Snakeheads

[coryn h. fishowl]

I know they are environmentally destructive and admittedly destructive, but I find it hard to believe all the hype about their destructive prowess when they swim with larger muskies and alligator gar. WHats your experiance with them, do they they have predators here in the states, and whats your opinion of them.

[hooah212002]

There's lots of threads about these polarizing fish and they never turn out very civil.

[bigbill]

I think our northern pike and muskies the sharks of our freshwater could keep them in check. I think our pickerel and bass can take care of the smaller ones too. People

Estimate our predators in our waters.

On the other hand there suppose to eat good. So eat the snake heads and throw our fish back.

I haven't seen any yet but I'll make one into two pieces when I do catch one.

[MDBowHunter]

They are very tasty, filet and grill yum yum!!!

[Avalonjohn44]

The facts thus far don't add up to the hype. They haven't raped and pillaged the Potomac yet... They are certainly there, but the opinions are varied.  Will they settle into a niche? Probably.  Bass live side by side with any number of similarly voracious predators - Musky and Pike up north, Bowfin down south... Neither of those three have decimated bass populations.  Nor have the snakeheads wreaked havok like other invasive species have (like the silver carp)... I think the term invasive species is a buzz word intended to instill fear or panic by the news or politicians.  We have to take things on a case by case basis, not just lump them all into a single category.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

They do have predators. The fry/fingerlings fall victim to kingfishers, and the larger fish are preyed on by osprey and herons here. Bass, perch, sunfish, catfish, walleye and crappie all eat snakehead fry when they can get away with it. 

 

The fish are a good game species imho, but it's too early to understand the impact that they'll have on the balance of our ecosystem here. So far the effects have been negligible. Bass fishing on the Potomac gets better year after year (and so does snakehead fishing.) Chances are the fish will spread to nearby watersheds, and then who knows where. They are already in the Wicomico river on MD's Eastern Shore (across the Chesapeake bay from the Potomac,) and the Delaware River, as well as many of the surrounding watersheds in those areas.

 

Snakeheads also occupy habitat that is not typical of their usual haunts in parts of the Potomac River. One example would be Chain Bridge in Washington DC. It's rocky with heavy currents and the snakeheads occupy relatively deep water there. A stark contrast to the typical shallow, weedy backwaters that the fish are known to inhabit. The fish are already deviating from their patterns known in their native Amur River, so all bets are off.

 

2 things that I'm sure of...

 

1. LMB and SMB aren't native fish to the Potomac, much like snakeheads.

2. Snakeheads aren't going anywhere, so we'd better get used to them.