Snakeheads in the Potomac River...Hah!

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Vince said:
NOTE: All the rivers and lakes in the Phillipines are only inhabited by the channa striata and clarias clarias. There are hardly any native species in rivers and lakes other than those two species. You will find native brackish and estuarine fish, but in rivers, lakes, and ponds, all you will find are channa striata and the walking catfish....everything aquatic is gone except the cane toad, which is also an introduced species...
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Vince. This is an utter nonsense. I was in Philippines just few weeks ago, and I have no clue how you came to that wacked up conclusion.

So what if the northern snakeheads become established? Do you truly think the northern snakehead will wipe out every living creature? Then what will they eat, and how will they survive? Cannibalism?

I actually caught channa argus before moving to the states. In the same water, there are wild goldfish, carp, wild paradise fish, plenty of minnows, all sorts of catfish and dojo loaches. All sharing the same water with northern snakehead. Channa argus was the top predator in the waters, and they did not wipe out species nor become over-populated. Nonetheless, they do engage in cannibalism.

Anyhow, snakeheads are easy to catch. I used a pole, perhaps 20-30 feet. Drop a live minnow into a thick weeded area, and you should get a bite. All were caught within 30 feet from the shoreline. Snakeheads are NOT nocturnal, so they will readily bite during the mid day.
 
Also, very young specimen (2 inches or so) of channa argus will sit still very close to the shore since deeper water can be dangerous. They can be easily seen with human eyes because the small ones swim at the top of the water. They will wait motionless and will try to blend in with the thick weeds so their green/black body can camouflage. However, the numbers dwindle as summer goes on. Perhaps they move into deeper water.

Popular local bait usually include live minnow and live frog. For me, minnow usually worked better. I used 1-2 inch minnows. They also bite dead minnows, but live ones always did better for me.
 
I went fishing in the Potomac for some snakeheads but caught nothing. I tried shinners and a few lures.

does anyone know what types of lures they've been biting on?
 
Hi Chimuelo, welcome to MFK, I'm glad to hear tha the phillipines still maintain a good biodiversity in the waters there.
The problem with channas getting introduced here is IMO overrated, half the damn waters in the U.S. are already overun with introduced trout, bass, channel cats, bluegill, carp, or bullfrogs.
 
Chimuelo said:
Vince. This is an utter nonsense. I was in Philippines just few weeks ago, and I have no clue how you came to that wacked up conclusion.

So what if the northern snakeheads become established? Do you truly think the northern snakehead will wipe out every living creature? Then what will they eat, and how will they survive? Cannibalism?

Yes, you said that yourself. Just read below.

I actually caught channa argus before moving to the states. In the same water, there are wild goldfish, carp, wild paradise fish, plenty of minnows, all sorts of catfish and dojo loaches. All sharing the same water with northern snakehead. Channa argus was the top predator in the waters, and they did not wipe out species nor become over-populated. Nonetheless, they do engage in cannibalism.

Anyhow, snakeheads are easy to catch. I used a pole, perhaps 20-30 feet. Drop a live minnow into a thick weeded area, and you should get a bite. All were caught within 30 feet from the shoreline. Snakeheads are NOT nocturnal, so they will readily bite during the mid day.
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:ROFL: You fished with a what !!!! 20 to 30 foot fishing pole!!!! That sounds like a whole bamboo tree...DAMN that is one long fishing pole. But us anglers calls it fishing rods, not poles. My longest fishing rod is about 11 feet, that's my bait stick, and my jig stick is about 9 feet.

Anyway, I don't know where you fished at, and how long you were in the Phillipines...DOH I was born there and I know the waters like the back of my hand. There is a river in Antipolo, that's about 60 miles west of Manila, If I can recall correctly. We "fished" that river all the way up from the source, down to the nearest residential area. There were some freshwater shrimps in the mix, but most of the catch are Channa Striata...NOT Argus, and the clarias clarias. When you drain a pond isolated from any body of water, what is the inhabitant in that pond? Mosquito fish, Clarias clarias, and you guessed it...Channa Striata.

The other fish you mentioned, are found in estuarine or brackish waters, where the channas could not tolerate salinity. Also up north, there are dojos, and your typical cold water fish because it is cold, and when I was there, there were no Channa Argus. NOW you are telling me they have channa argus there now? Well that is just too bad...Let's see who wins, Argus or Striata. Bada bing!

:headbang2
 
have to agree with ash's original comment/thought.... callous ideas/desires have no place in this or any other hobby/interest...!!!
 
I'm another who has to agree with Ash's comments.

I'm not saying in this case that I wouldnt go and fish for these introduced Snakeheads and keep one for my aquarium - besides the legal point, I dont see an environmental problem from catching them as long they arent going back into the local waters. I'm a responsible fish owner and would never release fish into habitats they arent native to.

But, introduced species are nothing to be excited about, here in Australia we have massive problems with introduced fish(as well as other animals) taking over the native fishes environments and now a lot of our native species are endangered and very close to extinction. Look at our Murray River system(it's huge river system) where Carp was introduced over 100 years ago as an ornamental fish(sound familair?) Well anyhow , now the Carp has taken over the river system and a lot of the native species are becoming endangered. Even my little Murray Cod! You cant go fishing in theMurray without catching about 10-1 ratio of Carp to Aust Natives. They are an absolute pest!

Your Snakeheads have only been there for what 3 years? Think about things 100 years down the road?
 
man what a trip! i jsut posted this in another thread, and then here is a thread about fishing for them!!!

this is what is use to fish for Giant Snakeheahds:

* monofilement should NEVER be used, they tear it uo like confetti; i use Herculine Dynama

* in Thailand we use this real cool, top water weedless frog, with spinners in the front. i luckily caught this one using monofil, and i was even luckier cuz i was on the shore, but i've since modified the top waters, and have added additional hooks on either side of the frogs torso, giving it 3 hooks, cuz their mouths are like steel plates...

* medium to large pole action

* catch net is a must

this one i cught 2 yrs ago, and i since caught bigger ones, but this is the only photo i had on my hard drive. i plan on going again next month, cus the season is just about starting!!!!

here is one i got in 2003, Keang Kracharn naitonal park.

i was real lucky, cuz i used monofiliment, but that is a serious no no with giant snakehead fishing, plus, i caught this one off the shore. caught and released.

09.10.05.misc.00.JPG
 
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