Snakehead

Thought I would share this, the new "bass" back in Maryland. Fish them the same way as largemouth.

Catch and kill right?

Catch and kill right?

There is some question about that, some people release them now but understand they are very good eating.

I know Chesapeake Bay Kayak Anglers usually sets up a Meet and Greet once a year to chase snakeheads. Frog lures do the best.   

Everything I've heard about those fish is that they are invasive and kill everything else. Is that not true? Or is it evil snakehead propaganda?

Everything I've heard about those fish is that they are invasive and kill everything else. Is that not true? Or is it evil snakehead propaganda?

Yes, invasive species from China. Snakeheads are able to survive out of water up to four days, and slither between bodies of water, Maryland tried to poison the first pond they found the fish in several years ago but it was too late. Some mixed feelings about the fish. Fun to catch, they get big, and good to eat.

Not sure the MD rules, in Virginia you are not required to kill or report, but if you do possess have to kill immediately so there is no chance you will dump into another body of water 

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/snakehead-faq.asp

Thanks for the info!

I thought they were from Thailand

 

  YES please catch and KILL!

I thought they were from Thailand

I believe they are in a few countries in Asia. Have been featured on River Monsters. In Maryland someone ordered a pair from Hong Kong through a NY seafood market to make soup for his sick sister, she recovered, he kept in aquarium for a while then he dumped in a pond.

http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/snakehead/news0712.php

Joe Bruce, who wrote a book on how to catch snakehead, says they are not invasive, and all the other fish have survived, the real question is would the population of other fish be better without the snakehead?

ohhhhh that looks way better than bass fishing can ever be!
congrats eastonkayaker!!
i cant wait till they make their way west 

We call them "dalag" or mudfish in the Philippines.  They really are good eating fish. 

Wow.  That's a big snakehead.   

They are all over SE Asia.   I used to catch them by fly when I was an expat out there.    Great fun on a fly rod and hard hitters and fighters. 

Definitely invasive and survivors but that does not mean they will wipe out everything else.   I am not sure I buy into the 'native species' superiority thing.    Bass and trout are not native everywhere yet nobody talks about eradicating them.   I think it's a matter of whether something has been designated sport fish status or not.    I have heard talk about eradicating brown trout because they compete with rainbows.   Same with brook trout.  Yet they can coexist nicely because they occupy different niches in the ecosystem.   Exactly the same with snakeheads. 

I used to fish snakeheads in the same water as indo tarpon and found they occupied different portions of the same water.    Where I fished them the snakeheads used to hang out in heavy cover as ambush predator while the tarpon favored open water.   

Well congrats on the nice catch.    They can be good eating.   As to what policy to pursue, I hope the right decision will be made based on informed facts and a certain level of practicality.   They can be very hard to wipe out.

No value judgements here, but yes, there is a push to eliminate trout from high country lakes, (where they are not native) to allow native frogs to recover.  I think the plan is to stop stocking and let the remaining fish die out, as there is no natural reproduction (at least of 'bows) up there.

There seem to be many cases where a new invasive species doesn't seem to hurt the native species (shad, ring neck pheasant), but in those cases where it goes bad, the consequences are so bad that in general I think we try to reduce or prevent introductions of new species, becuase we just never know which ones are going to be a big deal...

I'd say lets keep the snakeheads in Asia as long as possible... gives you a reason to go there, no?

That is one bass you will not be thumbing.

ohhhhh that looks way better than bass fishing can ever be!
congrats eastonkayaker!!
i cant wait till they make their way west 

Picture is actually someone I know from back east in CBKA, just thought I would share.