I didn't think there would be any but I caught this in my net this morning. I was also surprised at the size--according to my Benbrook scale this one weighed 17lb 4 oz.

What Craig150 said!

Based on the diamond pattern on the deck, the fish is about 6" long. Great scale if you can get it certified. Did the GW certify it or was the scale set on the gram setting? Keep the pot stirred.

Good job! You caught the first Tilapia from Benbrook which makes it the record regardless. What are the odds that this one turned out to be the North American record too? Congratulations! (Troll fed)

I measured it myself with my black and decker tape measure it was 3 ft 4 and 1/4 inches

In all honesty it was maybe 5 inches and not that impressive....yes that is the first time I've had to say that

Are you still talking about your fish?

Yes anything else would have been very impressive haha...

That looks like a 1 pound tilapia.

I don't know tilapia can survive the cold winter of North Texas.

Yeah I wouldn't think so either but people seem to have caught them on both ends of the lake which tells me there must be a lot of them. Not sure how they got there or how many were introduced but thats a lot of tilapia for just a few months.

What ramp are you using

I suspect you are seeing less than one year old fish which were spawned from fish dumped in the lake after the water warmed. This winter will probably wipe them out.