15+ lb Potomac river snakehead

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almost completely agree with you

Fish biologist in training chiming in - what's "native" even mean? For most people it means fish that white people brought here or cared about. Ecosystems, species - will change. Extinction, migration (whether natural or not) will happen. A couple years ago they told us (wrongly, and we knew it then) that snakeheads would soon take over. As it turns out they have found a niche like everyone else, and their spread has slowed. And for everyones info Amia calva is native to much more than the south - and other than in some basic visual sense is very different from a snakehead. Different family of fish entirely.

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yes, I agree with you here as well. And as many times as they have tried to poison everything, the pikes still bounced back, while destroying the neighborhood lakes, and recreation for years at a time.

While some people are concerned about the biodiversity, majority of the average people only concerned about their favorite sportfish. What you think why they poisoned Lake Davis? They are not protecting the biodiversity of Lake Davis and they ONLY restored TROUT fishery. That is huge difference between protecting fishery and protecting the biodiversity.

I recently read an article and several published papers of offical studies said that snakeheads are not threatened to the ecosystems, fit in completely different niche and have completely different diets from other predatory fishes. Many biologists admitted that they were wrong and the snakeheads do not take over the ecosystems. As I said before Potomac River is already full of non-natives before the snakeheads show up. Northern snakehead may be an apex predator but that doesn't mean they are immune to the predation or being top predator in the river system, especially with non-native largemouth bass and non-native blue/flathead catfish.

Your average Joe fisherman don't really cares about biodiversity. You should see what they did to the roughfish or other fish that they do not like. Bowfin got SAME treatment as the snakeheads in most areas, they get killed, discarded and left them to rotten. So much for saving the biodiversity.

While I admired your knowledge, you have to remember that what the public wants, the public gets it. (stocking non-native sportfish/foragefish)
 
trust me, many people in the scientific community have their heads burried in the sand. There are many ways to skin a cat,

1. big head carps can be harvested to make catfish, dog food, feed the starving, people or animals, but we chose to celebrate by targeting the fish as a demon invasion from Asia, that attacks people? '

2. snakeheads, again can provide sport fishing, food, and they do not attack people or dogs as previously thought. In most asian countries the fish coexists with other fish, they don't decimate all other populations of fish, and little kids swim in lakes without being eaten. again this could be made into a great fishery, generating income for this nation that is crying unemployment rise.

3. almost all the "game fish" trouts, salmons, bass, are not endemic to any region at all, nor threatened, endangered. Most if not all are bred by the billions in hatcheries around the country. The fish that are threatened are more by direct human habitat destruction, urban development, etc. and the smaller species of darters or chubs that are endangered have nothing to do with pikes, or snakheads or bighead carps. and most people don't even care about it.

4. Northern pikes, that the California government spent millions trying to eradicate...actually co-exists with all kinds of panfish, trouts, salmons, walleyes, bassess, all the game fish, in all states eat of the Colorado, co-exists. Sacramento perch? Is not threatened due to pikes or snakeheads. Sacramento perch, which is a oversized sunfish is a very robust and predatory pan fish, but is probably being outfished, and out competed by other stocked varieties like crappies, and blue gills.

5. I deal with fish and game, fish and wildlife all the time, and most of them think that asian arowanas are going extinct, Smh. They also think that tropical stingrays are a invasive species, capable of reproducing and stinging people., when hobbyists couldn't keep them alive in fish tanks, nor will they be throwing them out into the lakes at the cost they command, while flowerhorns, and pacus are always discarded, yet legal.

nothing is absolute, and as the humans have traveled from one piece of land to another, bringing over diseases, wiping out other human, like the native americans, there is no turning back. The strongest will survive, some will evolve, adapt, the the sun will come up tomorrow.
 
Well, there are actually not 4 distinct salmon species endemic to California. All the species of Salmons found in California, are also found in Europe and Canada, and bred by the millions the only difference is a specific population which some people deem unique.

same with trouts., its not a golden trout, its not a hucho taimen either. Most of these fish are not endangered to become extinct as a specie. Like lonely larry, the last Sockeye that swam up the Snake or Umpqua years back. well I'm eating wild sockeye from Alasaka, "american" soil, and they're only $6.99 per pound this season!

I hear you about learning to live with Snakeheads, which is normally a practice that starts through fisheries biologists (such as controling Zebra Muscles etc..).

You have got to understand though the lakes that Largemouths are stocked in that eat stocked trout and turn into monsters bass are not natural ecosystems. They are man made waterways. That is why Largemouths are #1 there. In natural water ways that is not the same natives are #1 and it is the managing fisheries biologist job to work toward and make certain that these natives do not go extinct while maintain a bass fishery. The California Delta is a great example of this, Strippers and Largemouths have eaten 4 species of Salmon to extinction and Stealhead in the California Delta are an endangered and protected species. Fisheries biologist are attempting to recover and sustain the species that remain. Which I think can be done.
 
You can catch them on just about any bass fishing lure with top water baits being the most popular and easiest to use to keep the bait out of the heavy weeds that snakeheads love to hide in.
Also once you catch a few and really wanna take some fillets home fire up the generator and lights and bow fish for them!
facebook_-1718689854.jpg

Second night we went out with our bows and put 12 in the boat with some invasive carp, introduced non native blue cats and gold fish.
 
Well, there are actually not 4 distinct salmon species endemic to California. All the species of Salmons found in California, are also found in Europe and Canada, and bred by the millions the only difference is a specific population which some people deem unique.

same with trouts., its not a golden trout, its not a hucho taimen either. Most of these fish are not endangered to become extinct as a specie. Like lonely larry, the last Sockeye that swam up the Snake or Umpqua years back. well I'm eating wild sockeye from Alasaka, "american" soil, and they're only $6.99 per pound this season!

Exactly the runs of Steelhead in the central Valley are all considered endangered. While the species as a whole is not. It is still important to manage the runs to conserve this game fish in California long term. To the best of my knowledge all five species of Pacific Salmon were at one time found in California. While today only Coho and Chinook still remain and all the Coho runs is listed as endangered. As well the Central Valley winter runs of Chinook are listed as endangered and are closely managed. I think with management both of these runs could be restored.

While there are some species of native Trout other than Steelhead that have been seriously impacted. The Lahontan Cutthroat Trout was completely wiped out of Lake Tahoe and replaced by an (stocked) invasive Lake Trout. However is still found in Pyramid Lake. There are a couple of brood stock lakes that are found in the Sierras that are used as hatchery lakes and access to them is regulated.

There is two kinds of Golden Trout (that I think is the most gorgeous fish that is native to North America) that there native range has been greatly reduced however they have been established in a couple chosen alpine lakes. I think these brood stock lakes along with other sierra trout lakes are the reason California Fish and Game was keen to completely remove Northern Pike as soon as possible. As even if Bass were introduced to these alpine lakes could wipe out these populations.

LOL Sockeye Salmon is good food fish I had some not to long ago. A buddy of mine caught a couple limits of them. The land locked ones found in California are called Kokanee Salmon and are a popular game fish here in California. Nothing against making a meal out of a game fish I just think fisheries should be appropriately managed.

Jeremy A. Rich
 
Golden trout wasnt in danger from bass or pikes. It was in danger from hybridization with introduced rainbow trout.
 
exactly my point, I have a very good understanding of the salmonidae group as a whole, as do you.

So if its just the different runs that we're trying to manage, then its not considered extinction at all. This is all just labeling and lobbying done by sports fisherman and know it all advisors with fish and game.

The same "runs" can be re-created, or created, with stocks from all around the world. All the salmons in the great lakes are man made, and actually breed in the tributaries. They also do not always die after spawning. And also mand made, fish and game made strains of steelheads, skamania, are also created, different "runs" for sport fishing, with really no regards to biodiversity or eco-balance. In Mihicigan where I grew up, everything from a sucker, to bowfin, were always left on shore to die, because it was "stealing their bait"

Like you said, the invasive introductions were made by the fish and game to begin with, introduced rainbows for game, and "managed fishery" that took out the cutthroats and golden trouts.

Did you know that datnioid pulcher cannot be found in almost any bodies of water in Thailand or Vietnam now due to the over demand on them? They're not protected...of course we only care about the sea turtles and dolphins on our shore.

Exactly the runs of Steelhead in the central Valley are all considered endangered. While the species as a whole is not. It is still important to manage the runs to conserve this game fish in California long term. To the best of my knowledge all five species of Pacific Salmon were at one time found in California. While today only Coho and Chinook still remain and all the Coho runs is listed as endangered. As well the Central Valley winter runs of Chinook are listed as endangered and are closely managed. I think with management both of these runs could be restored.

While there are some species of native Trout other than Steelhead that have been seriously impacted. The Lahontan Cutthroat Trout was completely wiped out of Lake Tahoe and replaced by an (stocked) invasive Lake Trout. However is still found in Pyramid Lake. There are a couple of brood stock lakes that are found in the Sierras that are used as hatchery lakes and access to them is regulated.

There is two kinds of Golden Trout (that I think is the most gorgeous fish that is native to North America) that there native range has been greatly reduced however they have been established in a couple chosen alpine lakes. I think these brood stock lakes along with other sierra trout lakes are the reason California Fish and Game was keen to completely remove Northern Pike as soon as possible. As even if Bass were introduced to these alpine lakes could wipe out these populations.

LOL Sockeye Salmon is good food fish I had some not to long ago. A buddy of mine caught a couple limits of them. The land locked ones found in California are called Kokanee Salmon and are a popular game fish here in California. Nothing against making a meal out of a game fish I just think fisheries should be appropriately managed.

Jeremy A. Rich
 
Golden trout wasnt in danger from bass or pikes. It was in danger from hybridization with introduced rainbow trout.

I use to think pointing finger is not right, "mankind" in general is to blame. Now I realize, it really doesn't make much of a difference, we are another specie on this planet, and yes we make damges to the earth, but eventually things will adapt and evolve, and someone else, something else may prevail. Maybe a thousand years from now all there will be left are microorganisms. The earth will be rebooted. Humans care so much about the survival of one specie or another, which is still a selfish agenda, like you said, for sportsfishing, or for our grandchildren to enjoy. In the totality of things, we create our own agendas, on what to care for and what to neglect.

If we were so righteous, we would spend more to manage the disparity between the rich and the poor, instead of spending millions to poison a lake to eradicate a fish. We would round up fly big head carps for use instead of negative propaganda. We would ship the over yield of corn or crop instead of destroying it to control commodity.
 
You can catch them on just about any bass fishing lure with top water baits being the most popular and easiest to use to keep the bait out of the heavy weeds that snakeheads love to hide in.
Also once you catch a few and really wanna take some fillets home fire up the generator and lights and bow fish for them!
facebook_-1718689854.jpg

Second night we went out with our bows and put 12 in the boat with some invasive carp, introduced non native blue cats and gold fish.



Nice work smallguy!
 
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