Potomac River Snakehead Fishing

[Snakehead Whisperer]

I've been meaning to ask. Has anyone notice the possibility of two different types of Northern Snakehead in the Potomac? I caught one a couple years back that had different pelvic and anal fins. Lighter color too.

The one in the top photo looks like it's sustained some sort of injury earlier in life.

[Greeneye8181]

I dunno... you could be right but the heads are shaped different too. The fins go farther up the body on the top one. I did some research a while back and there actually is a different pheneotype (not sure if that is the right term) from China and Russia. Not sure if this applies here but just a thought.

[DelfiBoyz_One_and_Only]

I'm with SW on this one. The local biologists have done a lot of studies and electrofishing for them they would have noticed 2 types if it was true. Just some sort of birth defect or injury. Cool catches none the less.

Jay

[Brian Needham]

Delta I can't give up any of my spots but I can say this.

 

I have to chuckle at this....I thought the point was to catch and kill as many as possible, it is a trash fish after all.

 

also sounds like many keep and eat them........how do you store them while fishing, as getting them out of the livewell could get interesting with those teeth!

[Snakehead Whisperer]

I have to chuckle at this....I thought the point was to catch and kill as many as possible, it is a trash fish after all.

Blasphemy!

 

also sounds like many keep and eat them........how do you store them while fishing, as getting them out of the livewell could get interesting with those teeth!

Simple... since it's illegal to possess a live snakehead, it's not lawful to keep them in a livewell. This has been a controversial issue here as folks don't want to mess up the carpets on their bass boats by killing the fish immediately. To compound things it is a federal offence to transport a live snakehead over state lines (e.g. if you live in Virginia and carry a live fish across the river from Maryland you have commited a crime, regardless of the fact that the fish is established in both places.) On a side note, the fish are docile once taken from the water (they won't bite like a pike will.)

In Maryland you must dispatch the fish immediately and do what you wish with the carcass. In Virginia you can do this, or you can release the fish back into the water. In DC this is a somewhat grey area. Regardless of where you live it is frowned upon to release a snakehead by most anglers. I have released some when legal to do so, but I've harvested the majority of them that I've caught. Sometimes it is just not realistic to harvest them (no cooler available, no freezer space, etc.) I refuse to kill a fish and throw it on the bank. Snakeheads are quite impressive fish and they did not ask to be put here. They deserve our respect like any other animal. I do, however, advocate harvesting these fish.

Eradicating them from the Potomac is impossible. The fish are common, widespread and hearty as well as reproducing well. The main issue is preventing their spread to other areas and mitigating the damage (if any) that they are causing. LMB and SMB are both introduced species to the Potomac, btw.

[Greeneye8181]

Two subspecies are distinguished – C. a. argus originating from China and Korea and C. a. warpachowskii originating from eastern Russia.

 

I got that from Wikipedia.

 

Anyway, I use a icepick. One good whack on the head and they are done for. Then two plastic shopping bags and in the live well it goes. 

I do like the fish and I am a protect animals and the environment kind of guy but they have confirmed a virus that kills LM Bass and is spread by snakeheads. That's not good news. I think the kill on catch is good. Won't ever eliminate them as a whole but the population can be somewhat controlled.

[DeltaVictor01]

Look for Riverside Park along the GW Parkway at Fort Hunt, VA 22308 .  Work the shoreline in both directions from the parking lot; also work all sides of the Little Hunting Creek bridge.  Keep your catch and enjoy the food.

 

Tight Lines‎

Thanks Traveler2586.

For 4 weeks now, I've been all over the Riverside/Quantico area with not even one hit.  Other anglers also told me that they haven't have a snakehead bite over 2 weeks.  I wonder if the snakeheads are going through some kind of "retreat" or something?  Anyone caught a snakehead in the Potomac in the last two weeks? 

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Thanks Traveler2586.

For 4 weeks now, I've been all over the Riverside/Quantico area with not even one hit.  Other anglers also told me that they haven't have a snakehead bite over 2 weeks.  I wonder if the snakeheads are going through some kind of "retreat" or something?  Anyone caught a snakehead in the Potomac in the last two weeks?

Haven't fished the tidal river in weeks, so none here.

 

What kind of habitat are you fishing? The most productive area there is by far the spatterdock field West of the bridge, not sure if you can access it by shore though. Little Hunting Creek is also a great spot, but shore access there is almost non-existant there. If you're shore bound and looking to catch a snakehead I would try hitting the smaller feeder creeks in tidal water, or some ponds that are on the flood plain of tidal water. In Southern MD there are many public ponds that have snakeheads, but I don't know of any in VA. 

 

If you can make it out there, the pond at Bumpy Oak Road and the Indian Head Rail Trail near Pomonkey, MD is full of them. Fishing there is hit or miss. Some days you can catch many, other days you're lucky if you nab 1. The pond also has a decent population of largemouth and chain pickerel. The spot is no secret; if you google bumpy oak pond snakehead you'll get lots of results. I've also heard of lots of catches at 4 Mile Run in Alexandria. I'm pretty sure most are caught off the rip-rap near the water treatment plant, and also across from there in the small creek next to the park. Shoreline access here is pretty good, and I believe it's wadeable (please make sure it's legal if you decide to wade.) 

Bladensburg waterfront park and the area near RFK stadium/Kingman Island in DC are also both good snakehead spots (but I wouldn't eat anything out of the Anacostia river if it were me.)

It's also a good idea to think outside of the box when snakehead fishing. Watch some of the Japanese videos on youtube and you'll see these guys catching them out of drainage ditches and retention pools. Anything on the flood plain of the river is fair game. Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in DC is overrun with them, but unfortunately fishing the ponds there is not legal.

[Greeneye8181]

Great info Snakehead Whisperer! You know your stuff.

In regards to the Anacostia. I remember reading an article in the post about eating fish from there and there were fisherman interviewed that said they eat large catfish from there on a regular basis. Wow is all I have to say to that. I value my health and sanity so I will pass on that.

I fish from Ft.Belvoir to Aquia so while I am familiar with the areas you stated had no clue about fishing there.

 

The spots I've had luck with Snakehead are Aquia Creek, Mattawoman Creek (my biggest at 11lbs), and Chopawamsic.  

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Great info Snakehead Whisperer! You know your stuff.

In regards to the Anacostia. I remember reading an article in the post about eating fish from there and there were fisherman interviewed that said they eat large catfish from there on a regular basis. Wow is all I have to say to that. I value my health and sanity so I will pass on that.

I fish from Ft.Belvoir to Aquia so while I am familiar with the areas you stated had no clue about fishing there.

 

The spots I've had luck with Snakehead are Aquia Creek, Mattawoman Creek (my biggest at 11lbs), and Chopawamsic.

National Geographic did a write up about that a while ago. US Fish & Wildlife did extensive studies on brown bullheads in the Anacostia and found that there was a nearly 80% probability that adult female fish would develop liver tumors by the time they reach 11 inches. That is the highest rate in the country. The rates of tumors are declining but there are a number of factors that come into play, so it's still a mystery for the most part as to why that is. The other alarming thing is that tumor rates were nearly identical in fish harvested from Piscataway Creek and the Roosevelt Island area of the Potomac when these studies were conducted. Here's a link to a write up on the report.

http://www.fws.gov/chesapeakebay/pdf/BrownBullheadTumorsFactSheet%2004162013.pdf

 

Hard to argue with Aquia Creek; apparently it's a world class snakehead fishery now

 

Also found the link to the National Geographic article.

 

[DeltaVictor01]

Haven't fished the tidal river in weeks, so none here.

 

What kind of habitat are you fishing? The most productive area there is by far the spatterdock field West of the bridge, not sure if you can access it by shore though. Little Hunting Creek is also a great spot, but shore access there is almost non-existant there. If you're shore bound and looking to catch a snakehead I would try hitting the smaller feeder creeks in tidal water, or some ponds that are on the flood plain of tidal water. In Southern MD there are many public ponds that have snakeheads, but I don't know of any in VA. 

 

If you can make it out there, the pond at Bumpy Oak Road and the Indian Head Rail Trail near Pomonkey, MD is full of them. Fishing there is hit or miss. Some days you can catch many, other days you're lucky if you nab 1. The pond also has a decent population of largemouth and chain pickerel. The spot is no secret; if you google bumpy oak pond snakehead you'll get lots of results. I've also heard of lots of catches at 4 Mile Run in Alexandria. I'm pretty sure most are caught off the rip-rap near the water treatment plant, and also across from there in the small creek next to the park. Shoreline access here is pretty good, and I believe it's wadeable (please make sure it's legal if you decide to wade.) 

Bladensburg waterfront park and the area near RFK stadium/Kingman Island in DC are also both good snakehead spots (but I wouldn't eat anything out of the Anacostia river if it were me.)

It's also a good idea to think outside of the box when snakehead fishing. Watch some of the Japanese videos on youtube and you'll see these guys catching them out of drainage ditches and retention pools. Anything on the flood plain of the river is fair game. Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in DC is overrun with them, but unfortunately fishing the ponds there is not legal.

Thanks for the info Snakehead Whisperer.

 

BTW - anyone knows where I can launch to fish Aquia creek?  I have a fishing kayak that can be launched anywhere.  I drove to Aquia Creek boat club and it turned out to be a closed to public community.  The only place on the map that I see is way out by the river entrance, which is too far to paddle into the creek.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Thanks for the info Snakehead Whisperer.

 

BTW - anyone knows where I can launch to fish Aquia creek?  I have a fishing kayak that can be launched anywhere.  I drove to Aquia Creek boat club and it turned out to be a closed to public community.  The only place on the map that I see is way out by the river entrance, which is too far to paddle into the creek.

No prob.

 

There used to be a place to launch at the end of Delaware Dr., right near where it intersects with Aquia Dr. Can't vouch for whether it's currently a good launch point or not. Might be houses there now. Please report back on what you find if you go there.

[DelfiBoyz_One_and_Only]

Thanks for the info Snakehead Whisperer.

 

BTW - anyone knows where I can launch to fish Aquia creek?  I have a fishing kayak that can be launched anywhere.  I drove to Aquia Creek boat club and it turned out to be a closed to public community.  The only place on the map that I see is way out by the river entrance, which is too far to paddle into the creek.

Look up HOPE SPRINGS MARINA.

 

Jay

[DeltaVictor01]

No prob.

 

There used to be a place to launch at the end of Delaware Dr., right near where it intersects with Aquia Dr. Can't vouch for whether it's currently a good launch point or not. Might be houses there now. Please report back on what you find if you go there.

I was there.  It has a retaining wall (can be seen from Google map) about 3-4' high and cannot launch my kayak.

 

Jay:  I may try Hope Spring Marina.  It's a long way to paddle into the creeks.

 

Thanks Gent-

[dave]

Two subspecies are distinguished – C. a. argus originating from China and Korea and C. a. warpachowskii originating from eastern Russia.

 

I got that from Wikipedia.

 

Anyway, I use a icepick. One good whack on the head and they are done for. Then two plastic shopping bags and in the live well it goes. 

I do like the fish and I am a protect animals and the environment kind of guy but they have confirmed a virus that kills LM Bass and is spread by snakeheads. That's not good news. I think the kill on catch is good. Won't ever eliminate them as a whole but the population can be somewhat controlled.

 but they have confirmed a virus that kills LM Bass and is spread by snakeheads. That's not good news

 

Did you read the entire article?  The virus that kills largemouth bass is...LARGEMOUTH BASS VIRUS.  Snakeheads don't give it,  they get it.  They then have the potential to transfer it to other bodies water that they may migrate to.

[Traveler2586]

 but they have confirmed a virus that kills LM Bass and is spread by Snakeheads. That's not good news

 

Did you read the entire article?  The virus that kills largemouth bass is...LARGEMOUTH BASS VIRUS.  Snakeheads don't give it,  they get it.  They then have the potential to transfer it to other bodies water that they may migrate to.

 

Which means the virus will spread faster?  If the Snakehead picked up the virus from the Bass, will other fish pick it up from the Bass or Snakehead as well?

[dave]

So far (and the biologist can correct me if I am wrong) the LMB Virus only affect the bass,  not other fish.  When I first heard the report on the radio and then got to work and read the article,  the title and first part are very misleading.  It seems the media doesn't seem interested in really paying attention to the biologists,  only sensationalizing snakehead stories.   There was a recent story by the BBC regarding the shifting attitudes regarding snakehead.  The two entities that they chose to provide the information was the head of potomacsnakehead.com (or something to that effect) and Pro Fish.  potomacsnakehead are bowfishermen who are bowfishing them at night and Pro Fish,  the company that buys the meat.  I'll try to find the article and post it.  The crux is,  people need to read the real facts about the snakehead before making judgements on the fish.

[dave]

Here it is.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23887809

[Greeneye8181]

Not sure if the virus I mentioned is LBV but there is a virus that the Snakehead carries but doesn't get sick from. That same virus does kill LMB. 

[dave]

It is LMBV,  not a new and different virus.

[Greeneye8181]

More reason to keep the population in check

[KyakR]

Have often wondered about snakehead (read about them 10 yr ago when there was panic)! This thread has been totally fascinating. We don't have them in Maine. But NY and the Chesapeake aren't far. As a neophyte, I can tell you I was put off by the name and Jeremy Wade (he!) Thanks for so many knowledgable posts here! Now gonna try 'em out

[Greeneye8181]

I doubt they could survive the winters in Maine. Maybe they can? They are Northern Snakeheads. The Snakehead Jeremy Wade fished for was the giant snakehead. Unless there was a new episode I missed.

[DelfiBoyz_One_and_Only]

I truly believe they would survive in Maine. A few years back we had a pretty harsh winter and it did not seem to effect them at all. They will seek out a power plant with a warm water discharge or some other way to get by. I am not honestly sure what they do in the winter, but I do know they are a highly adaptable species.

Jay

[Kmumps]

Anyone still finding any snakeheads now that the water temps are dropping?  Thinking of making a trip down to the Potomac soon.  Hoping to find a few more snakeheads to fill the freezer for the winter.