have a few good ideas

Tilapia colors are really different from one lake to the other and change as the seasons go by. The ones in Mexico where I fish most of the time are really different. Now I don't know about the hatchlings. Maybe they all start out as the same color. But with the heat of the water and the things they eat there are variations especially down the lateral line and that is the part that is important to me because it flashes the ghost image as it wobbles.

Best thing to do is net or catch one of the little guys and all of these painters can assist you.

I found out from a friend who bow fishes that in martin they have a blue hue to them..still not sure on Monti colors yet

This is what Martin Creek tilapia look like.

Don is absolutely correct on this. There are 44 species of Tilapia. Most wild tilapia today are hybrids of several species. Many state fish and wildlife agencies in the United States consider them to be invasive species . Tilapia as a name has been applied to various cichlids from three specific genera: Oreochromis, Sarotherodon and Tilapia. Yes I know, its all very boring stuff... but without pictures of the specific fish its all but impossible to know what the thing looks like ?? That's why anybody can say almost any sunfish type pattern looks like a Tilapia...there's an almost unlimited number of Tilapia and hybrid Tilapia populations and each may be unique to the lake they inhabit .

Not sure how many Tilapia survived the non power plant running winter at Monti.

thanks for the pic txmedic. that should get me started. now if only I could find someone to paint a few traps and square bills to match..lol. I'm betting the marshall tpwd office might have a few pics for what they have stocked in monti. I will stop by there when I get a chance and check and post it here. don't need the baits til February for a high shcool tourney, trying to help a few kids out.

Eric Gandy painted some 7/8 and 1oz. 'One Knockers' for me in a Tilapia pattern that closely resembles what Txmedic033 posted. A very mean 12+ pound Camelot Bell largemouth choked the first cast with that bait.

Dunno if pros like Eric are persona non gratis in this sub forum. If so, my apologies. Otherwise, dude has MAD painting skills.

I've seen some of his work and it's top notch stuff. Eric if you see this pm me let's talk.

forum is open to one and all and i for one would be very gratis for some of his insight!

Interesting comment. Not sure if a die off is good or bad...
According to Wikipedia Tilapia are found in much of the south, especially Florida & Texas, and as far North as Idaho where they survive in power plant discharge zones. Tilapia are unable to survive in cooler climates because they require warm water. The pure strain of the blue tilapia, Oreochromis aureus, has the greatest cold tolerance but dies at 45 °F while all other species of tilapia will die at a range of 52 to 62 °F. Tilapia are on the IUCN's 100 of the World's Worst Alien Invasive Species list.

All of this has nothing to do with painting lures but its interesting to know that the native sunfish species of Texas do not include tilapia. Wondering if their introduction into Texas lakes will disrupt native ecologies and native species significantly .

Absolutely Bo..... I worked at the Fairfield power plant for my first 10 yrs with the company. Tilapia will completely take over all the natural bedding areas on the lake including those for perch, bass, crappie, etc. They get as thick as you can imagine. Can't remember the year but we had a forced outage in the middle of cold winter and literally millions of tilapia died. They had bulldozers and backhoes digging huge holes while vacuum trucks sucked up the dead fish and dumped them in the holes. There were bald eagles everywhere getting their fill of fish. I have never seen so many dead fish in my life. But it seemed like it only took about 2-3 years and they were just as plentiful as before. They are definitely a nuisance and damage the eco system of fresh water fisheries where they are stocked. If they performed a good purpose like eating zebra muscles then that might be different. Now a days, they usually only put them in smaller pond to clean up the algae with the intent of them dying off when cold weather comes. Whoever came up with the idea to use them in warm water discharge plant lakes..... bad idea.

I'll give tilapia a shot next week when I have a chance to paint again.

pick one....Rio Grande Style or Squaw Style. Trademark eyes included. Premium hooks with sub par split rings additional.

or maybe these. i think we've covered 6 or 7 of the 44 species.

man those all look good...hard to say which would work for either lake I bet they all would catch them. thanks for the input guys. I'm trying to get an idea of the color for monti and I will commission someone to take on the 12 baits I need painted