Tough Tilapia Luck

Today, I went fishing in the C-8 Canal in Miami again. This time, it was with Ben and my friend, Thomas. We went to the ledge and looked down. A whole school of tilapia and Cichlids were passing by. I put a piece of bread on the hook, and we dropped the lines down. Once we dropped it down, the fish started to nibble. Then, a big Tilapia came and opened its big mouth and sucked the whole piece of bread in one bite. I realized that my hook was in that piece, and started to slowly reel and pull up. Then, the rod started to bend and the fish went crazy. FISH ON!!! It started to take the line off of reel and made that beautiful fishing sound, EERRRREERERRRERERRR! I managed to reel it up to the ledge, and I was about to puck the fish up. But, just then, the line got caught in the wood and when the fish turned it snapped the line. Remember, according to the IGFA fishing rules, if the fish comes close enough to the structure that you are fishing off of, it is a catch. But, nothing feels better when you get to bring the fish up and truly win the battle. I tied on a new hook, put another slip shot sinker on, put the bread on, and dropped my hook in the school again. The fish came in and were nibbling at it. This time, a Cichlid came and gulped up my bait. Instantly, the reel started screaming and the line ran off the reel with the drag. The strong fish swam franticly and made it hard to reel in. Finally, I tried to reel it in and get it up, and the line broke. I lost the fish. I have yet to bring up a cichlid or a tilapia from the canal. I will soon, I hope.

What I learned from this trip:

• As pressuring as it is to finally bring up the fish at the end of a fight, you need to keep calm and be wary of what your doing and be patient, or you will make mistakes.

• Cichlid and Tilapia are very feisty and put up a fight. Be sure to tie on your hook very tight and maybe have a bigger line pound test. Come prepared when fishing a canal here in Miami.

Stay tuned! More fishing tips, tricks, and trips soon.