Snakehead Chef

I'm on Aquia Creek, and since the nighttime bow fishing (with lights and generators) has started, I went from seeing 50+ snakeheads in the canals during the day, to maybe 5 at best, and they spook when you're 20 feet out on a paddleboard. They should be restricted to the river, I do not like being woke up at 0230 am, nor do I want arrows flying less than 10 yards from my backyard where my dogs often are (even at night, we have a doggy door). I bow fish during the day, and only shoot verified targets (SH), any other fish are safe. I also cease shooitng when around other boaters/kayakers or bank fishermen.

I bow fish for the Snakeheads during daylight hours using paddleboard; a few weeks ago I could count over 50 in my local canal, now, I'm lucky if I see 5. I attribute it to the nighttime bow fishing with the lights that has started up - I don't agree with that way, it's like hunting deer with spotlights. They do tear up the habitat by driving over everything and I see bass and catfish floating the next day with holes in them. I eat what I shoot, and stop shooting when I have enough to eat.

I just started deer hunting last year, on public land, and got an 8 pt buck at 40 yards with my crossbow. I use a crank (not a manual draw), so I don't have to worry about shoulder problems. It's my first crossbow, a Horton Storm RDX, it was extremely accurate out of the box. Expensive (1200), but crazy accurate and quiet.

Snakehead update - shot my first SH with compound bow this afternoon in the back canals of Aquia Harbour off my paddleboard. Lessons: Bungee everything down, it will fall off and sink (goodbye favorite fishing knife) A milk crate is nice to sit on, but don't use it as your primary holding for your snakehead, they can breathe out of water, but prefer (violently) not to do it from a milk crate. Make sure you have a paddle leash, your paddle floats, but doggy-paddling to get it isn't fun or fast Make sure your shoes float Fishing tips on paddleboard with bow: Go against the tide and current to start (I started out downwind against an incoming tide); trying to stop the paddleboard and put down the paddle, and pick up your bow takes too long. When you see one, keep going (quietly). Turn around about 10 yards past, hold bow with arrow nocked in your non-dominant hand, and paddle back to where you saw him one-handed, quietly and slowly, so slow you're hardly moving, let the tide and the wind push you along. When you're at the spot you saw him, put down the paddle and coast with the tide, with bow and arrow ready for aiming. When you see him, aim lower than you see him, in this case I was about 8-10 feet away and he was close to the surface, so I aimed right below his belly, center mass, and ended up hitting him center mass vertically and horizontally. Before pulling him in, sit down on your board with your feet in the water, legs hanging over the sides - he won't start to fight you hard until you pull him on the board, and then it's ON! Pin him to the board for a minute or two, the longer they are out of water, the less fight they present. Take more than one arrow, and take a close sided cooler (even one from Costco (cold bag)) will work with ice in it, just bungee it down. It is not as hard as it looks, I have never used a bow before, and this was only my fourth time shooting a fishing bow, I missed three shots yesterday, on my first time out. Just aim low and release! Total adrenaline rush!

I haven't done Pohick, but sounds like a target-rich environment - is there a parking area you'd recommend?

Once you pass the marina, then the wake sign, you can make a left into the "back canal", there's a no-wake sign a little ways in and houses on the right. That's the canal I run through on PB and kayak and pontoon for Bream, Crappie, and the elusive Snakehead; I start fishing after passing the last house on the right (there's also a little run-through to the right that only a PB or kayak can navigate, but haven't tried fishing back there yet). I've heard of some really good catches from the dock at the marina, but I have never fished from there.

I fish the canals of Aquia Creek/Harbour and have caught 3 this year (after having spent 2 years catching none!), one off my dock on a black frog, one with a chatterbait (yellow and white no trailer) in the back canals, and one with a shad crankbait (back canals). I haven't tried any of the spatterdock areas. I went out yesterday from noon to 2:30 on paddleboard and saw quite a few carp and gar, but only one SH and no bites on any of my lures in the back canals.