ST PETER'S FISH

ST. PETER’S FISH

The farm pond just down the road from you is probably the best place to fish in the Central Valley. Most have been stocked with Tilapia, oreochromis mosambicus. Farm raised around the world this tasty fish originated in North Africa and the Middle East. It is the fish of fhe two fish and five loaves at the sermon on the mount in the Bible, and is often called in English St. Peter’s Fish.

It has firm, white, mild flavored meat and you have eaten a lot of it as ceviche and as the pescado en your casado con pescado. Most seafood markets carry tilapia, and often it is the least expensive seafood in the case. Try it in your favorite fillet recipe.

Fish for tilapia as you did for carp, bass and bream as a kid. Put a doughball on a small hook a couple of feet below a bobber and toss that bait not too far from the bank. In a few minutes or less the bobber will move in one direction or the other. Seldom do tilapia strike hard enough to pull the bobber completely under, just look for a steady lateral movement and give a quck, light strike.

In the pond near my home in San Isidro my friend Jim, his girlfriend’s eleven year old son, Esteban, and I using doughballs and mini-marshmallows hooked and released 20 or more fish in less than an hour. Four of the largest tilapia went home with Jim, and he reported the fillets were very tasty. Esteban caught the first fish, and the largest, and that one was the biggest fish of his life– almost 2 pounds!

So get out your lightest weight rod and reel, or just get a cane pole, and squeeze some Bimbo on a tiny hook. Your neighbor would love to have you at his pond.

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