Kind of of got a chuckle following this thread. Wild Talapia are primarily vegeterians, under farming conditions that might be different. We put them in several of our ponds on the ranch to keep the vegetation down. Taken from the ponds they are great eating. Everybody worried about what fish eat might not want to look at what your average non farmed catfish eats, which is anything it can fit in it’s mouth. Dead birds, rotted fish and any other critter that might end up in the water. My favorite bait for channel cat’s is five to six inch day old shiners laid out in the sun. The worse they smell the better!
My wife and I use about a 6" perch attached to a 7/0 Eagle Claw for catfish. If you have bait leftover you can always have a pretty good fish fry.