Greenhead Tilapia
Oreochromis macrochir
A Zambezi and Okavango kurper with a green-tinted head. It lives mostly on algae, so it is hard to tempt except with worms.
Size: Usually 1–2 kg in the Okavango; fish over 2.5 kg are rare.
Where: Native to the upper Zambezi, Kafue, Okavango and Cunene systems and Lakes Bangweulu and Mweru, often in the same waters as threespot. It has been stocked into dams and ponds elsewhere in southern Africa.
How to spot it
A deep kurper with a steep, rounded forehead and a long pectoral fin, which is why it is also called the longfin tilapia. The head and flanks have a green sheen, and there are dark flecks on the cheek and gill cover. It has no spots along the side and no stripes on the tail.
Varieties and look-alikes
-
Greenhead Tilapia - Round, steep forehead with a green sheen, a long pectoral fin, and no spots or tail stripes.
-
Nile Tilapia - Dark vertical stripes right across the tail fin.
-
Threespot Tilapia - Three or four round black spots in a row along the side.
What it eats
Adults eat mostly detritus, blue-green algae and diatoms; only young fish eat many small animals. That is why it seldom takes a lure.
Where it feeds
- Quiet, deep water near water plants
- Around sunken dead trees and bushes
- Lily-pad backwaters and lagoons
How to catch it
Fish red earthworms on a size 10 long-shank hook on the bottom, close to sunken trees or bushes. A bobber rig works in quiet backwaters. It is seldom caught on lures, so leave the spinners for threespot and nembwe. Okavango fly anglers sometimes catch it on small nymphs.
| Way of fishing | How well it works |
|---|---|
| Bait on the bottomA sinker holds your bait still on the bottom. | Best |
| Under a bobberA bobber is a small buoy on your line: it holds the bait off the bottom and dips under when a fish bites. | Works well |
| Pap, mielies, boilies and floatsSweet baits on the hook (pap, mielies, boilies or floats), with more thrown in around them. | Not used |
| Natural or dead baitReal food on the hook: worms, liver, sardine, chokka. | Best |
| Live baitA small live fish or other live creature on the hook. | Not used |
| LuresArtificial baits you cast and reel in: spinners, spoons, plastics. | Not used |
| Fly fishingLight artificial flies, cast with a fly rod. | Sometimes |
Baits and lures that work
- Earthworms
- Nymphs
Flavours it likes
It feeds on algae rather than smelly baits, so flavours do little. A fresh red worm is the one bait that works reliably.
When it bites
Time of day
| Time | Bite |
|---|---|
| Dawn | Slow |
| Day | Best |
| Midday | Best |
| Dusk | Good |
| Night | Rarely |
A daytime feeder that eats most around midday and mid-afternoon. Early mornings are slow, and it hardly feeds at night.
Best months
- Best: July, August, September, October
- Good: May, June, November, December
On the upper Zambezi the best months are July to December, before the rains. During the summer floods the water turns murky and the fish scatter.
What affects the bite
| Condition | What it likes | Effect on the bite |
|---|---|---|
| Water temperature | Best at 23–32 °C | High |
| Time of day | Best during the day | Medium |
| Air pressure | Best when steady or falling | Medium |
| Cloud cover | Best on clear days | Low |
| Wind | Best with a light breeze | Low |
| Rain | Best in dry weather | Medium |
| Water clarity | Best in clear water | Medium |
| Moon phase | Hardly matters | Low |
| Spawning | Eats less while it spawns | Medium |
High means it makes a big difference to whether this fish bites. Low means it hardly matters.
Tips
- Fish right next to sunken trees and bushes; that is where most greenheads are caught.
- Use the same worm rig as for threespot; you will often catch both in one spot.
- Midday is not a write-off here: this kurper often feeds best when the sun is high.
Good to know: Its flesh is excellent, but it is listed as Vulnerable, so keep only what you will eat.
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