I've been getting reports of a hot tilapia bite down there. I've never targeted them, but thought I'd give it a shot this weekend. Anybody got advice on what part of the lake to concentrate my efforts? Baits or lures to use? I'm pretty familiar with the lake from catfishing, but I'm sure that's a whole different game.

Was there last weekend. Bass fishing but we caught quite a few huge Tilapia. Go up to the mouth of the river, right where Squaw Creek starts. They were feeding on the huge schools of bait fish. Busting the surface all over. As said we were bass fishing but I caught quite a few on a Yellow Majic(topwater popper) sitting still where they were feeding. Couple more on a crankbait. The people that were targeting them were fishing with worms and a bobber. They were up the river also but thickest right at the mouth. We buy tilapia filets at Walmart all the time. Bet these would be just as good and a lot more fun. Actually against the law to release them back into the lake according to a TPWD flyer they gave us when we were checking into the park. Well I did'nt bother killing any and don't really think fishermen can make a dent in the population. Have fun!

typically anything moving that looks like a shad will catch them, I also catch several on a worm.

Tilapia are out of control down there and I praise you for trying to help with the issue. Keep 10 for me!

"Out of control" is a fair assessment of what I saw last weekend. Granted they were concentrated up here due to the baitfish and by far the coolest water on the lake. Did'nt see that many scattered around the rest of the lake but they were thick on the upper end.

I fished down on the south end (bad mistake) during the tourney last weekend. Only a handful of bass to speak of, but the tilapia were literally in EVERY tree. If you ran the trolling motor up to some of them you could literally see 5-10 flee. Also down south the "moon crater" beds they make are everywhere still. They were all over the shallows.

Is it true it cost $30 for entrance/launch? And also they only allowed x amount of boats in one day and you have to reserve it few days in advance? I remember reading some where on it. Correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks

Price: $30.00 per boat. $20.00 for residents of Somervell and Hood County. The lake falls in both these countys. Limit is 100 boats a day. Only open on Fri, Sat & Sun. During the winter they can get close to this number on Saturday and Sunday. Usually you can just drive up on these winter weekend days but can be risky. Right now it's absolutly not a problem. Just show up. Not that many people yet. For reservations simply go to the Luminant website and sign up under "Squaw Creek Park Fishing". You simply reserve a spot on the list but pay at the enterance. Bring cash. I live in Somervell County and justify the the $20 fee because of the $100 I save in gas going to East Texas :-) [url=www.luminant.com]www.luminant.com[/url]

If your looking to fill a cooler I would would say now is the time, the people targeting tilapia are catching 100s.

Saw a guy with a cast next a couple of weeks ago constantly drag in 20-40 fish per cast.

So it's legal to catch them with cast net and keep as many as you want? Planned on going soon. I'm assuming crappie jig with 2" baby shad would work. Will bring worm and minnows for back up. Thank you all for the Infos.

What exactly are the regulations on fishing/keeping the tilapia?

Any size throw in the box, no limit and you can not release any you catch.

Thanks for the advice and encouragement guys. My son and I will be packing up for a Friday of tilapia fishing this week. Hopefully we'll be loading the boat and helping out the bass population out there. I feel like a kid going to Disneyland in a few days. Thanks again.

Bonus: when entering the river look at all the "slide marks" along the right bank. There is an alligator that lives up here that can often be seen swimming off in the distance. If he's not here he is usually in the last big creek on the right(east) shore before you get to the river.

Save your money on the minnows the hot water will kill them about as soon as they hit the water, get a cast net and use the shad,cheaper and millions of them in the creek.