Record Snakehead Fish

[Diggy]

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/03/14/3286192/broward-canal-yields-dubious-record.html

 

 

 

 

The moment Kelly Gestring scooped up the strange, slithery fish from a Margate canal he knew he had a record in his net.

Gestring, a state biologist who monitors invasive freshwater fish, wasn’t exactly thrilled about it.

The 14-pound, three-ounce bullseye snakehead was a member of an exotic family of aggressive, fast-growing, razor-toothed air-gulpers that have earned considerable hype as “Frankenfish” and “Fishzilla” over the years. Impossibly large fictional mutations have even starred in a few schlocky sci-fi movies.

The snakehead has never proven much of a monster in Northwest Broward, however, where it was first discovered in a lake in 2000 and remains corraled by the canal system’s flood-control gates and water structures. But the whopper of a catch in the C-14 canal, posted last month on the Facebook page of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, does show the Asian invader population is quite healthy in South Florida.

If caught with a hook and line, the snakehead would have bested the all-tackle world record by 1.5 pounds, but Gestring and colleague Murray Stanford netted this one during an “electro-fishing’’ outing. The technique, which uses a low-level electrical charge to temporarily stun fish for population assessments, doesn’t count toward official sport-fishing records maintained by the International Game Fish Association.

“We knew right away,’’ said Gestring, biological administrator of the FWC’s non-native fish research lab in Boca Raton. “It was definitely the largest one we have ever collected.’’

The snakehead has caused considerable concern outside Florida, where the discovery of a close cousin to the bullseye, the Northern snakehead, spawning in a Maryland pond in 2002, triggered a media feeding frenzy akin to the one surrounding the Burmese python in the Everglades.

Scientists fear snakeheads, predators that will eat just about anything and are generally larger than most native freshwater fish, could take a big bite out local populations if they spread unchecked. The fish’s freakier attributes added to the curiosity. Much like the infamous walking catfish touted as a scourge of the Everglades in the 1960s, snakeheads can survive out of water for several days. And like the catfish, a few species purportedly can wiggle across short distances on land on their fins.

Like other exotics, the four species documented in the United States didn’t swim here. Federal and state wildlife managers believe they were likely released by aquarium owners or breeders for Asian seafood markets, where live specimens were illegally sold in the past.

After the Maryland discovery, the U.S. government moved quickly to ban live imports of all 29 species — a step that many other states, including Florida, had already taken.

Despite that import crackdown, as well as eradication efforts that have included poisoning small ponds and posting wanted signs urging anglers to kill them, the Northern snakehead is considered established in the Potomac River. Federal agencies report that one or more have been caught in Maryland, Virginia, Hawaii, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Gestring said the FWC also considers the bullseye snakehead permanently established in Northwest Broward. Scientists expect they will eventually escape into the Everglades but believe the warm-water species probably wouldn’t survive north of Orlando.

In the Northwest Broward canal system, they don’t appear to have wreaked ecological havoc, Gestring said. After a decade, there is no sign they’re doing any more damage than 22 other foreign fish that also have settled in Florida’s freshwater canals and lakes.

“What we’re seeing is that the native fish population seems to be holding strong,’’ he said. “We’ve not been able to detect any measurable impacts by bullseye snakeheads on any of our individual native species.’’

Shortly before stunning the big snakehead, for instance, biologists also netted a six- to seven-pound largemouth bass, a lunker prized by anglers, and released it unharmed, Gestring said.

Because of their size and strength, snakeheads also have become targets of fishermen as well, but the biologists didn’t put the record fish and others back into the canal. They were catching them last month as part of an FWC effort to promote consumption of exotics as a way to control them.

That’s a challenge with the snakehead, an unappetizing-looking oddity that resembles the native mudfish or bowfin — but with a rack of sharper choppers. During the Python Challenge awards at ZooMiami last month, chunks of snakehead samples were served pan-seared with a honey citrus glaze.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/03/14/3286192/broward-canal-yields-dubious-record.html#storylink=cpy

[AK-Jax86]

That's huge. I haven't run into any snakeheads in any of the lakes I fish in Jacksonville, from whT I hear that's a good thing.

[Hyrule Bass]

those snakeheads are small compared to the northern snakeheads in the potomac river...

[BigJim]

I was thinking the same thing Red Earth.

[quanjig]

The bulls eye's are quite a bit smaller than the northern.

I think this one would eat that lil fella!!

[AK-Jax86]

Yea that last one is massive

[808bass]

I would of loved to catch each one of those! How many pounds is the last one?

[quanjig]

Pretty sure it was close to 20#. I've seen 3 pictures of fish that size from the Potomac. Specifically from pohick.

[Diggy]

Id like to catch a northern. they look awesome. I hear they give up close to the boat for some reason. As you see the snakehead isnt killing off fish here.

[NEjitterbugger]

The bulls eye's are quite a bit smaller than the northern.

I think this one would eat that lil fella!!

 

 

SSSWWEEETTT!!!!

[quanjig]

Diggy, I have only caught one snakehead and it was a nice fight. I have heard that some do just kinda roll their way back to the boat while others are very acrobatic!

This is the one I caught a couple of years ago. Beautiful fish, I'm going to try for a few more this year!!

[Diggy]

The bullseyes fight pretty good, the numbers are down it seems and I have to do alot of casting to catch one.

[jonnysmith]

greats pics guys,whats the best bait (alive or dead)2 catch those giants?,,ive heard from everything from lures,shinners,hotdog,beef chuncy,chiecken.

[NEjitterbugger]

I am not close at all (location) but when I went to FL Rage Toads were recommended... I ended up doing no snakehead fishing...

[fstr385]

wonder what line he was using to get that sucker in. Ive gotten a few big ones, but still a few pounds off 14!

heres another recent...

 

Ive seen some bigger in ones of the isolated lakes I fish in a lot, but haven't gotten "the one". I was reeling in my line to recast one day and had one chase my worm up to the surface that was surly double digits, but it missed and no luck on the re try`s.

 

I live off a canal system that runs off the C-14, and have noticed a huge drop in snakehead activity here in the last year too.

[BP10]

wonder what line he was using to get that sucker in. Ive gotten a few big ones, but still a few pounds off 14!

heres another recent...

 

Ive seen some bigger in ones of the isolated lakes I fish in a lot, but haven't gotten "the one". I was reeling in my line to recast one day and had one chase my worm up to the surface that was surly double digits, but it missed and no luck on the re try`s.

 

I live off a canal system that runs off the C-14, and have noticed a huge drop in snakehead activity here in the last year too.

i fish c-14 n its canals once a week and we must kill atleast 1 or 2 a trip

[Big Jer]

A friend and I caught a 14.6lb northern snakehead in the tidal Potomac last year..

[DelfiBoyz_One_and_Only]

I love catching northern snakeheads the challenge is awesome! I love being able to see them and watching how they churn the water when they strike. I swear I hooked a 20+ lbs on the river, but didn't land it. They are hard to guess the weight on unless you have weighed dozens as I have. Quote me the world record will be caught on the Potomac River!

Jay-