I hate snakeheads...

[D1sasterouz]

Ok for everyone who is a bass fisherman this video may be hard to watch. Basically it is someone's pet snakehead and they are feeding it a small bass.

I felt so bad for the little guy after he got his tail bitten off  :'(  :'(  Im sure these people see this as fun but that bass was too big to be put in there. From the looks of it the snakehead just probably left it alone after biting its tail off and it died a slow painful death. I would love to stick there hand in that tank and see it take off a finger or two of theirs for doing that to that poor little guy.

[Fish Man]

the last comment that was left on there pretty much sums it up

[fourbizz]

I love watching predators at work.

Seeing a gigantic largemouth chase down and annihilate a 12" trout gets me more pumped than anything. Do the trout fishermen like it? Probably not.

What bothers me the most is the fact that the guy has a 20+inch fish in a 55 gallon tank when it should be in a 180+. Poor thing can barely turn around.

[luckyinkentucky]

If I ever caught one I'd cut it's head off and leave it on the shore.  They can ruin an ecosystem within a very short time.  

[Micro]

Thing is, alien snakeheads are NOT ruining the ecosystem.  

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has been conducting a study on the snakeheads in the Potomac River and its tributaries for several years.  Some conclusions of that report can be found in a previous issue of Virginia Wildlife magazine (Sept 2007, pages 9-13).  Some of the conclusions reached:

1)  Snakeheads are breeding and have established self-sustaining populations in the tributaries of the Potomac (Virginia and Maryland sides).

2)  12 lbers have been caught by the DGIF, 15 lbers by anglers, with 20 lbers expected.

3)  Snakeheads are NOT directly competing with bass or other predatory fish because there is very little overlap in their desired environments.   DGIF states that snakeheads are using a niche habitat - 1-2 feet of water, with the deepest caugth at 4 feet.  They are using poorly oxygenated waters clogged with weeds.

4)  Snakeheads are not preying on desirable gamefish.  Rather, their main forage is killifish.  

5)  Snakeheads are, conversely, being heavily predated by Ospreys.  Most of the large fish captured by DFIG show evidence of Osprey attacks.   This is because the snakeheads suspend in very shallow water.

6)  There is growing snakehead fishing industry in Virginia and Maryland.  Operators report that many parties are asking for the opportunity to fish for snakeheads.  

7)  There has been NO impact on the bass fishery in the Potomac to date.  

Other tidbits: they really are great gamefish.  And they really do taste delicious.  

I don't support that that guy did in the video.  I wish snakeheads were never introduced.  Bu they are here and they aren't going anywhere.  They are nowhere near as destructive as people had feared.  And they are quite handsome and gamey fish.  Might as well learn to enjoy them.  

[fishfordollars]

If they are not native, they do not belong in our waters...PERIOD...Any non native specie should be banned...That goes for all grasses also...(Except for Hydrilla...LOL)

[Micro]

Introduction of non-native species is banned by every state that I know of.

It's interesting to note that largemouth is an introduced species in much of the US as well.  And largemouth have been introduced worldwide with some populations (ie. Japan) devastating native fish populations.  

[grimlin]

I just hope he doesn't release it when it outgrows that tank. :-/

I don't like snakeheads myself either.

[burleytog]

Cool video...  :-X

[Lucky Craft Man]

If they are not native, they do not belong in our waters...PERIOD...Any non native specie should be banned...That goes for all grasses also...(Except for Hydrilla...LOL)

As mentioned before, Largemouth Bass have been introduced into the lakes of Japan and I've heard they are trying to eliminate them so they don't interupt the native fish (such as the beautiful carp).  Though, someone who may know more about this situation could comment.

[Fish Man]

one thing i must say is that the name is very misleading, i always thought they were nasty,slimey, and ugly fish but after seeing one clearly in the the video they arent that bad looking.but if the guys wanted to feed it a bass why one so big, i wouldnt mind if it was one that was actually small enoguh that the snakehead could eat it and get it over with but instead that one had to suffer what had to be a lonf and painfl death  

[.dsaavedra.]

microperterus had some good points there. i want aware of many of those but they seem like they would be very true. i fish the potomac occasionally and i have never caught a snakehead but i really want to! there is a nice reward for anyone who turns one in

[.dsaavedra.]

but if the guys wanted to feed it a bass why one so big, i wouldnt mind if it was one that was actually small enoguh that the snakehead could eat it and get it over with but instead that one had to suffer what had to be a lonf and painfl death

i dont think they were trying to feed the snakehead, i think they were trying to see the two fish fight  :-/

[Other.]

but if the guys wanted to feed it a bass why one so big, i wouldnt mind if it was one that was actually small enoguh that the snakehead could eat it and get it over with but instead that one had to suffer what had to be a lonf and painfl death  

i dont think they were trying to feed the snakehead, i think they were trying to see the two fish fight  :-/

In I am sure just like **** fights and pitbull fights its illegal.

[Tin]

one thing i must say is that the name is very misleading, i always thought they were nasty,slimey, and ugly fish but after seeing one clearly in the the video they arent that bad looking.but if the guys wanted to feed it a bass why one so big, i wouldnt mind if it was one that was actually small enoguh that the snakehead could eat it and get it over with but instead that one had to suffer what had to be a lonf and painfl death

I don't know if they do in their natural environment but I watched a few other snakehead videos and even with small 2 or 3" goldfish they bite it in half and let it bob up and down before finishing it. But others will take down a good sized sunfish like nothing.  :-?

Either way one these guys will get what they deserve. Like the next time they go to drop in the fishes next meal it torpedos out and latches on to the guys hand. :

[Micro]

Throw that snakehead in with an equal size bowfin an see which one wins.  

[Tin]

How did snakeheads get here anyway? People having them as pets or what?

[Fish Man]

my best guessw ould probobly be immigrants from asia or posibbly boats coming over from asia somehow having cargo containing them and then getting out in the U.S

[Other.]

A good example of how Snakeheads were introduced to the ecosystems would be a person buying over in Asia. Preferably as food or a pet. However when they receive there fish maybe they decided they did not wish to eat it or keep it as a pet and decided to release it in there local pond/lake/river.  

Or just a person wanted to try and ruin an ecosystem.  

[Fish Man]

i just looked on wikipedia and it says most got here through peaple that kept them as pets legally or ilegally and then released them once they got to big

[Lucky Craft Man]

i just looked on wikipedia and it says most got here through peaple that kept them as pets legally or ilegally and then released them once they got to big

Which is probably what those stuip kids will do when they realize that thier Snakehead is too big for that little tank.

[Micro]

They were first 'discovered' in a lake in Maryland years ago (Crofton Pond).  Once discovered, all sorts of wild (and untrue) stories circulated about them - like they could breathe air for days, and walk across land.   People suspected that asians dumped fish in the lake so there would be a ready supply of them to eat.  Others think that pet owners dumped unwanted pets into the lake.  Just about everyone speculated that the snakeheads in the Potomac came from these fish.

Like I said, the VA DGIF has been studying these fish.  Turns out, the fish in the Potomac are genetically different that the ones found in the Maryland lake.   Additionally, the study has indicated that based on the sizes of fish captured, they may have been there a lot longer than anyone realized.  The head of the DGIF study thinks that the point of introduction into the Potomac was Dogue Creek since the populations seems to be spreading from there.  Lastly, the DGIF suspects that instead of people dumping unwanted pets in the river, it appears it may have been a deliberate attempt to establish a snakehead fishery in the Potomac River.  

The studies are ongoing.  The good news is that there seems to have been no real detrimental impact to any fishery yet.  

[luckyinkentucky]

You'll be singing a different tune when they overcome the Bass population.  Then you'll see 20 lb. snakeheads swimming after your 6 lb. bass on the line.  We are having problems with the LMB population in the Ohio River because some idiot stocked the Ohio with Saugeye upstream.  For those of you who aren't familiar with them.  Saugeye are a Walleye - Sauger hybrid.  They are some mean little devils.  

[Micro]

You'll be singing a different tune when they overcome the Bass population. Then you'll see 20 lb. snakeheads swimming after your 6 lb. bass on the line. We are having problems with the LMB population in the Ohio River because some idiot stocked the Ohio with Saugeye upstream. For those of you who aren't familiar with them. Saugeye are a Walleye - Sauger hybrid. They are some mean little devils.

Hasn't happened yet. Again, the DGIF has found that these fish are occupying DIFFERENT habitats. They are not competing for the same prey. Snakeheads are not preying on bass.

Snakeheads in the Potomac are not new. They've been there for years - probably longer than most people realize. Big fish already exist there. DGIF has only seen bass and snakeheads mixing on a few occassions.

One plus is that the DGIF biologists have determined that these northern snakeheads tend to eat their prey tail-first. That is why they are predating on soft-rayed fish, like killifish.

It's difficult to say what will become of snakeheads in the Potomac. As of right now, there is a large and growing population. But it hasn't affected the bass fishery.

At this point there isn't much that can be done about them.  Killing the ones caught is about it.  Poisoning the river like they did at Crofton Pond is out of the question.  The fish is here to stay.  It's just encouraging to hear that SO FAR things aren't anywhere near as bad as people had feared they would become.

[.dsaavedra.]

watched a whole show on snakeheads in the md/va area and they said that various fish markets are illegally getting shipments of live snakeheads (so they will be fresher) and then some people illegally sell them as pets and illegally release them.

the snake heads dont really bother me as long as they dont interfere with bass. if that is the case then hooray i have a nother gamefish to target! look like they'd put up a good fight.