# Snakeheads have rounded point lookout and are on the move towards the PAX.



## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

http://www.calvertnews.info/news/1709/northern-snakehead-st-jeromes-creek





































On Tuesday evening Michael Henderson and some friends were on the dock at Buzz’s Marina when they noticed a large dark fish suspended in the very shallow water near the head of the creek. (St. Jerome’s). 

They were able to zoom in on it with a camera and see very clearly that it was a northern snakehead.

It was actually lifting its head out of the water and breathing which also made it easy to see. 

The fish was in no hurry to move off, it was suspended and not moving very much.

They were able to double check it’s identity by going to DNR’s webpage before making the decision to eradicate it.

The water was too shallow to reach it by boat and no one was certain how to catch it using hook and line, so they shot it with a 22 rifle and then retrieved it with a kayak.

It measured 24 inches long and weighed 4.5 lbs.

They are coming for us! God SOS!


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## CrownOfKings (May 24, 2010)

Ugh oh...


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

I predicted in another thread that will be in every body of water on the east coast within 10 years. They will be in Conowingo dam, Rocky Gorge, the inner harbor, south, severn, magothey, you name it - it will have snakeheads. For better or for worse, they are coming.


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## therevolution (Oct 12, 2010)

They are probably spread farther out than anyone can even notice yet. I was out on mattawoman today and while they have been know to be there for a while, they are absolutely everywhere in there.


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

This is going to flip the bay as we know it. 

Originally, "experts" claimed that the Snakeheads would be stymied by the salt waters of the lower Potomac....LOL!


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## therevolution (Oct 12, 2010)

Yes indeed the experts were incorrect. In fact just about any fish can live in saltwater if it is converted slowly. I have been keeping aquariums for about 5 years now and have seen examples of people taking goldfish and acclimating them to saltwater. Add in the fact that snakeheads can directly breathe air and I dont see why the salinity would stop them.


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## CrownOfKings (May 24, 2010)

We need upgraded bluefish to fight the snakeheads. LEGGO SCIENTISTS!


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## therevolution (Oct 12, 2010)

Stinky_Pete said:


> I predicted in another thread that will be in every body of water on the east coast within 10 years. They will be in Conowingo dam, Rocky Gorge, the inner harbor, south, severn, magothey, you name it - it will have snakeheads. For better or for worse, they are coming.


Im curious how they would enter rocky gorge? Could they go up through the dam or do you think people would drop them in there?


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## rongcon1 (Apr 4, 2009)

Let them come....Good eating!! better than striper....


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## CatchEmAll (May 18, 2011)

just because they are being found by the PAX dosent mean they went through the bay. Some one could have put them up there just as easily as they did the potomac. They could have swam through the bay, but they also could have been released.


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## Fresh/Saltmaniac (Apr 17, 2010)

CrownOfKings said:


> We need upgraded bluefish to fight the snakeheads. LEGGO SCIENTISTS!


I think they're up to the task as it is, those blues are voracious.


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## SNDFLEE (Sep 8, 2010)

I'll bet they would make a pretty cool looking mount!


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## CrownOfKings (May 24, 2010)

rongcon1 said:


> Let them come....Good eating!! better than striper....


Have you tried it?
If its good, maybe we can make it the "next big thing" and we can go cook them all


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## rongcon1 (Apr 4, 2009)

Yes....The Florida folks go crazy over eating them down there...I heard ppl were catching them on Potomac brackish up to DC areas last year, now MD side...deep spicy Fried strip, YUMMMM....


CrownOfKings said:


> Have you tried it?
> If its good, maybe we can make it the "next big thing" and we can go cook them all


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## dena (Jun 20, 2010)

CatchEmAll said:


> just because they are being found by the PAX dosent mean they went through the bay. Some one could have put them up there just as easily as they did the potomac. They could have swam through the bay, but they also could have been released.


If you remember, the first place Snakeheads were ever found in Md waters was the Pax up near Crofton. Maybe they went downstream.


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## catman (May 28, 2001)

CatchEmAll said:


> just because they are being found by the PAX dosent mean they went through the bay. Some one could have put them up there just as easily as they did the potomac. They could have swam through the bay, but they also could have been released.


I have to agree. There's no reason for them to migrate through saltwater as long as they have a good food source. Looking at how quickly the grow, food doesn't seem to be a problem. That being said I wish a couple dz. would be released in the Middle River area.


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## bloodworm (Jan 5, 2007)

CrownofKings you are funny I guess we now have 3 pests in the river cownose rays,snakeheads, and toadfish


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

dena said:


> If you remember, the first place Snakeheads were ever found in Md waters was the Pax up near Crofton. Maybe they went downstream.


These are unrelated snakeheads. The Potomac river Snakeheads are genetically dissimilar.


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## thaimonkee (Oct 2, 2010)

I cant wait til they get up north of the potomac. I will be ready to hunt them.


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

From: http://www.michigan-sportsman.com



> I don't know if anyone else saw this but a snakehead was found in Burnham Harbor in Chicago last week.
> 
> I had a snakehead in college over 10 years ago. At that time they were sold in pet stores as the new Piranah or Oscar. When I got rid of mine it was over 24" long. When they say voracious appetite they are not kidding. When it was around 10" long a girl came over to our house and stuck her finger in the tank. THe fish shot up and bit her finger and drew blood. When it was 18" inches long we would buy 40+ goldfish and dump them in the tank at once and watch the chaos. They'd all be gone in about a minute. When It got to be 24"+ it became too expensive to feed gold fish so I began buying cow hearts and then catching hand size bluegill. I put 5 bluegil in the tank and it took 2 down whole instantly and then grabbed a 3rd and ripped the head off. The last 2 lasted a few more days before their demise.
> The fish mutliple times escaped the tank and we had to search the room only to find it fuzzy with dirt and debris behind the couch. Puting bricks on top of the tank is all that would keep it in.
> ...


http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78786


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

http://www.midatlanticpanel.org/resources/publications/Northern_Snakehead.pdf


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## chesapeakecarper (Aug 22, 2003)

therevolution said:


> Im curious how they would enter rocky gorge? Could they go up through the dam or do you think people would drop them in there?


Almost from the start it was a given that snakeheads couldn't be eradicated from the Potomac; the goal is "containment" and attempt to keep them from spreading to inland waters via bait buckets, minnow traps and the like. People purposely move and introduce fish for a variety of reasons, both problematic rough and desired game, amongst impoundments for a variety of reasons and found it openly talked about, planned and admitted on some forums. 

Don't do that.


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

chesapeakecarper said:


> Almost from the start it was a given that snakeheads couldn't be eradicated from the Potomac; the goal is "containment" and attempt to keep them from spreading to inland waters via bait buckets, minnow traps and the like. People purposely move and introduce fish for a variety of reasons, both problematic rough and desired game, amongst impoundments for a variety of reasons and found it openly talked about, planned and admitted on some forums.
> 
> Don't do that.


They could very easily get into the dam by going around it....on land. They can live out of water for three days, they can walk on dry land.


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## dena (Jun 20, 2010)

Stinky_Pete said:


> These are unrelated snakeheads. The Potomac river Snakeheads are genetically dissimilar.


Thanks, I did not know that.


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

*http://fishwild.vt.edu/snakeheads/Facts.html*

http://fishwild.vt.edu/snakeheads/Facts.html

Do snakeheads walk on land and breathe air?
Northern snakeheads do not walk on land. Their pectoral fins (on the sides of the fish, just behind the head) lack spines, and have only soft rays. Thus, they have no ‘legs’ to propel them forward. Some species of snakehead (there are close to 30) are known to travel short distances over flat, muddy ground, but the northern snakehead is not among them. A northern snakehead placed on a gently sloping bank can probably wiggle back down into the water (and thus all snakeheads caught in the Potomac River should be killed by removing the head or viscera), but couldn’t have made it up the bank in the first place without assistance. Other native fishes, such as American eel, are far more able to travel across land than northern snakeheads.
In my many hours on the water, spent tracking radio-tagged northern snakehead and electrofishing, I have only seen two fish on land. Both were hiding in weed beds in less than a foot of water next to a very gently sloping muddy bank. Both exploded out of the water onto the bank as the electric current from the shocking boat approached them, and sat for a second on the shoreline, inches from the water line. Both then wiggled back into the water and were immediately stunned and captured. I have seen nothing to suggest that northern snakeheads do this naturally, or even when approached by boats that aren’t shocking the water.
Northern snakeheads do breathe air. Unlike many other air-breathing fishes, they have a series of spaces in the rear portion of their head called the suprabranchial chamber. These spaces are filled with folded tissues that have a high surface area, and allow oxygen exchange to occur directly between air and their blood. Unlike humans, they lack a diaphragm, and use water to exchange old air with fresh air each time they take a breath. Thus, their ability to breathe air when out of the water is limited. Northern snakeheads could survive out of the water for several days if they are kept moist, but would desiccate and perish in minutes if placed on dry land in direct sunlight. Northern snakeheads also have gills, and breathe water like any other fish. They breathe air to supplement their demand for oxygen, and appear to breathe air far more frequently when they are actively swimming, much like a runner gasps for breath compared to someone who is sitting and reading.
Back to top
Do snakeheads bite or attack people or pet dogs?
No= northern snakeheads are a very shy fish and I have seen no evidence that they would attack anything larger than they are. Every radio-tagged fish that we tracked was hidden when we approached, and we saw very few fish in the turbid, weedy waters of the Potomac River, despite being within 1 m of most. Two of our radio-tagged fish were found guarding young, and I approached each nest once per day for a period of two weeks, netting a few of the young each day to determine their growth rate. I was never attacked by the adults. In fact, I rarely saw the guarding adults, who would emerge only after I remained perfectly still for over 10 minutes. Yet, a man honestly asked us one day if it was safe for his five year old son to play on his lawn, beside a retaining wall that was several feet above the water line.
I’m hesitant to say definitively that there is no danger of a snakehead biting a human. Northern pike and muskellunge are known to occasionally bite feet or hands being dangled over the side of a dock or boat. These large, predatory fish do not see the rest of the person attached to the appendage, and mistake it for a smaller animal that they are able to swallow. People bit by pikes will often require medical attention, and it seems plausible that a snakehead could similarly confuse an appendage with a small animal, particularly if the fish was guarding young. However, in my experience pikes are far more aggressive and less shy than northern snakehead, despite not guarding nests themselves. All things considered, I personally wouldn’t hesitate to dangle my feet in waters that had northern snakeheads, even though I’m cautious about it when muskie are present
Back to top
Are snakeheads hurting the ecosystem? Will they eat every other fish in the river?
The lower Potomac River is a heavily altered ecosystem. Although many native fish species still exist in the river, most of the fish that we see while electrofishing are non-native, including carp, goldfish, catfish and largemouth bass. Additionally, shoreline and riverine habitats have been heavily altered, and the river is loaded with sediments, nutrients and chemicals from our activities. This makes it hard for a single additional species to have a major impact. The river is large and complex, with a high diversity of species. Although smaller, more indirect impacts are probably occurring as a result of the northern snakehead introduction, these are very difficult to detect in the face of other impacts. Blue catfish are another recently introduced piscivorous (fish-eating) species that have grown to immense size and abundance in the deep waters of the main channel. Detecting changes in population levels of other channel-dwelling species that coincide with the introduction of blue catfish is probably more likely than detecting specific impacts of the northern snakehead introduction at this time.
Northern snakeheads do eat primarily fish. They have a similar diet to largemouth bass, but largemouth eat considerably more crayfish and other species such as frogs, turtles, snakes, etc. In comparison, northern snakeheads are almost completely piscivorous (unpublished data). However, there is nothing to suggest that they are any more voracious than the bass that already exist in greater numbers in the river. If anything could eat all the fish in the river, bass would have already done so. Northern snakehead do often select shallower, weedy habitats than bass, where they feed extensively on small banded killifish and mummichog. In the long run, increased predation on such fishes may have indirect effects on the food web of the Potomac River, but there is no evidence for such effects yet.
The same may not be said for more pristine systems. Northern snakeheads are hearty fish, able to survive in diverse freshwater environments. Their release in a small ecosystem, particularly one with rare species and lacking a top piscivore, could be disastrous. Even in the Potomac River, the story is still being written. Invasive species can be viewed as a ticking time bomb, and changes in the ecosystem from habitat alterations, climate change, or from the introduction of additional non-native species can result in previously unexpected population explosions of existing invasive species. Plus, this northern snakehead population is very young and may still be growing (see below).
At the turn of the century, North American fisheries agencies were busy spending taxpayer money to aggressively stock a sport fish across the continent. This fish was the epitome of European sportfishing. It was large, a strong fighter, and a popular food fish as well. Establishing populations of this species was notoriously difficult, and many millions of individuals had to be introduced, often in the same system, before a population would take hold. Eventually, human technology and persistence prevailed, and the species was stocked across North America. Did a sport fishery develop? The species I’ve been describing is the common carp, and although a few North American anglers target them, they are now widely considered a trash fish and even a nuisance. Common carp uproot vegetation while foraging for invertebrates in the substrate, increasing the turbidity of aquatic ecosystems.
It is my fear that North American anglers will imagine the potential for a northern snakehead fishery in their own backyard reservoir/lake/river, and will take it upon themselves to collect and release individuals in other ecosystems. Examples from the Potomac river include a guide charging $300 a day for snakehead fishing trips, and ‘snakehead’ fishing lures being sold for $25. These dollar signs may light up like light bulbs over the heads of anglers in other parts of the country but be warned that transporting a live snakehead over state lines is a violation of the Lacey Act and caries a fine of up to $200,000 and five years in jail, not to mention state laws prohibiting the release of species. A nightmare scenario would be a repeat of the common carp phenomenon, this time by individuals seeking to create profitable fisheries. Yet the sustainability of such fisheries is largely unknown, and the Potomac River fishery is too young to serve as an example. Northern snakehead may become a popular sportfish, or anglers may put in a great deal of effort to catch a few fish, then get bored with low catch rates and switch back to targeting bass. Besides, if we want to fish for an exotic-looking, large, air-breathing, hard-fighting, piscivorous species that is shy and a challenge to hook and land, we already have gar, and just how popular are they with North American anglers? Oh, and did I mention common carp?


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## Los86sr (Sep 12, 2007)

new fish to catch and fry


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## finfinder (Sep 17, 2004)

But neither Gar nor Carp taste worth a damn !


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

Another possible scenario involves snakeheads entering the upper bay from the Delaware river, via the C&D canal. Snakeheads will use canals to populate most of north America. This is how they got above great falls.


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## catman (May 28, 2001)

They've been in the lower Schuylkill River and Delaware River in Pennsylvania since 2009 and the C&D isn't that far down stream. Who knows they may already be in the Susky and N.E. River.


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

> One northern snakehead was found dead near a boat ramp on the Eastern Shore. Fisheries biologists are not sure how the fish ended up there but it is possible they have spread to the Eastern Shore. The fish are commonly found downstream to the Colonial Beach area and in tributaries such as Machodoc Creek. This is the first one in Machodoc Creek that this writer has heard of, but according to an employee of VDGIF, many were found in a pond in Westmoreland near Popes Creek and in other tributaries down there. It stands to reason that there are likely plenty in Machodoc Creek as well.


http://www.journalpress.com/outdoors/2670-snakehead-fish-caught-in-machodoc-creek


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

*Chicago Angler nets Snakehead in Lake Michigan*

http://great-lakes.org/Wkly_news/10-18-04.html

October 14, 2004 -- While fishing for fall returning salmon at Burnham Harbor last Saturday, Matt Philbin of Tinley Park netted what appeared to be a Snakehead. His worst suspicions have now been confirmed.

Tom Trudeau who heads up the Chicago office of the Illinois Dept of Natural Resources, said DNR biologists picked up the fish for positive identification. "By the markings, it looked like a snakehead," said Mike Conlin, Illinois DNR Fish Chief. "If it is, we will be in there sampling." On Thursday, October 15 DNR biologists confirmed the discovery after picking up and examining the 18-inch predator, which had been packed in ice.



Snakehead in Northeast

http://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/fishingreport/single.asp?ID=579

I caught a snakehead fish 4-17-2011 on the Northeast River near Anchor Marine . it was approx. 4.5 lbs and was about 21 inches long, the fish was destroyed. I didn't know if there were others caght in this area.

DNR RESPONSE via Joe Love, Fisheries Biologist This is this first reported snakehead caught in Northeast River. DNR applauds the actions of Mr. Lauer to remove and kill this invasive species which has now appeared for the first time in the upper Chesapeake Bay. Please spread the word to fellow anglers to handle any snakeheads they encounter similarly.



Wow. Just wow.


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

The only way to get rid of snakeheads is to introduce a Laotian/Hmong population. 

That managed to work for completely ravaging my (2) favorite crappie spots in Southeastern KS. Never saw anyone take 2" crappie and bluegill for eating before or since...


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

solid7 said:


> The only way to get rid of snakeheads is to introduce a Laotian/Hmong population.
> 
> That managed to work for completely ravaging my (2) favorite crappie spots in Southeastern KS. Never saw anyone take 2" crappie and bluegill for eating before or since...


Neither I, nor anyone else here [I hope] wants to listen to your raciest theories, thanks.


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

Stinky_Pete said:


> Neither I, nor anyone else here [I hope] wants to listen to your raciest theories, thanks.


Oh, brother 

How about my less racy theories, then?


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

solid7 said:


> Oh, brother
> 
> How about my less racy theories, then?


Fine, I'll work on it.

In the mean time....please leave the racial stereotyping to the other sites. 

Seriously, dude! No one wants to go there.


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

Stinky_Pete said:


> Fine, I'll work on it.
> 
> In the mean time....please leave the racial stereotyping to the other sites.
> 
> Seriously, dude! No one wants to go there.



Not stereotyping... Just making light of an observation. (or something like that)

I am all for snakeheads, and don't believe any of the negative hype for 5 seconds. So consider my comments sarcastic. Bring'em on. There is a tremendous lack of biodiversity in the US.


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## bloodworm (Jan 5, 2007)

don't make this thread be closed


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## HuskyMD (May 19, 2000)

I have a good friend who is Laotian. As a young child he and his father walked for days without any food through horrible conditions to cross the border and escape the country. He eventually made it to the US and was my mechanic. If he wants to eat 2" fish, I think he's earned the right to...


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

HuskyMD said:


> I have a good friend who is Laotian. As a young child he and his father walked for days without any food through horrible conditions to cross the border and escape the country. He eventually made it to the US and was my mechanic. If he wants to eat 2" fish, I think he's earned the right to...


I agree - if he wants to eat a 2" fish where that is a legal limit, by all means... Otherwise, please be sure to make excuses for any and all other scofflaws, both immigrant and non. 

Now look what you started...


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

How about lets stick to snakeheads.


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

Stinky_Pete said:


> How about lets stick to snakeheads.


Yeah, OK. 

Wait... Does that apply just to me?

Can we talk about midgets, as long as there are snakeheads involved? (I love midgets)


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

solid7 said:


> Yeah, OK.
> 
> Wait... Does that apply just to me?
> 
> Can we talk about midgets, as long as there are snakeheads involved? (I love midgets)


Talk about whatever crap you want. You seem to take great pleasure in hijacking threads, who am I to shut up the great solid7?

Have a nice day - on to ignore you go.


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

*Snakehead found near Annapolis.*

http://www.cecilwhig.com/local_news/article_d7d97c38-b24b-11e0-98e8-001cc4c002e0.html

Biologists found an invasive northern snakehead in their nets last week while in an Anne Arundel County river, a toothy eel-looking species that can breathe air, live on land and endanger the native fish population.
Worse yet, Department of Natural Resources officials confirmed that another snakehead was caught in Cecil County this spring.
The fish's presence suggests this spring's low salinity levels in the Chesapeake Bay allowed the predatory species to spread.
"It was quite a surprise," said Smithsonian Institute research biologist Stacey Havard, who pulled in the strange fish from the Rhode River south of Annapolis. "This is the first reporting of it on our river."

Click link for more.


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## captmikestarrett (Apr 28, 2004)

Got this one last Sunday 30 inches long and 17 lbs..










I think they are a much needed shot in the wallet for MD.. 

Wolfgang Puck is now trying to buy any NSH he can find for his DC resturant. 

Capt Mike


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

captmikestarrett said:


> Got this one last Sunday 30 inches long and 17 lbs..
> 
> I think they are a much needed shot in the wallet for MD..
> 
> ...


That is a beautiful fish - seriously...


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

captmikestarrett said:


> Got this one last Sunday 30 inches long and 17 lbs..
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Very nice capt Mike! awesome!


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## dena (Jun 20, 2010)

Question: What does a 17 pound Snakehead eat?

Answer: Just about anything that swims in the bay. How many White Perch does that thing eat in a day?

Canp Mike, do clients specifically want to catch Snakeheads? Or is it a by catch bonus kind of thing?


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## phillyguy (Aug 9, 2010)

Just something else to thank the Chinese for, along with stinkbugs and lousy take out.


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

dena said:


> Question: What does a 17 pound Snakehead eat?
> 
> Answer: Just about anything that swims in the bay. How many White Perch does that thing eat in a day?
> 
> Canp Mike, do clients specifically want to catch Snakeheads? Or is it a by catch bonus kind of thing?


What a bunch of crap. Snakeheads are glorious fish, and there is little to no chance that they are going to wipe out any other populations, contrary to popular myth. In fact, it has been PROVEN that they are part of the same food chain that they are supposedly wiping out.

Educate yourself, and stop with the boogeyman stories.




phillyguy said:


> Just something else to thank the Chinese for, along with stinkbugs and lousy take out.


Snakeheads aren't a bad thing. I wouldn't expect someone from Philly to understand that, though. After all, the city paper reports it, and the city people believe it...

It's OK. You can't help it.


I hope the snakeheads multiply tenfold. I've said it before - I'll take them over largemouth sunfish ANY DAY of the week.


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

Snakehead Caught on Bay Tributary on the Eastern Shore
Dover, Del. -- Northern snakeheads have been caught in two Delaware waterways in recent months, the DNREC Fisheries Section said Friday, July 22. The snakehead is an invasive species that can impact fish, amphibians and invertebrate populations due to their predatory nature, competition for food resources and alteration of established food webs. According to research by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, northern snakeheads and largemouth bass have similar food and habitat patterns, and bass numbers increased as snakeheads were removed from shared waterways.

Last week, an angler caught a 24-inch fish in the Marshyhope Creek near the Route 404 bridge in Delaware waters north of Federalsburg, Maryland. Last fall, DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife Fisheries staff collected a 26-inch long snakehead during electrofishing efforts in Broad Creek just downstream of Laurel. Both fish were adults, weighing between four and six pounds. Both waterways are tributaries of the Nanticoke River, a very popular largemouth bass fishery in Delaware. The Nanticoke River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.

“We are concerned about possible adverse impacts to largemouth bass in this important watershed if snakeheads become established,” said Fisheries Biologist Catherine Martin.


http://chesapeakemaritimenews.blogspot.com/2011/07/snakehead-caught-on-bay-tributary-on.html


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

solid7 said:


> .....I hope the snakeheads multiply tenfold. I've said it before - I'll take them over largemouth sunfish ANY DAY of the week.


I love snakeheads. Can't wait till they are in my neck of the woods.


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## JAY-MAL (Aug 17, 2009)

capt. mike...wat kind of lures do they hit?


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

*Snakeheads Invade PAX and Rhode Rivers, Chesapeake Bay....*










http://chesapeakecurrent.com/snakeheads-invade-pax-and-rhode-rivers-chesapeake-bay-p116-1.htm

In the murky waters of the Rhode River in Southern Anne Arundel County, at its headwaters near Muddy Creek, a team from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Annapolis made a startling discovery.
“We go out with seine nets multiple times each summer in certain places and do wildlife surveys,” says Stacey Havard, Biological Research Technician. “That day, we caught something quite large, and it was really fighting in the net. At first we thought it was a big bottom-feeder, maybe a carp. Then one of the interns managed to get close and identified it as a Snakehead.”
This was the first Northern Snakehead (Channa argus) ever pulled from the Rhode River. Researchers are very concerned about the recent range expansion of the Snakehead population they’ve seen, which Havard says is due to the low salinity in brackish waters because of heavy rains this spring, including the Chesapeake Bay.
“We took it back to the Smithsonian and dissected it,” Havard says. “We’re doing genetic testing to be certain it’s related to the Snakeheads in the Potomac. The results won’t be available for several weeks, but that’s probably where it came from.”
Senior Scientist Greg Ruiz performed the dissection and tells the Chesapeake Current, “It was a 23-inch-long female, and I could not believe how many eggs she was carrying.”
He did some research while we were talking and found that Snakeheads can carry 150,000 – 200,000 eggs. “So even though there are about 170 invasive species of plants and animals in our area, you can see why we’re so concerned about the Snakeheads migrating,” Ruiz says.
Native to China, the first Northern Snakehead in Maryland was reported in 2002 in a Crofton pond, approximately 20 miles east of Washington, D.C. That population was eradicated, but the SERC says a separate introduction occurred in the Potomac River in 2004, which led to the establishment of the Northern Snakehead in creeks and waterways in both Maryland and Virginia.
The Northern Snakehead is typically found in freshwater, although it can tolerate low salinity waters. It was thought that higher salinity at the mouth of the Potomac might act as a natural barrier, serving to limit or reduce the fish’s spread to other tributaries. However, due to extremely high levels of spring runoff in the Upper Chesapeake Bay this year, salinity levels in Chesapeake tributaries are at some of their lowest levels in the last 30 years. This has allowed the fish to move out of the Potomac and travel to other rivers via the Bay.
That’s likely how this Snakehead reached the Rhode River.
And now they’re in Calvert County, in the Patuxent River as well.
The Chesapeake Current has learned that a Snakehead was caught recently in Mill Creek in Chesapeake Ranch Estates in Lusby, not far from Lake Lariot.
“A fisherman caught that Snakehead in June and reported it to us, so it was a positive Snakehead ID” says Don Cosden, Assistant Fisheries Director for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources in Annapolis. “We don’t know if it was a male or female, but it was a mature adult Snakehead. Another guy reported to us that he’s sure he saw another one in the area and almost caught it, but it got away.”
“Mill Creek is a tributary of the Patuxent River, so yes, I believe they have now moved into the Patuxent,” Cosden says. “And they’re obviously in the Chesapeake Bay, too. We have three confirmations of Snakeheads caught this summer in the Nanticoke River on the Eastern Shore, and another unconfirmed. If you look at a map, it’s right across from where the Potomac empties into the Bay. So there’s little doubt they have migrated into the Bay and went into the Nanticoke in search of fresh water.”
“That one they pulled out of the Rhode River… I would not be the least bit surprised if Snakeheads go into Muddy Creek because that’s the exact kind of habitat they like: a lot of grasses, lily pads, fresh water,” Cosden says. “We’ve found them well up into small woodland streams off the Potomac, doing quite well. These are tough fish. They are survivors.”
The SERC says the Northern Snakehead can live up to four days out of water if kept moist. This ability comes from air chambers above their gills that act as a primitive lung.
Wikipedia says a Snakehead can travel on wet land for up to a quarter of a mile by wiggling its body and “crawling” with its fins.
They are top-level predators with the ability to consume other fish and animals up to one-third of their own body size. Northern Snakeheads typically cause declines in local fish and other organisms, causing potential changes to the food web.
One of the reasons they take hold so quickly is because they’re such “good” parents.
“We’re hoping the ones in Calvert and Anne Arundel were loners,” Cosden says. “But during breeding time, they pair up, and they can breed three times or more in a season. The male and female then stay together and care for their fry. They keep a tight school when they’re ¼ to ½ inch – it looks like a patch of rain on the water because they stay close to the surface, just a huge swarm of them. The adults are very protective and fight any predators that come near their fry.”
Cosden says also this year two adult Snakeheads have been caught at St. Jerome’s Creek in St. Mary’s County, halfway between the Potomac and the PAX. In the second case, the owner of a small marina couldn’t catch the Snakehead, so he got his gun and shot it.
“They’re also now in the Anacostia River and we’re hearing that some sport fishermen are hunting the Snakeheads there with bows and arrows,” Cosden adds.


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