Caught my first tilapia this past weekend while fishing for BG and CC. Dangled a small piece of worm over the dock to the water surface to see what would bite and wala. A tilapia about the size of a large BG. Do tilapia hit the surface of the water similar to sandbass as they spawn up river? Saw this happening in the pond and was curious if it was tilapia.

In my experience, no, Tilapia do not "hit the surface of the water". They are mostly bottom feeders. They will sometimes attack small spinners and flies also but they are not nearly as aggressive as BG....but are a lot of fun to catch.

I thought tilapia were primarily vegeterians and can't be fished with regular bait but they are sometimes caught gill hooked by mistake.

There's a lot of misinformation out there about Tilapia...and "can't be fished with regular bait" is one of them.

In the fall, after the spring stocked fish have reached an average of 2 pounds and before cold weather takes them out, I fish for them frequently...almost every day weather permitting in October. Catch enough for an evening meal and let them rest until the next time. Without doubt, I could catch 40 just like these each time but choose to just catch what we can eat in each session.

Pure pond raised Tilapia...raised without any chemicals and only natural foods. Delightful to catch and even more so to eat.