While gettin shad on Gibbons Creek this evening, I caught an 18" almost 5lb tilapia.

To eat, or to cut bait?

Updated to show pic...

eat........too good to use for bait!

tilapia is one of my favorite eating fish.

Eat the fillets and use ribs and other pieces for bait. I've never used them for bait but I've heard they work good in lake where they're stocked.

It's always funny to me hearing people talk about tilapias. Growing up in Hawaii...they were considered to be garbage fish. They were all over the fresh water lakes, rivers, streams, etc. back home. The main thing we would use them for was crab bait. Very few...if any...people actually ate them back then.

Thats exactly what i ended up doing. I actually caught a lot of em yesterday, but most were in the 3-5 inch range.

if im not mistaken, its an invasive fish and cannot be returned to the water alive.

I don't think that's the case with talapia. Most of the lakes with them were stocked with them to be used as forage fish.

Here's the actual verbage of the rule:

It is a violation to:

Possess tilapia, grass carp, or any other fish listed as harmful or potentially harmful, without immediately removing the intestines, except on waters where a valid Triploid Grass Carp Permit is in effect. In those waters, it is illegal to possess grass carp. Any grass carp caught must be immediately returned to the water unharmed. Please see our list of waters with Triploid Grass Carp Permits.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/regulations/fish_hunt/fish/general.phtml

Nice surprise!