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well, here in northern Viginia, a lot of the waters have become home to the snake head. now i dont want them to become a major issue so i figure the best way to get arid of them is to fish for them. so i was wondering if anybody has any info on spawning seasons, prefered diet, best fishing conditions, and any other info that would be useful for targeting snakehead in particular. i just figure i should do my part to help eradicate the nasty nuisence. thanks for any help
DuPont Quarter Stick Emergers ;)
Seriously though, I would think that streamers might work best. They are predatory fish. That snakish look would seem to indicate that they slink around in tight waters. Of course this is all guesswork, I'd not think that there are gonna be too many snakehead anglers on here.
best
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RRhyne56
http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com
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well, i just did some research and heres some info for anyone else who might be interested
before striking, the snake head coils into an S shape and then strikes like a snake hitting a mouse.
After spawning the male and female snakehead will "escort" the balls of fry and at intervals "push" them to the surface to breath air. to catch them, cast a top water lure such as a size 4-2/0 popper or surface flie either to the center or to the side. what you are trying to do is aggravate the adults into attacking, so a fast, aggresive retrieve is best.
when fishing for them when no fry ball is present, fishing for them is almost identical to bass fishing
"The key to finding them is in slow water with lots of vegetation. We're talking the exact opposite of a pristine trout stream, more like a scummy warm-water ditch filled with weeds, or a flooded backwater loaded with vegetation. The fish is able to breathe air and that helps it survive in water with low levels of oxygen, which means it can tough it out in murky eutrophicated water that is heavy with algae and pollutants.
In South Korea, serious snakehead anglers almost exclusively use frog imitations. Yet among the Korean bass fishing crowd that reported hooking into a stray snakehead, nearly all of them were caught on a type of soft plastic lure, usually a big worm, lizard, or salamander worked near thick cover.
The snakehead diet varies and they are opportunistic hunters. They will feed on bluegills, small carp, crayfish, a drowning mouse, large terrestrials like beetles, and fluttering dragonflies touching the water's surface film. For casting flies, the best choices are bass poppers, swimming frogs, large streamers, and of course; the classic woolly bugger". excerpt from www.basspro.com
You could ask this guy. [url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/05/AR2007070501285.html?hpid=features1&hpv=local:3c56 5]Snakehead Guide?[/url:3c565]. At least he hopes to guide for them one day. First, however he needs to learn how to catch them. He appears to be a chowderhead IMHO.
I am not happy about the potential damage to our panfish fishery. I would rather see them erraticatd!
What happened to the guy that brought them in?
I fish for them here in Ga. They hit Puglisi-Style streamers, especially in Bluegill colors, with vicious abandon. They are delicious to eat as well. If they are going to be here, then so be it. I am adaptable.
So far here in Ga. they seem to be limited to the Chattahootche River just below Atlanta, but they will most likely spread. I keep reporting them to DNR, but their biologists (who have only been out to collect once, and did not do it correctly to catch snakeheads) insist they are bowfin. I am a biologist myself and am well aware of the differences, but oh, well. One day I will freeze one and hand deliver it to their office.
I personally think that, at least here in Ga., that the ecosystem can adapt to include these fish, creating a great fishery. I think they will do less harm than the introduction of carp did.
I am waiting to see Bighead carp in Ga. I'd love to just put on my motorcycle helmet, cruise around and let these fish just jump in my boat. Full-Contact fishing....YAAAAHHHOOOO!
The environment is a bit tougher than most people give it credit for. There is a period of adjustment, but in the long run, everything balances back out. Our ecosystems have survived the introduction of carp, Rainbow trout in the East, freshwater stripers, Brown trout, nutria, japanese beetles, killer bees, mimosa trees, kudzu, and much more. Each has found a niche and the system has adapted to accomodate it. Industrial concerns like paper mills, etc... do much more harm to the environment than introduced species ever will.
I wouldn't want to see these snakeheads in a trout stream, but since their habitat preferences are different than trouts, that most likely won't happen, and bass and bluegill are prolific, tough, and can take care of themselves. And hardly anything, including commercial fishing, has much of an impact on crappie populations. The way they breed, they are like roaches with fins. The only thing that effects crappie is a lack of baitfish to eat, and there might be the problem. If snakehaeds became numerous enough to have a significant effect on baitfish popuilations, then we'd have a problem. I imagine, though, that young snakeheads would be just as much at risk of being eaten by bass, crappie and stripers as any other baitfish, so it would probably even out.
At any rate, if they are in your area, I see no reason not to harvest and eat them. They are fine tablefare.
Semper Fi!