Snakeheads

Fredrick

Fredrick

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I think I am finally gonna go out and target these guys sometime later this week . This one was caught in the Potomac.

20fdf21e.jpg
 
That is a nice one. The potomac is almost polluted with them. Kinda looks like you are in Mattawoman creek.
 
I guess I should of added that isn't me but you are correct that is Mattawomen. I plan on hitting a pond in Delaware that isn't to far from me sometime this week . I think this fish is going to be the next great fly rod fish they hit topwater more frequently than bass and are just a blast to catch and they get big .
 
Good eating also.Had them in China.
 
Snakeheads are absolutely brutal... it is scary to think what these snakeheads could do to fish populations in Pennsylvania.



Viewer discretion advised on the following video.

Snakehead shreds largemouth bass to peices.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPGmvemG6fk
 
Kill every one of these you catch or see.
 
I plan to C&R they are here to stay just like the flatheads and rainbow and brown trout . I wouldnt mind eating one since I here they are delicious .
 
Fredrick wrote:
I plan to C&R they are here to stay just like the flatheads and rainbow and brown trout . I wouldnt mind eating one since I here they are delicious .



Irresponsible! Every thing I've seen written by State Fish Agencies says to remove all snakeheads.

The introduction of exotic species into areas beyond their natural range shifts the balance of an eco-system. Exotics can introduce parasites, diseases and genetic pollution of closely related species. At the very least, even an otherwise innocuous exotic takes up space and food that might someday be used more beneficially by other species. http://fishandboat.com/water/fish/snakehead/2004press_snakehead.htm

The northern snakehead, a predatory fish from China, has been caught at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Tinicum Township (Delaware County).

The fish already been found in the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers, causing ecologists and biologists to worry about the balance of nature in our area.

“An invasive species is an exotic that’s aggressively spreading,” he explains. “What happens when you have non-native species, they don’t have natural controls. They’re not evolving with predator-prey relationships. They may throw the whole system out of balance. It can do some serious, serious damage.”
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/03/26/voracious-frankenfish-spotted-in-heinz-wildlife-refuge-delaware-county/
 
Some guys think more about their own fun catching fish and have little regard or respect for nature and the native species that inhabit our streams and rivers.

Yes, the genie is out of the bottle, and many of the native fishes have been displaced, but one should at least care enough to not compound the problem for the sake of their own fishing pleasure.


 
Some guys think more about their own fun catching fish and have little regard or respect for nature and the native species that inhabit our streams and rivers. Yes, the genie is out of the bottle, and many of the native fishes have been displaced, but one should at least care enough to not compound the problem for the sake of their own fishing pleasure.
Since afish gets to do the bully pulpit bit,I can +1 that.lol
 
Fredrick wrote:
I plan to C&R they are here to stay just like the flatheads and rainbow and brown trout . I wouldnt mind eating one since I here they are delicious .

Wow, that was a dumb statement.
 
are the snakeheads around enough up in the bucks county area to target them specifically? in a pond near me we found a dead one, mostly eaten. estimated at about 15 inches, head was left, thats how we i.d. told caretaker. pumped out the pond most of the way and checked every fish in it. it was the only one.
 
Troy wrote:
Fredrick wrote:
I plan to C&R they are here to stay just like the flatheads and rainbow and brown trout . I wouldnt mind eating one since I here they are delicious .

Wow, that was a dumb statement.

Oh how so
 
nealfish wrote:
are the snakeheads around enough up in the bucks county area to target them specifically? in a pond near me we found a dead one, mostly eaten. estimated at about 15 inches, head was left, thats how we i.d. told caretaker. pumped out the pond most of the way and checked every fish in it. it was the only one.

Not sure about Bucs but they are Filthy in the tidal Potomac . Also they are in Fdr park and the Delaware river us far up as Trenton . Several lakes in Delaware and New Jersey also have big populations.
 
It's like saying we're not going to worry about didymo. It was introduced into the streams and will screw up the ecosystem. It may be impossible to remove them but we should at least try.
 
If you have a chance to kill a snakehead, then kill it. The regulations say the same thing.
 
I personally agree with the consensus and would kill all I caught. But, just to play devil's advocate. What about brown trout? They invaded. They screwed up the ecosystem and outcompeted native species. And now we embrace them.

What Fredrick is saying is they are here to stay in the streams they are in. He didn't advocate planting them in snakehead free waters. He was just saying why act like you're gonna eradicate them when it just ain't happening. Might as well embrace them in the places they already exist.

It is comparable to didymo, but Fredrick didn't say he wasn't worried about expanding their range. The concern for both is in transporting them. But where they're at, there's not much that can be done. So if you picked up a clump of didymo, it wouldn't hurt a dang thing to "release it" in the water it came from.
 
pcray1231 wrote:
I personally agree with the consensus and would kill all I caught. But, just to play devil's advocate. What about brown trout? They invaded. They screwed up the ecosystem and outcompeted native species. And now we embrace them.

What Fredrick is saying is they are here to stay in the streams they are in. He didn't advocate planting them in snakehead free waters. He was just saying why act like you're gonna eradicate them when it just ain't happening. Might as well embrace them in the places they already exist.

It is comparable to didymo, but Fredrick didn't say he wasn't worried about expanding their range. The concern for both is in transporting them. But where they're at, there's not much that can be done. So if you picked up a clump of didymo, it wouldn't hurt a dang thing to "release it" in the water it came from.
Well put Pcray I to was playing devils advocate with my post . Bottom line is im going to do what the law requires of me as a angler. But people need to realize they are here to stay and besides of all the hype from the media they are no more exotic than a Brown trout. So why not embrace it .
 
Fredrick wrote:
pcray1231 wrote:
I personally agree with the consensus and would kill all I caught. But, just to play devil's advocate. What about brown trout? They invaded. They screwed up the ecosystem and outcompeted native species. And now we embrace them.

What Fredrick is saying is they are here to stay in the streams they are in. He didn't advocate planting them in snakehead free waters. He was just saying why act like you're gonna eradicate them when it just ain't happening. Might as well embrace them in the places they already exist.

It is comparable to didymo, but Fredrick didn't say he wasn't worried about expanding their range. The concern for both is in transporting them. But where they're at, there's not much that can be done. So if you picked up a clump of didymo, it wouldn't hurt a dang thing to "release it" in the water it came from.
Well put Pcray I to was playing devils advocate with my post . Bottom line is im going to do what the law requires of me as a angler. But people need to realize they are here to stay and besides of all the hype from the media they are no more exotic than a Brown trout. So why not embrace it .

:-o
Snakeheads can become invasive species and cause ecological damage because they are top-level predators, meaning they have no natural enemies outside of their native environment. Not only can they breathe atmospheric air, but they can also survive on land for up to four days, provided they are wet, and are known to migrate up to 1/4 mile on wet land to other bodies of water by wriggling with their body and fins. National Geographic has referred to snakeheads as "Fishzilla" and the National Geographic Channel reports that the "northern snakehead reaches sexual maturity by age 2 or 3. Each spawning-age female can release up to 15,000 eggs at once. Snakeheads can mate as often as five times a year. This means in just two years, a single female can release up to 150,000 eggs."
 

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The question on whether to kill or release has nothing to do with how bad they are. It has everything to do with whether it stands a chance of helping anything.

Early maturity and large number of eggs means that harvest isn't gonna be able to control their population. The controlling factor will be habitat.

The ability to "crawl" on land means containing them will be difficult. But nobody suggested transporting them and helping speed the process.
 
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