Susquehanna Flats -- BEST DAY EVER!!

[sparky1423]

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This guy was found yesterday while a bass survey was being conducted by Maryland DNR. Found the report in Maryland Fishing on the Facebooks Machine.

While surveying for largemouth bass on 7/30, the Tidal Bass Program caught this northern snakehead in a small cove of the Susquehanna Flats. This is the first confirmed report of a snakehead reaching the upper Chesapeake Bay. On the western shore of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay, the species has been caught in Potomac River, Patuxent River, Rhode River, and Patapsco River. The fish was skinny, a male, and had nothing in its gut. It was caught in a thick patch of Hydrilla. Earlier this week, MD DNR also received a report from an angler who had caught another snakehead in this area. People who capture snakeheads are encouraged to harvest the animal to slow their spread and minimize their impact to Maryland's natural resources. It is not certain whether the species is reproducing in the upper Chesapeake Bay.

[echo5oscar]

This is awesome. May get to catch some of these things without traveling far after all. I wonder if it will really take off...

[jhoss]

Yesssssss!!!!!!!

[Salty Dog]

Interesting to find a snakehead around the flats, thanks for the report.

[Mark]

Transplant?

[phoenixkeith]

sounds like terrible news to me

[Yak Fish]

If they've reached the flats, they'll thrive there. It looks like the ideal location for them because of all the weed beds.

[Memory Maker]

sounds like terrible news to me

......... Then you've never tasted 1 ......... or caught 1 ........... I thought the same till I tasted one, caught one and had a few blowups ........

[phoenixkeith]

having a good meal at the risk of losing our best bass fishery in the state and arguably on the east coast is not a very good argument . i have tasted snakehead and i didnt really think it was any better than any other fish i have tasted . this time it goes beyond the bass fisherman and affects the future of the stripped bass fishery since the spawning grounds of our beloved rockfish will be filled with an apex striper eating menace . the potomac has been a dying fishery for the last 5 some odd years , coincidentally about the same time the heads showed up the bass fishing started to suffer . the experts have said the heads have had little impact on the potomac but from my personal experience and the documented tournament results from the last few years something has happened . coincidence ? maybe .

[mepps3]

having a good meal at the risk of losing our best bass fishery in the state and arguably on the east coast is not a very good argument . i have tasted snakehead and i didnt really think it was any better than any other fish i have tasted . this time it goes beyond the bass fisherman and affects the future of the stripped bass fishery since the spawning grounds of our beloved rockfish will be filled with an apex striper eating menace . the potomac has been a dying fishery for the last 5 some odd years , coincidentally about the same time the heads showed up the bass fishing started to suffer . the experts have said the heads have had little impact on the potomac but from my personal experience and the documented tournament results from the last few years something has happened . coincidence ? maybe .

Correlation is not causation. Blue cats have also exploded in the Potomac over the last 5 years. How many bass tourneys are in the hottest months of the year? Every weekend. All theses factors team up against largemouth populations. It has been proven through studies that more snakeheads have been found in bass stomachs than vice versa. The main negative of the snakehead is that it might be another competitor for baitfish that a bass would eat.

[sparky1423]

Transplant?

My guess they came through the C&D canal. Delaware River has an abundant population of Snakeheads. A few years ago a dead Snakehead was floating on the North East River. A rumor is out that one was caught in the Bush River. If it's true then they could have possibly made their way North via the Chesapeake. That would better explain the snakehead that was captured on the Western side of the flats.

[Mark]

I thought the Bay's salinity was a barrier to them. If it isn't or if they adapt to higher salinity than expected, they'll become surprise catches in more Chesapeake tribs.

[sparky1423]

Maybe with all the spring rain and Conowingo dam in spill conditions on three separate occasions, it gave them a cushion of fresh water. Who knows, it could very well be a transplant. They will certainly thrive on the flats, miles and miles of grass beds. I wouldn't think it would effect the striper spawn in any way. They will still be nestled in the mud while the shad and herring make their way into the flats and upriver with the cows chasing them. The flatheads up here are labeled with a bad reputation for devouring the baitfish, but I have not heard of a decrease in the bass fishery on the Susquehanna....then again, I am not a bass fisherman. Hopefully they all live in harmony.

[Yak Fish]

Those channel cats we were catching this weekend were certainly voracious! Maybe the snakeheads will eat them :-)

[mweber02]

Great news!