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snakeheads spotted

17K views 98 replies 35 participants last post by  Dirtypenny725 
#1 ·
In the past 3 weeks I have seen 4 snakeheads in various parts of woodbury creek. All fish were between (est.) 15-24", and were were curious enough to get so close I could definately tell they were snakeheads. after speaking with a few other anglers and a landowner by the creek, I have heard that at least 3 were caught and killed prior to my sightings. I spent a lot of time carp fishing there last year and didn't see or hear of one...all of a sudden they are everywhere.. Its just amazing that in one season there are that many adults showing up..
 
#43 ·
You might want to read that article again. Or at least the rest of that one sentence you're referring to. He said he's only seen two ON LAND.

You're implying it's automatically a disaster. This guy stated that it COULD be disastrous. Big difference. The reason F&G are all over it is simply because they have absolutely no clue how they're going to affect the area, and are playing the cautious side.

Like I said before, I'd rather not see them spread because you're right, it will definitely change things, but not automatically kill off a fishery. Again I'll say that everyone forgets that most of our FW species are not native to this area, and look how that turned out. You think bass aren't voracious? They're eating machines and also very quickly populate small places. Noone cries about it then. Yeah they've been around for a while, but they're just as invasive. Look how that turned out.

In any event, kill all you want. It's not like there's only a few of them. You're really just going to be practicing an excercise in futility, but have fun with it.
 
#44 ·
:naughty:I never said an automatic disaster. I talked about the affect they would have on the ecosystem and our game fish. I also don't need to read that article again. That's what I was referring to. I think it would take alot more then seeing two Snakeheads on land to determine if they travel over land. And not ones that are shocked out of the water!:nuts: I will continue to destroy these fish at every opportunity given to me and no we will never fully eradicate them but if we all work together or a bounty were put on their heads you better believe man would deal this UNWANTED invasive species a mighty blow! So you just keep working on those biceps, I will be out huntin' heads.............:luv::D
 
#45 ·
These fish are not Bass and will not coexist with the other populations of fish or find their "niche". They will multiply like gremlins and devour the food sources that our proper game fish need to survive. :naughty:
OK.....so maybe you didn't use the exact wording I did, but you said it.

You still didn't answer the question of why bass are any better......by your logic they should all be killed too. Or is it ok because you like to fish for them? Or is it because they've been here so long? A whole 100 years.

All the videos of northern snakeheads I've seen on land are of the fish moving about 6" within 3 minutes. The ones that are actually covering a significant distance are different species that are not here. Doesn't seem much of a threat to move across land to me, especially since it'd have to go uphill first. And that's a rule, the banks of a lake or river have to be higher than the water, or else the bank would be somewhere else.

Plus IF you ARE right and that guy DOESN'T qualify.........then who the hell are you to discount him? What about the 4 scientists and government experts that wrote the other article?

But.......whatever, I disagree with you and it's not going to change. Have fun killing them.
 
#47 ·
who's comparing? And yet again.......I ask you.......why's THE SITUATION different?

And now give me some evidence that snakeheads will do more damage than a bass introduction would do. I think that answer was in the first article I posted. There just hasn't been enough time.

Just keep thinking what the government is putting in your head......It's all true and the way to go, I promise.
 
#48 ·
My Lake now has Decent size Pickerel,LMB,BlueGill,and various feeder fish all seem to be coexisting and keeping a Balance. I've read the articles you posted Clam and seem to be based on fact and in a specific ecosystem. Do you really belive the small lake I live on would survive and support another "Top of the Food Chain Fish"? Fish n Game does not and I tend to agree. If more factual info was presented to me that a few snakeheads in my lake would not upset,unbalance,or deplete the allready coexisting ecosystem I would go against the judgement of Fish n Game and release them but until then I will destroy and Contact FnG. I have watched for many years Blue Herions fish my lake with no unbalance. I don't like the herions taking fish but its been here for years. I do believe snakeheads are here to stay no matter what we try to due.I hope they don't upset the Nature of things and we have another fish to target.
 
#49 ·
Dave, you ask for more factual proof, but why not from fish and game? Just something else to think about.

All I've read from most states basically tells me that they don't have enough information on them to know what to do so just kill them. And the other states that have done some research so they can actually put out something useful basically say it's not going to be a major disaster like everyone's saying.

I know the ecosystem will be upset by them, but probably not devastated. Smaller lakes are more fragile, yes, but sometimes another apex predator can be a good thing.

I keep going back to the fish that we all fish for. most are non-native. Many are voracious predators. Largemouth, smallmouth, channel catfish, pike, musky, walleye, crappie.......ALL introduced here. Yet you say the ecosystem is balanced........I agree with you, but do you believe the introduction of snakeheads is going to be much different than the introduction of bass? Nature worked its way out before and it'll do it again.

All I'm trying to do is put out some info for you guys, info that I'll guarantee most of you never knew before.

No need to resort to name-calling. Again......have fun killing them....LOL I never even said not to.;)
 
#50 ·
With the HYPE of Snakehead introduction is where my bias comes from,I hope your right and like I said we ARE going to find out! Maybe it will be a "Killer Bee" thing the hype was 100% worse than the actual bee. I would love for a non-upsetting introduction and we all have another Fish to tangle with. My earlyist fishing memory is catching sunnies,as is many other fishermans. I would hate a young child asking his dad whats a sunny? And the answer,Its now extint due to an Asian Introduce fish. Its going to be a wait n see...you should remember my views on killing any wildlife from before, I may look at one and say f it and throw it back! To be honest the last report I heard was they were not in Delaware yet but its been awhile. While hearing they have moved into Jersey is upsetting but we knew it was coming.
As far as name calling Your intitled to your opnion like I am this is called debating an issue we agree to disagree and as far as I'm concerned thats all it is.
 
#51 ·
2manytoysdave they have been reported and confirmed in the delaware river. Just google "delware river snakehead". Now confirmed to me means that I saw it with my own eyes....but thats me. There are some pics available of folks holding them supposedly on a delware river shoreline. Looks like the delware river to me. When I saw this report I got curious because the mantua creek is my old stomping grounds.

Clamboni, I agree with a couple of your points and who knows what the future holds but right now most of the scientists and folks qualified to make an intelligent decision say they are not a good fit for our local eco system. Yeah I read those couple of articles you posted but I can produce a hundred times more articles for folks with (PhD) behing their name that says otherwise. But then again I ain't bashing you because for all I know everyone is wrong :)

About the largemouth bass. Yeah that worked out for us but we had a helping hand. After they were introduced and folks supported the idea we helped spread them around. Many stocking programs and private lakes were established to catch the mighty largemouth.......then nature kicked in, birds spread bass eggs, etc, etc and now we have a great fishery.

So it comes down to opinion. I agree that the population right now is small, but their appetite appears to be large (mostly uncontested). Bass and Snakeheads will most likely (IMHO) cohabitate for a while. But if the snakeheads reproduce and eat faster then the bass then you know what will happen. The bass will be choked out. Maybe in 20 years, maybe in 50, maybe never.
 
#53 ·
I'd still like to see some pics. :yahooo:It's not an impossibility but it is a major speculation to say "I saw snakeheads! I didn't catch it or take a picture." Get some pics so we know what we're facing. :huh:[/quote]

as i stated earlier, they were in the water and i wasn't able to get any pics. believe it or not, i only posted it because they were definately snakeheads and there were definately multiple adults in one of my regular fishing areas. i didn't see them on land, they weren't eating children and household pets, but after seeing more than one..clearly, it just caused enough concern that i figured i would share it with my other local fisherman. its not a major speculation, and i could care less whether you believe it or not, i guess you'll get to see yourself soon enough at this rate. i didn't mean to cause a huge arguement on how we should handle the growing problem, i just meant to inform that they are getting real close to home.
 
#74 ·
Hey, ignorance is bliss right?

Ive fished FDR a bunch of times, and have caught and released snakeheads there. I also caught many bass and panfish. I didnt notice any population decimations while I was fishing. PFBC is quick to say its invasive, kill it... though I dont see the point. have a great day.

I didn't even make it past this post, but I have to make a comment regarding this flawed logic, and it's been posted a handful of times in this thread alone.

It's sad how many think F&G are the ones who have no clue, anglers decide that they actually know what the best course of action to take, despite DCNR/F&G's reccomendation or rule? It's one word: ignorance. :thumbsdown:
 
#58 ·
thanks dave, appreciate it..i don't benefit from attracting more anglers to my somewhat private fishing spots, just figured if they made their way to wc, its only a short window before newton and cooper etc and fellow barners would like to know..well if any credible barner wants me to direct them to the 'bowfin' im seeing, send me an email. ill be carp fishing there over the weekend, be more than happy to give someone else a chance to get a pic so everyone can believe.
 
#60 · (Edited)
When/if you are lucky enough to catch one I'd love to see it. At least it confirms what we're dealing with and we all learn a bit more. If they're as voracious as they're thought to be they should eat anything we throw at them right? Let's find out. Post a report after the weekend and hopefully we'll have some concrete proof. :)

 
#62 ·
Back in like 05 or 06 there was this guy who posted on this board... I believe that for one reason or antoher he was banned..

He fished the skuke and all around im guessing from his reports back then the philly area.

People on here suddenly talked about invasive species and he came on a posted pics of monster flatheads and some damn good sized snakeheads... He said they were all caught in the skuke... He also said that he caught them above and below the dam.. snakeheads that is...

I did some searching and could only find one pic of him with a snakehead but thrust me he had many pics with them... He released them also.. at least that is what he said...

He said they put up a great fight and will attack a top water bait.. he had pics of some that looked all of 30 inches...

I went to his photo site that he used back then and looked all all his pics and trust me he didnt just get lucky and catch one.. he was targeting them and doing good...

He said they have been catching them in there before the fish and game made the kill all announcement and that he would continue to catch them and release them..

He also caught quality fish of every species that runs that river..

I was impressed with his skillls back then and I wish he was still on here but here is the one pic I did find...


Remember this was in 05 or 06 that he was cathing these so you be the judge.. my guess is they are not going away as they have been here for far too long..

That pic of him is dated 6292006
 
#63 ·
i fish woodbury at least 3 times a week never cought a snakehead id like too i heard if you turn them into the fish and wildlife you get a 50 bass pro shops gift certificate.... where did you spot them in the lake its fairly big?..... and also i cought like a 4 lb bowfin at mullica hill lake.... on a white 4 inch senko on the little run off side but i let it go back in the lake side because i had to borrow plyers off some guy.....
 
#64 ·
JC didn't mean anything as an attack on you. Just saying it can be hard to believe things you read on the internet........plus pics are cool to see.

Dave the name calling thing had nothing to do with you, sorry to put it in the same post.

TSS......that kid catches a lot of big fish I don't remember him being banned though. LOL he had fun stirring it up too.

Mstel........I've seen tons of articles also saying how much of a disaster they're going to be.......None of them, however, cited any actual situation that's happened.
 
#65 ·
TSS......that kid catches a lot of big fish I don't remember him being banned though. LOL he had fun stirring it up too.
.
Yeah he sure did... I remember he put up a pic of a nice carp real nice,, that he caught on a stick bait...

Everyone said kill the flatheads too..

He didnt..

I watched that river monsters about snakeheads and that showed them all over Florida.. He was fishing for them using a topwater frog.. The captain of the boat said that they only come after the bait once and if they miss it they wont follow it and hit it again... strange for such a savage predator fish...

I havent seen any in the delaware yet snakeheads that is...
 
#66 ·
I suggest instead of going back and forth, we do what F&W says- kill it and report it. if anyone catches one, put it on this site. rather be safe than sorry. I fish 90 percent of the time in Glous. county, and would rather not have them in the water.
I have talked to guys bass fishing who kill the bowfin because they think the bows eat all the baitfish. they have been around for 65 mil. years, and do not pose a threat to bass. I have fished places with both, and when the bassing is slow, a 5 or 6 lb. bowfin will liven up the day.
 
#67 · (Edited)
Wow!:eek:That fish (the snakehead) is terrifying! With the fish ladder at fairmount there's no reason to believe that that kid wasnt catching them in the non-tidal skuke. Scary...

I suggest instead of going back and forth, we do what F&W says- kill it and report it.
..and use them for flathead bait! We'll get two invasives with one stone. Then use the flathead for Atlantic sturgeon.
 
#69 ·
If anybody is interested google snakehead eats 10"bass. The thing is brutal asshole put a 10" Bass in a aquaium(thats illegal 1st of all)bass had now where to flee(2nd) but snakehead tore it in half with 1 burst pretty brutal.Looks like they would put up a hell of a fight if hooked.

Test was totally non-scienctific but it does show the power of the S/H

I hope they don't extint the fishery cause they look like a good fighter
 
#70 ·
Been Google ing snakeheads trying to deceide what I will do if I catch one,saw a video of a gar tearing one up so there are not superfish but we have no gar here. Florida F&G made it Illegal and will impose a fine to put one back.
Clam I really hope they come and make no drastic impact I think I would like to fish for them but after my neighbor catching a 5.8lb LMB in my little lake would hate to see that end
If F&G says killem I might but not unless it is mantutory I love
aquatis life so Will not bleed then. NJF&FG says killum then m
angitiory iwill but intill they will live to swim again:huh:


Sorry about the type n spelling I've had 2 bottols of Homade **** red
 
#71 ·
Been Google ing snakeheads trying to deceide what I will do if I catch one,saw a video of a gar tearing one up so there are not superfish but we have no gar here. Florida F&G made it Illegal and will impose a fine to put one back.
Clam I really hope they come and make no drastic impact I think I would like to fish for them but after my neighbor catching a 5.8lb LMB in my little lake would hate to see that end
If F&G says killem I might but not unless it is mantutory I love
aquatis life so Will not bleed then. NJF&FG says killum then m
angitiory iwill but intill they will live to swim again:huh:


Sorry about the type n spelling I've had 2 bottols of Homade **** red
Fish and Game does say to destroy them and report the catch. :nuts: Think you need to lay off the bottles a bit before sitting at the keyboard. :D
 
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