Snakehead Infestation In S. Fl.! Kill?

[Diggy]

You're really supposed to dispose of them properly if you kill them so throwing them into the water or leaving on the bank isn't really acceptable. They encourage eating them or maybe give them to someone who eats them.

[CountBassula]

You're really supposed to dispose of them properly if you kill them so throwing them into the water or leaving on the bank isn't really acceptable. They encourage eating them or maybe give them to someone who eats them.

 

i would think a dead snakehead at the bottom of a canal would be good food source to many critters

[GLADES]

Snakeheads can be eaten, supposedly decent texture/flavor for a fresh water fish, but I personally would not eat anything from a neighborhood canal with all the fertilizers, pestiscides, street run off polluting the canals.

[CountBassula]

Snakeheads can be eaten, supposedly decent texture/flavor for a fresh water fish, but I personally would not eat anything from a neighborhood canal with all the fertilizers, pestiscides, street run off polluting the canals.

 

i ate two before, both from my local canal, and they were just fine, and i'm still here to talk about it i'm sure one once in a while will not harm. there are too many in my canal though, for me to eat every one i wish to eliminate...

[SirSnookalot]

Snakeheads can be eaten, supposedly decent texture/flavor for a fresh water fish, but I personally would not eat anything from a neighborhood canal with all the fertilizers, pestiscides, street run off polluting the canals.

I wouldn't eat anything from those canals either, the ones in that area are some of the most disgusting, I don't even want to fish there.

[jonnysmith]

when i was in boston last year i came across an asian restuarant that served(snake head fish)they claim to bring them from asia ( farm raised) ,let tell you it was pretty expensive of a plate eAt.

[SnazzySenko]

I read an article on a study done here in SoFlo about the supposed infestation of Snakeheads. What I am saying is what I read, so don't bash me about it. It said they are actually not harming the environment around them or infesting our waters. I'll try to find the article and link it here.

[SFL BassHunter]

finally... a use for this tranny thats been sitting in the boat!

There is a joke there... but I'm going to leave it alone.

[ThomasFengler]

Since I'm new to the forum I just got around to exploring and seeing this but lately I haven't seen the same number of snakeheads from a year ago

[swkelley]

Hi gang!

So I fished in a little canal behind my house, and it's absolutely infested with snakeheads! I've caught 3 in an hour (as well as 10 small bass), and saw MANY more all on a 1/2 mile stretch of a narrow, not very deep canal. This canal dead ends at a park and also forks off a bit north of me, but basically a dead end. What I also noticed, is that there appears to be a strange patter to where the fish are located. Toward the two dead ends of the canal, there are only snakeheads (plus some small cyclids and sunfish), only traveling in the opposite direction where the canal meets up with a larger one do you start to see Bass and other fish. I wonder if the snakeheads have wiped the fish population in part of it, or are blocking other fish from entering the dead end by killing and eating anything else that dares to pass.

 

For the longest time I was of the believe that snakeheads are not harming the local eco system; but after fishing for a while today, I see that it's a snakehead infested wasteland. So... putting my ethical issue of killing things for "no reason", should I start a campaign of "terminate with extreme prejudice" to restore my canal to some sort of a balance? We're talking about a 1/2 mile of canal, and I can easily cover all or most of it and catch them. I know they can return from the larger canal eventually, but would a consistent catch and kill approach restore more bass into my canal?

 

And finally, what is the quickest and most humane way to kill a snakehead? I've seen people cut them open through the upper belly/jaw, but it's rather grotesque. Any other way other than a rock/stick to the head?

 

Thanks!

 

Martin

 

Where is this canal?  I'd love to do some snakehead fishing!

[atomicfriday]

I haven't seen any here on the southwest side but did just recently read an article concerning the problem, and good news is APPARENTLY they are delicious! I'm down for some snakehead tournaments/fish fry, let's do it.

[soflabasser]

I am glad we have so many exotic fish to fish for. People come from all over the United States to fish for them and spend $$$$$ doing so.

[FLStorm]

Awesome idea!

[swkelley]

No need to kill them and the FWC says you can release them as long as it's in the same place where they were caught.  If they were going to take over in South Florida, they would have as they've been our waterways since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.  If they aren't taking over after 20+ years, they never will.  Catch and release!!!

[J Francho]

The snakehead apocolypse is way overblown.  They don't inhabit the best environments for bass, and even where they may have displaced some marginal bass population...they bite lures, fight hard, and taste great.  Sounds terrible.

[hawgenvy]

If the water was safe, I'd eat them all!  I've eaten snakehead numerous times in Vietnam. They are WONDERFUL, especially grilled. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

 

 

[gulfcaptain]

Your snakeheads you see in the backs of the canal are probably there due to warmer waters as well as the different cichlid speices you see.  They like warmer waters then the bass.  So where the bass stay more toward the mouths of the canal where there is an influx of fresh somewhat cooler water, the invasive exotics like the warmer areas and a dead end canal the backs are going to be a lot warmer and to their liking.  So your snakeheads have found an area to fill in the void and more then likely feed on the ciclids and other smaller exotics in the back of the canal.

[hawgenvy]

This short video is from a street market in Saigon showing live snakeheads in a pan without water. There are also live eel, other live fish, live chickens, live ducks, and live frogs. I couldn't say whether the water they came from was unpolluted, but everything is guaranteed a lot fresher than we buy in the US!

 

For some reason the video came out sideways, which I cant seem to fix easily, but you can see it well enough.

 

[soflabasser]

Nice video,but I would never eat a fish from the canals down here.Too much methyl mercury and other pollutants.

[hawgenvy]

Nice video,but I would never eat a fish from the canals down here.Too much methyl mercury and other pollutants.

Me neither. At least they're fun to catch. Even out in the middle of the Everglades the fish are considered tainted and there are warnings about eating bass. Maybe snakeheads from some local waters are safe enough from chemicals to eat, but I don't know how you could be sure.

[soflabasser]

Snakeheads are extremely fun to catch and people have caught them up to 14 pounds here.

[BassinLou]

I have only caught 3 snakeheads in my life. They are unique that's for sure. I found that although they put up a good fight, I don't see the allure, they fight like their cousins the bowfin and I have caught plenty of those in the Glades.

[soflabasser]

Bowfin are not related to Snakehead.They are not even in the same Family.

[BassinLou]

Bowfin are not related to Snakehead.They are not even in the same Family.

You are correct, I am mistaken, they closely resemble each other but are different species. That being said. They both fight similar with there tell tale death rolls.

[SoFloBassFiend]

Snakeheads also seem to frequent more stagnant waters as compared to bass in south Florida liking areas with a bit more water flow. They do fight like hell and can some days turn a bad day bass fishing into a fun day of catching hard fighting fish.