When a San Antonio TikTok creator casually pulled a fish from the River Walk and guessed it might be a tilapia, viewers weren’t just laughing. They were asking a bigger question: Why is there anything living in that water at all?
The viral clip from creator @thisguysorganic, which has been viewed more than 170,000 times, caused a whirlwind of jokes, debate, and incredulity because for many Texans the idea of fishing in the famous waterway is pretty much unthinkable.
That backlash didn’t shake the creator, though, who said he’s been fishing and feasting off of his River Walk catches for years.
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The comments section quickly turned into a mix of humor and armchair expertise. Some viewers joked about “radioactive” fish and sewage runoff, while others zeroed in on the species itself. Several insisted the fish wasn’t a tilapia at all, arguing it was a crappie, sunfish, or even a small bass. Others jumped in with confident rebuttals, citing fin shape and head slope as proof the creator’s original guess was right.
The back-and-forth reflected a deeper surprise running through the thread. Many commenters said they had walked the River Walk for years without realizing fish lived there at all. Others said they assumed the water was too shallow, too artificial, or too polluted to support anything beyond ducks and turtles.
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“I didn’t even know we had fish in the River Walk,” one commenter wrote, echoing a sentiment repeated plenty of times.
Real River Beneath Stone Walls
Despite its carefully landscaped appearance, the River Walk is not a decorative canal. It is part of the San Antonio River Walk, a working stretch of the San Antonio River that winds through downtown before continuing south toward the Mission Reach.
According to river management agencies and environmental studies tied to the San Antonio River Authority, the river supports a range of aquatic life, including carp, catfish, bass, sunfish, and tilapia. Tilapia, in particular, are an invasive species in Texas waterways and thrive in warm, slow-moving water like the sections found downtown.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has previously documented tilapia populations in urban rivers across South and Central Texas, noting that the fish often spread during flood events or through accidental releases rather than intentional stocking.
Part of what made the TikTok clip unsettling for viewers was the moment the creator peered down into the water and realized how deep it actually was. From the walkway, the River Walk often appears shallow and slow, an illusion created by stone embankments, calm flow, and the absence of visible riverbanks.
In reality, depth varies widely depending on location, recent rainfall, and flood-control infrastructure. Some sections near downtown bends, dams, and gates are several feet deep, especially in areas designed to manage storm surges and protect nearby streets and buildings.
That hidden depth is a reminder that the River Walk is engineered for flood control first and tourism second, a fact documented in public planning materials from the San Antonio River Authority and the City of San Antonio.
Is Fishing Actually Allowed?
One of the most common questions in the comments was whether fishing in the River Walk is legal. Under Texas law, fishing is generally permitted in public waterways unless specifically prohibited, and the San Antonio River is no exception.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife regulations apply, meaning anglers must have a valid fishing license and follow statewide rules. Tilapia are classified as an invasive species and have no size or bag limits, a fact frequently cited by commenters defending the legality of the catch.
The creator himself responded directly to several questions, insisting fishing in that stretch of the river is allowed and saying he has done it regularly since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That answer, however, led to a far more divisive follow-up: Should anyone eat what they catch there?
Several commenters warned against consuming fish from the River Walk, citing concerns about water quality, bacteria, and recycled water. Others argued that fish are fish, regardless of where they’re caught, and noted that urban rivers across Texas still support anglers.
Water quality in the San Antonio River varies by location and season. The San Antonio Water System has acknowledged that treated recycled water is used to help maintain water levels during dry periods, particularly when spring flows are low. Environmental agencies generally advise caution when consuming fish from urban waterways due to potential exposure to pollutants and runoff, even when fishing is legal.
The creator brushed off those concerns in the comments, saying he ate the fish and did not get sick.
The clip’s popularity speaks less to shock value than to cultural collision. The River Walk is marketed as a polished, tourist-friendly destination, while fishing is one of Texas’s most ingrained outdoor traditions. Seeing the two intersect so casually caught people off guard.
For many locals, the video was simply a reminder that beneath the lights, restaurants, and river barges, the waterway is still a river that’s alive, regulated, and occasionally surprising.
Patch reached out to the creator via direct message. We’ll update this if they respond.
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