Rios are a "warm water" fish, but so are catfish, black bass, yellow perch, walleyes and lots of other gamefish found in the North and South. That's how they're differentiated from "cold water" fish like trout, char and other salmonidea. It would be more accurate to call them a "warmer water" fish.

They are a native to Texas as well as NW Mexico. Not all of Texas; mostly SW Texas. They have been introduced to other parts of TX and LA and other states. Some populations have become established and others have not.

Dang! Good information right there.

Rios are the only cichlid native to North America, and as opposed to being called just a warm water fish they fit better under the classification of tropical fish as they have an extrememly hard time dealing with cold hence why their range is so far south I for one hope to one day travel south to find just 1 to catch and have my picture taken as a great memory

Rio info

this will show you their native range as well as a few spots they have been introduced

Let me know! I have some very good Rio spots to fish here in the San Antonio Area!

Them some nice Tilapia right there, WMB! Nice job!!

Does anyone know of any places they have stocked tilapia in the Dallas area?

I would love to catch some!

I don't think stocking Tilapia is allowed. Don't know that for sure. I do know that Parks&Wildlife wants anglers to kill Tilapia once they are caught. I think this is due to over population. Also the Dallas area may be a little to cold for Tilapia. Like the Rios the Tilapia is a very warm area fish. Cold winters really take a toll on em.

I don't know of any, but there are a few pond managers that stock Tilapia in their ponds and stack tanks. I think you have to get some type of permission to stock them, but I'm not sure. And yes, they do die out most every winter unless they are in a warm water discharge lake like Fairfield, Caly or Brauning.

Meadowlark and some of the guys in the Pond Forum can give us more accurate info if they see this.

I was not aware of that..
That sucks!

Over-population or invasive?

Caught this earlier on a little contraption I came up with. Biggest Warmouth I've ever caught! Just over 10" and I have no idea how it weighed..

I sight fished this one for about 15mins because I thought it was a GIANT sunfish, but I am not complaining!

Just to answer the tilapia question. They are a non native fish to the U.S. now with that being said, they can be stocked in the state of texas, as well as other states but you have to have a permit in order to stock them. If you catch one in any body of water that you know that does not have a permit. you must kill this fish on site. I have them in my lake, and if you want to see over populated come on down to spring texas... they reproduce quickly and are very territorial. Its definitely changed where the bass spawn in my lake. BUT on a different note they can be fun to catch especially on ultra light tackle or by fly!!!

Nice Fish! Good job on the sight fishing at night!
"xxprotegexx": Nice Tilapia and Gills. Good job.

Both of these were caught in the exact same part of the pond. And since I don't much about Warmouth, how are these so different looking? Is it genetics? Because the colors on them are amazing! Especially the black one!