Why kill snakeheads?

[fishwizzard]

6 hours ago, TOXIC said:

I totally agree, I don't eat anything out of the Potomac unless it's Crappie that we catch way up in the creeks or Striper as they migrate in from the bay.  As much as I love catfish nuggets, it's not tablefare for me unless they come from clean lakes around me or farm raised.  I have had Northern Snakehead once and will try it again but when we go out we stay out all day and since you cannot put them in your livewell alive, it would be pretty rank by the end of the day.

 

My best snakehead to date 14 almost 15lbs.  

 

 

This might be a dumb question as I know nothing of live wells, but couldn’t you just fill yours up with ice and keep a dead snakehead in it that way?

[Junger]

4 hours ago, NittyGrittyBoy said:

Bet that was a rod bender! 

 

My best bowfin was 14.6, one pound shy of state record. Definitely was a heck of a fight. 

  Bowfin are like the grumpy older brother of the snakehead...love catching those too.

[JustJames]

On 10/31/2018 at 5:59 AM, TOXIC said:

Honest question.....Are all Snakeheads good table fare?  We are talking about multiple species here, the Northern Snakehead which is served in restaurants here and are raised as a food fish and the Southern strain Bullseye?  I assume it's no different than a White Crappie and a Black Crappie both of which are equally good to eat.  I ask because when I lived in Florida, I never heard of anyone eating Snakehead but here in Virginia, they have a good reputation as excellent table fare and are kept for that reason.  

 

I'm not sure about Northern Snakehead VS bullseye, but this what type of snakehead we eat in Thailand. They are pretty good with no fishy taste. On the other hand ppl don't like Giant Snakehead as much.

If I have Snakehead in my area that might be my main target since lb to lb they fight harder and also easier to find than bass.

[soflabasser]

5 hours ago, JustJames said:

 

I'm not sure about Northern Snakehead VS bullseye, but this what type of snakehead we eat in Thailand. They are pretty good with no fishy taste. On the other hand ppl don't like Giant Snakehead as much.

If I have Snakehead in my area that might be my main target since lb to lb they fight harder and also easier to find than bass.

I ate a bullseye snakehead that I caught and it was ok at best. I will not eat anymore snakeheads since the canals they live in are high in methylmercury and other nasty chemicals. We got much better fish in South Florida such as hogfish, snapper, grouper, snook, etc so it will be a waste of my time preparing snakehead when I got much better and healthier fish to catch for food. I will continue fishing for bullseye snakeheads for sport since they hit a frog better than a bass and I am very fond of topwater fishing.

8 hours ago, Junger said:

  Bowfin are like the grumpy older brother of the snakehead...love catching those too.

 You would enjoy fishing for bowfin in the Everglades since its loaded with bowfin. On a normal day you can expect to catch several of them and they average around 3-6 pounds with a good chance of a 8 pounder or better. 

[TOXIC]

17 hours ago, NittyGrittyBoy said:

Bet that was a rod bender! 

 

My best bowfin was 14.6, one pound shy of state record. Definitely was a heck of a fight. 

It most certainly was especially since I hooked it on a 5" Senko and 6lb test mono.  

 

As for keeping them in a livewell full of ice, I doubt the ice would last long on a hot summer day but when I do decide to really keep one again, I will take a good portable cooler with Ice to keep them in.  They slime more than any other fish I have ever seen and it would probably be hard to clean out the cooler when finished.  Here is a more manageable size one from the Rappahonock river here in Virginia.  That one was caught on a Yamamoto DShad and 6lb test.  

17 hours ago, NittyGrittyBoy said:

 

 

[JustJames]

20 hours ago, soflabasser said:

We got much better fish in South Florida such as hogfish, snapper, grouper, snook, etc.

Yup love that grouper and snapper and also king mackerel. I wish someday I could go ocean fishing in Florida. Here I only enjoy eating halibut and lingcod.