Snakehead report (VGDIF) for Potomac

[Darren.]

Just rec'd this in my inbox from the VGDIF.

 

https://blog.wildlife.virginia.gov/2017/05/snakes-in-the-grass/

 

Quite interesting, this quote:

 

Quote

...snakeheads are not the ecological disaster many fisheries biologists feared, at least not in the Potomac. One early study suggested the river’s bass population would decline by one third if snakehead numbers were not controlled. There’s no question they prey on juvenile largemouth bass and other young game fish, but after more than a decade of research, snakeheads, it turns out, are just another fish.

 

“They seem to have reached an equilibrium with the other fish in the river and they occupy a niche that was largely unfilled,” says Regional Fisheries Biologist John Odenkirk, with the Department (DGIF). “The Potomac is a very fertile river. There seems to be plenty of food to go around, even with the addition of this new species.

 

“We’ve found 20 or 25 different items in their stomachs, which means they just eat what’s available at the time. Killifish, white perch, baby bluegills, crayfish, mice, whatever happens to be in front of them. They even eat their own young.”

 

We don't have these down here in the Tidewater area, and am

curious my NOVA and MD brethren's thoughts on the report.

 

Of course further in the article damage snakeheads do in smaller

bodies is yet to be determined.

[Logan S]

The bow fisherman are doing a pretty good job at knocking back their numbers, I have noticed that in recent years.  

 

I think the biggest concern related to snakeheads is illegal stocking into other waters...The article touches on it briefly at the end but it's sort of a big deal IMO.  The list of lakes/rivers they are turning up in is growing and it's more than what the article mentions.  The Upper Bay, Eastern Shore rivers, and the Delaware River have them now and a few lakes in PA near the Delaware have been reported to have them too.  There also was a semi-confirmed report that one was found in Lake Anna last year.  Enforcement of anything on the Potomac is essentially non-existent so people are getting away with transporting them.  

 

My other concern is whether or not they are carriers of LMBV...I've head/read that that are or can be, but haven't seen anything definitive one way or the other.  If there is a bad case of LMBV, having another species that can carry it is not a good thing...But I'm not a biologist so what do I know really?

 

I'm pretty indifferent to them at this point (assuming they don't spread further), it's just another non-bass to catch in the river for me since I don't target them.  Most bass fisherman aren't killing them these days since no one wants to chop up fish in their bass boat and you pretty much need to cut their head off completely since they are tough SOB's.

 

But they are fun to catch.  I caught this monster last year and it made my XH flipping rod feel like a drop shot rod.  

 

[Darren.]

@Logan S, that's a beast!

 

This topic is interesting to me, but not living in an area

of "infestation", it's not a "major" concern.

[Turtle135]

I agree that the snakeheads are not an ecological disaster. They are a niche species on the Tidal Potomac. I strongly suspect that the blue catfish are a greater ecological threat to the fishery.

 

However, a big snakehead north of 10 pounds is going to bully a largemouth out of a prime feeding location if it so chooses. I wish they were not here as they are in no way shape or form "good" for the largemouth fishery.

 

IMHO the major problem that largemouth bass experience on the Tidal Potomac is the lack of suitable spawning areas.