Tilapia Harvest
There comes a time when you realize that your tilapias have grown to dinner plate size. My pond was getting very crowded. I noticed this especially during feeding time. I have about 25 tilapia in a 250 gallon tank. Another give away is that my water chemistry is always on the edge. I can’t feed my fish more than once a day without risking ammonia and nitrite spikes these days. So I need to reduce my biomass in my pond.
At first I was trying a fishing net. I have three pumps and aeration stones in the pond. I needed to remove these first to avoid those obstacles. After 15 minutes of trying to catch a fish, I realized that this method won’t be successful. These fish are fast! I didn’t want to put more stress on them than necessary. Hence I resorted to fishing in my backyard instead. I took a few feet of fishing line, a larger size hook and a piece of corn. I bent the barb on the hook to make the hook removal easier. I wrapped the fishing line around my hand, hoping that I wouldn’t cut myself and it was on.
The corn barely touched the surface and one of my really big fish took the bait. I instantly started regretting not putting on gloves to prevent the thin line cutting in my fingers. The fish went absolutely nuts. I got quite wet in the process, trying to land the fish. After a few seconds of maneuvering, I was able to lift my catch out of the pond. I transferred him into a 25gal bucket full of water that I had prepared earlier. I caught another one and decided that this was enough for dinner the next day. I left the fish in the bucket for about 24hrs to purge themselves.
That cutting board is a large one and so is the fish. The second fish was a bit smaller. I put them into a bucket full of ice water and started filleting them after 15 minutes or so.
The fish fillets were snow white and tender like butter. I had store bought tilapia before and I have to say, I will never go back. The quality of fish my system produced is unmatched.
It is a proud feeling when you can grab a fishing line and a hook and go fishing for dinner in your backyard.