In this popular video with more than a million views, TallFishermanJ goes fishing to catch a small tilapia or cichlid for his fish tank. An avid aquarium hobbyist and fisherman, TFJ returns to one of his favorite spots, a clear water ditch in Tallahassee, Florida, to cast for small fish living in the unlikely urban spot.
News to some, clear-water fishing may be catching on in part because of exciting videos like the one TFJ provides here. A result of drainage of larger bodies of water, augmented during hurricane season, clear water creeks are home to a variety of fishes but, as TFJ shows here, cichlid and tilapia, are plentiful and, apparently, free for the taking, with a fishing license of course.
Although this urban, tall, fisherman plucks many a fish out of this three-foot wide, foot-deep ditch or creek, he releases most of them, kindly removing the small hook and watching them swim back into the crystal clear water. Still, on this sunny day, TFJ doesn’t figure on leaving the ditch without a “fish pet” or “ditch pet” from the wild, and so he doesn’t.
Once home, he lets a prized Mayan cichlid get acclimated to the pail before introducing it to the tank. The young piscator’s enthusiasm is infectious, and the large-eyed cichlid, bronze and striped, is gorgeous. TFJ makes one want to run out to the nearest big box for rod and reel. Forget the pet store and the seafood counter too.
Actually,TallFishermanJ has populated his aquarium with some wild and some store-bought fish. He removed a small mouthed bass from his tank because of aggressiveness and has experienced the death of at least one other variety, but all in all he has experienced success with self-stocking the aquarium.
