# Snakeheads may now be released back into the water.



## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

As per the park ranger and the DNR - snakeheads can now be released and don't have to be killed. Please release them if you aren't keeping them, thanks.


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## hunter1 (Jul 31, 2009)

Why, They will still decimate the indeginus fish. I'll keep on killing them, even if the state gave up.


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## Hueski (Feb 5, 2012)

Piggybacking you hunter1,


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## captmikestarrett (Apr 28, 2004)

Just a bit of info from the latest study. 
http://www.indianheadcharters.com/14/info.jpg

Might change your "Kill Them All" attitude.

Capt Mike


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## Got 'em (May 13, 2009)

Not challenging what you posted but any online sources to officially confirm what the DNR officer said?


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## doomdealer (Apr 10, 2013)

From the DNR website.....



Snakehead

Please Catch and Keep Northern Snakeheads

It is against Maryland, Virginia, and federal laws to possess, import, or transport live Northern Snakehead.

If you catch a snakehead and want to keep it, you must immediately kill the fish by removing its head, gutting it or removing its gill arches. The capture and possession of dead snakeheads is not subject to any season, creel limit or size limit.

DNR asks anglers to report snakeheads caught outside of the Potomac River and its tributaries or upstream of Great Falls. Send catch information to [email protected] or call 410-260-8325 to help DNR track the range of the species.

If you catch a Northern Snakehead with a blue or red tag, please report the tag number and the location, date and time of day when the fish was caught to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at 800-448-8322.


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## shadyfisher85 (Mar 17, 2010)

The regs were changed a littke bit ago to say that if you do keep it you have to kill it but you are also allowed to release alive if not keeping. Basically is what all the words above mean.


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

hunter1 said:


> Why, They will still decimate the indeginus fish. I'll keep on killing them, even if the state gave up.


I will ask you the same question.

Why?

Why do you want to kill them?

They haven't decimated anything.


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

hunter1 said:


> Why, They will still decimate the indeginus fish. I'll keep on killing them, even if the state gave up.


I will ask you the same question.

Why?

Why do you want to kill them?


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## captmikestarrett (Apr 28, 2004)

As man goes thru life fear of the unknown is the most blatant killer of animals and even mankind. Also the press would have you thinking that these fish crawl onto land and hunt down your cats or dogs. After years of targeting just Potomac Pike (snakeheads) I have found them very selective in what they will hit. Follows and little pushes account for over half of angling experience. They provide lot of biomass for the other fish to eat. With no spike fins on them they have no defense against a hungry LGMouth. 

In Japan they put LGMouth in lakes to control the population. 

Capt Mike


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## HuskyMD (May 19, 2000)

Stinky_Pete said:


> I will ask you the same question.
> 
> Why?
> 
> Why do you want to kill them?


I will ask you the question - Why, why do you double post?


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## Got 'em (May 13, 2009)

captmikestarrett said:


> As man goes thru life fear of the unknown is the most blatant killer of animals and even mankind. Also the press would have you thinking that these fish crawl onto land and hunt down your cats or dogs. After years of targeting just Potomac Pike (snakeheads) I have found them very selective in what they will hit. Follows and little pushes account for over half of angling experience. They provide lot of biomass for the other fish to eat. With no spike fins on them they have no defense against a hungry LGMouth.
> 
> In Japan they put LGMouth in lakes to control the population.
> 
> Capt Mike


Just posting up your picture you linked earlier Capt Mike.

I think this information is very insightful to the impact of the snakehead dissemination in the Potomac and it's tributaries.


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## Talapia (Apr 27, 2003)

HuskyMD said:


> I will ask you the question - Why, why do you double post?


I think it is a web site glitch. Whenever I have posted lately it keeps trying to prompt me to post twice. As for the MD DNR and snake heads I just checked the site and it is saying not to release any and that they should all be killed.

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/snakehead/index.asp


> What can you do? If you catch a northern snakehead, kill it and DO NOT put it back in the water. If the snakehead has a tag, measure the length, make note of the exact location of capture, and call the toll free number printed on the tag. Information that you provide is important in determining control and management strategies.


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## Got 'em (May 13, 2009)

Talapia said:


> I think it is a web site glitch. Whenever I have posted lately it keeps trying to prompt me to post twice. As for the MD DNR and snake heads I just checked the site and it is saying not to release any and that they should all be killed.
> 
> http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/snakehead/index.asp


Affirmative, that is what I had read earlier but then again there is no apparent time stamp/last update date for that webpage? Maybe they will update something in the near future that _clearly_ lays out the Snakehead laws?


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## Talapia (Apr 27, 2003)

Got 'em said:


> Affirmative, that is what I had read earlier but then again there is no apparent time stamp/last update date for that webpage? Maybe they will update something in the near future that _clearly_ lays out the Snakehead laws?


Until someone can post something from the MD DNR stating otherwise I guess that is the law.


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## hunter1 (Jul 31, 2009)

There is no new law, Doomdealer has it right. That 's what our Maryland book still say's. There asking you to keep them, I refuse to do that . There not native to our waters, there ugly,:--|I don't care who wants to eat them. DNR has given up on them. For that matter, they should stop killing phytons in FL,and all other wild life that hurts our native spiecies. I have no problem with you doing what you want with them. But I will kill them when cought.


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

captmikestarrett said:


> As man goes thru life fear of the unknown is the most blatant killer of animals and even mankind. Also the press would have you thinking that these fish crawl onto land and hunt down your cats or dogs. After years of targeting just Potomac Pike (snakeheads) I have found them very selective in what they will hit. Follows and little pushes account for over half of angling experience. They provide lot of biomass for the other fish to eat. With no spike fins on them they have no defense against a hungry LGMouth.
> 
> In Japan they put LGMouth in lakes to control the population.
> 
> Capt Mike


Mike, thank you very much for that thoughtful post. A true sportsman tries to understand his environment and learns how to interact with it based on actual knowledge - not knee-jerk, AM radio style, propaganda. 


As a fisherman, I was brought up on all kinds of crazy ideas - like killing all sharks, because they ate people or leaving toad fish and horseshoe crabs out to die, because they were "trash-fish."

Some people are all to happy to go around dead from the neck up. 

When we look further into things, many times we realize that we do not really have all the answers and trying to fix every problem in life with some out-dated ideology like "I'll keep on killing them, even if the state gave up."


I'm putting most of them back, because these fish are awesome! They taste great, they do less harm to the environment than almost all other predator fish and they are a hoot to catch!


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

Thank you for the post, but the law was just recently changed and unfortunately, this page does not reflect the new law. 

You MAY release them, but if they are to be kept, they must be killed and not be living when they are transported.


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

hunter1 said:


> There is no new law, Doomdealer has it right. That 's what our Maryland book still say's. There asking you to keep them, I refuse to do that . There not native to our waters, there ugly,:--|I don't care who wants to eat them. DNR has given up on them. For that matter, they should stop killing phytons in FL,and all other wild life that hurts our native spiecies. I have no problem with you doing what you want with them. But I will kill them when cought.


Bull-spit. Talk to the DNR and quit spreading bunk on this site without any real knowledge of what you are talking about. CALL THEM AND TALK TO THEM YOURSELF. 

Guess you're one of the Birther crowd? Nice.

They're ugly? Are you serious? 

/rolls eyes.


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## Talapia (Apr 27, 2003)

Stinky_Pete said:


> Thank you for the post, but the law was just recently changed and unfortunately, this page does not reflect the new law.
> 
> You MAY release them, but if they are to be kept, they must be killed and not be living when they are transported.


 No problem, bud! Got to like your fondness for the fish!


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

Talapia said:


> No problem, bud! Got to like your fondness for the fish!


Thanks, I talked to the lady in charge of fishing regulations and she confirmed it. As of yet, though, I have not seen anything in print.


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## John81 (Apr 24, 2007)

If a law isn't in writing yet it's not a law.......


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

John81 said:


> If a law isn't in writing yet it's not a law.......


Guess you are some kind of a law professor?

Any thoughts on snakeheads or did you just come here to parrot?


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## John81 (Apr 24, 2007)

Stinky_Pete said:


> Guess you are some kind of a law professor?
> 
> Any thoughts on snakeheads or did you just come here to parrot?


If its not in writing its not true and you have no proof your information is true other than someone said. I'm saving people from getting in trouble with your information. I talked to a guy the other day and he said i should keep rockfish before april 19th, guess its true!!!! Everyone stock up its ok


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## DammitKhoa (May 1, 2013)

the difference is it is mentioned in text. I've read the law clearly before on the DNR website and it has changed. They only say

1) you can't transport it to another body of water
2) If you want to keep it, you must kill it

They don't say anything regarding what if you catch one and don't want it. I'm assuming that they changed it either because they've given up on trying to eradicate them (the way the snakeheads spawn and the distribution makes that nearly impossible) or what me and other fishermen believe is that snakeheads CAN coexist with other species "native"<<< "already here" (well, both can be true). The second theory is also supported by that statistics above where largemouth bass are only 3% of their diet. Not at all what you call their staple diet. What they consume the most is killifish and bluegills.. I don't see them becoming endangered anytime soon lol snakeheads have been at smallwood and their surrounding waters for years and there is regularly bass tournaments that go on unaffected by the snakehead population.


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

I spoke with DNR. To the head of fishing regulations dept.

Not "some guy."



John81 said:


> If its not in writing its not true and you have no proof your information is true other than someone said. I'm saving people from getting in trouble with your information. I talked to a guy the other day and he said i should keep rockfish before april 19th, guess its true!!!!
> 
> Everyone stock up its ok


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## hunter1 (Jul 31, 2009)

Stinky_Pete said:


> Bull-spit. Talk to the DNR and quit spreading bunk on this site without any real knowledge of what you are talking about. CALL THEM AND TALK TO THEM YOURSELF.
> 
> Guess you're one of the Birther crowd? Nice.
> 
> ...


 Your name fit's you well. I have the right to think what i want. I'm not changing your left wing attitude. Because I disagree, you don't have to insult me.
I fought in Nam for everyone's right to say what they want. Like I said you can take them home, eat them, I don't care. Just don't start calling some one names. Be nice. Don't act like a sea lawyer . Let's keep the forum clean and educating, Remember opinions are like @$S Holes, and your opinion is mighty BIG.


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

hunter1 said:


> Your name fit's you well. I have the right to think what i want. I'm not changing your left wing attitude. Because I disagree, you don't have to insult me.
> I fought in Nam for everyone's right to say what they want. Like I said you can take them home, eat them, I don't care. Just don't start calling some one names. Be nice. Don't act like a sea lawyer . Let's keep the forum clean and educating, Remember opinions are like @$S Holes, and your opinion is mighty BIG.


Fighting in a war is quite admirable, but sorry, when you are full of it. I will let you know; especially in a thread that I started in order to inform people of the rule change.

I'm a left winger because I like to fish for snakehead? No, I'm a libertarian who believes in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I'm not telling people to release all snakeheads - just letting them know the options that they have based on my conversation with the DNR. 

I don't have to insult you? 

Sorry, I didn't know you were that sensitive.

Tissue?


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## DammitKhoa (May 1, 2013)

I take back my previous comment on DNR changed their laws on their website. I was relying on what was being reported on this thread but looking up that text, it leads back to a regulations website (I don't know how official that makes it), but DNR still states "If you catch a northern snakehead, kill it and DO NOT put it back in the water. If the snakehead has a tag, measure the length, make note of the exact location of capture, and call the toll free number printed on the tag. Information that you provide is important in determining control and management strategies." This is still posted on THEIR website. I'll email them and see what they say. If they respond I'll post back here.


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## hunter1 (Jul 31, 2009)

Stinky, Not sensative, Just annoyed with people that get political when someone Questions them. I never said you lied about the fish. Why do you have to bring in politics in to a forum. As far as options go , I don't think anybody cares as analy as you do about a snakehead. Do your self a favor, change your party to the cycle & hammer and no one will opine with you. Pedal a new fish, This one is starting to stink,Pete.:fishing:


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

hunter1 said:


> Stinky, Not sensative, Just annoyed with people that get political when someone Questions them. I never said you lied about the fish. Why do you have to bring in politics in to a forum. As far as options go , I don't think anybody cares as analy as you do about a snakehead. Do your self a favor, change your party to the cycle & hammer and no one will opine with you. Pedal a new fish, This one is starting to stink,Pete.:fishing:


No thanks and if you really hate this thread sooooo much, I'm sure that there are others for you to mouth off in. 

... Or go get you some _pound and a half_ bass to tinker with.


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## JollyJimbo (May 20, 2013)

Nonnative species must be eradicated not released, just my 0.02.

Stinky Pete, thanks for sharing what you noticed regarding DNR's changing regulations and keeping us informed. Also, good luck catching all the snakehead you can throw a lure at, we need more snakehead fisherman. :fishing:

Jimbo


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## hunter1 (Jul 31, 2009)

Stinky_Pete said:


> No thanks and if you really hate this thread sooooo much, I'm sure that there are others for you to mouth off in.
> 
> ... Or go get you some _pound and a half_ bass to tinker with.


 I do not hate the tread, Just idiot's that like to control the whole tread with there way of thinking, being one way. People like you kill forums with your way of thinking, taking jab's if someone disagrees, Go back and read the forums, Your the one that spouts off , calling people names, belonging to orginizations with right way of thinking.Look at this way, if you pay tax, your not a true libertarian. The only freedom you want is what you say and not others. You make it sound like you found your long lost #ss. But then probably no one else is a great a fisherman as you. I'll do my best to keep them out of Maryland waters. As for me ,I get attacked; I attack.Please go back to fly fishing for trouser trout..


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## DammitKhoa (May 1, 2013)

JollyJimbo said:


> Nonnative species must be eradicated not released, just my 0.02.
> 
> Stinky Pete, thanks for sharing what you noticed regarding DNR's changing regulations and keeping us informed. Also, good luck catching all the snakehead you can throw a lure at, we need more snakehead fisherman. :fishing:
> 
> Jimbo


Must remember, the largemouth bass wasn't native either. Also, there's no way of getting rid of the snakeheads now; they're here to stay. Sure they're ugly and slimey as hell (gets real nasty when you're trying to clean them) but they fight hard, taste good, doesn't seem to be messing up the food chain all that much.. I don't see any big problems here 

I know it takes time to change their reputation cause of the media.. but it's been 12 years since they've been here and the publics attitude still seem unchanged. I remember the Washington Post wrote about someone who was literally hired to change the snakehead's public image. Gotta ask ourselves why is that lol. Over the weekend I caught a small one and some guy asked me "Aren't their fins like, razor sharp and poisonous or something?!" .... I was thinking of throwing it at him lol


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## hunter1 (Jul 31, 2009)

DammitKhoa said:


> Must remember, the largemouth bass wasn't native either. Also, there's no way of getting rid of the snakeheads now; they're here to stay. Sure they're ugly and slimey as hell (gets real nasty when you're trying to clean them) but they fight hard, taste good, doesn't seem to be messing up the food chain all that much.. I don't see any big problems here
> 
> I know it takes time to change their reputation cause of the media.. but it's been 12 years since they've been here and the publics attitude still seem unchanged. I remember the Washington Post wrote about someone who was literally hired to change the snakehead's public image. Gotta ask ourselves why is that lol. Over the weekend I caught a small one and some guy asked me "Aren't their fins like, razor sharp and poisonous or something?!" .... I was thinking of throwing it at him lol


 Now thats away to answer a tread, I agree with you. I've caught them to, They are a good sport fish. What i'm afraid of , them getting in the trout streams, they have found them in VA.I read that they can take cold water pretty good.Thank you.


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## DammitKhoa (May 1, 2013)

Got a response from DNR. It's official!!

"Hello Brian, the regulation you speak of is not new. You can return a Snakehead back to the place it was caught but you must do it right away. You do not want to be found with live Snakehead fish on the boat. It is illegal to transport them alive and of course to release them in waters other than where they were caught."


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

DammitKhoa said:


> Got a response from DNR. It's official!!
> 
> "Hello Brian, the regulation you speak of is not new. You can return a Snakehead back to the place it was caught but you must do it right away. You do not want to be found with live Snakehead fish on the boat. It is illegal to transport them alive and of course to release them in waters other than where they were caught."


Look what you did now! People are going to call you a liar because snakeheads are evil and must be destroyed!

Oh, evil AND ugly!


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## the pyromaniac (Oct 9, 2011)

I've been reading for about 5-6 years that they're pretty much eating almost exclusively sunfish (bluegill & pumpkinseed, mostly) and killifish (mostly banded), and that the snakeheads and largemouth bass (both of which are invasive to the Potomac) are controlling each other by eating each other's offspring. I know 7 guys in the DC area who fish for them on the Virginia side, and they're seeing better numbers and sizes of largemouth bass & blue catfish than they ever saw before snakeheads were established. Maybe that's not valid to everybody since it's not scientific and it's not mindless fearmongering, but I trust their observations since these men have all fished the Potomac for years (they range in age from 17 to 48, and all have been fishing that river for at least half their lives). I say let's manage them as a gamefish, just try not to let them spread to the James, Roanoke, New, and other Virginia drainages.


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## hunter1 (Jul 31, 2009)

the pyromaniac said:


> i've been reading for about 5-6 years that they're pretty much eating almost exclusively sunfish (bluegill & pumpkinseed, mostly) and killifish (mostly banded), and that the snakeheads and largemouth bass (both of which are invasive to the potomac) are controlling each other by eating each other's offspring. I know 7 guys in the dc area who fish for them on the virginia side, and they're seeing better numbers and sizes of largemouth bass & blue catfish than they ever saw before snakeheads were established. Maybe that's not valid to everybody since it's not scientific and it's not mindless fearmongering, but i trust their observations since these men have all fished the potomac for years (they range in age from 17 to 48, and all have been fishing that river for at least half their lives). I say let's manage them as a gamefish, just try not to let them spread to the james, roanoke, new, and other virginia drainages.


x2.


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