Article on Snakehead fishing from Basspro.com

[Yakatak]

I have become obsessed with catching snakeheads lately. As a former pet industry professional and having sold hundreds of these beasts over the years and seeing their predacious tendancies makes me want to catch and destroy these creatures. So as I educate myself on the angling aspect of the various species of Channa, I will pass on anything I find useful. Perhaps to some it is just a fleeting glimpse at this subject/species and others that may share my passion to angle for these creatures. Would it be possible to start a sticky thread for those of us that want to learn, share, catch and destroy the Channa? My thoughts and hopes is that others will seek the knowledge, share their knowledge,tips and tricks, thus inspire others to target this invasive species. As my father once told me "many hands (rods in this case) make light work.

Here is a link to an article on Basspro.com that talks about Channa angling in Asia, their native country and the parallels to bass fishing.


http://http://www.basspro.com/webapp...objectID=30064

Dennis

[Turtle135]

After watching about a dozen snakeheads get hooked and dispatched in the tidal Potomac this spring one thing I noticed is that frequently the snakeheads are "on" the artificial lures the second they hit the surface of the water.

Like an instant attack at the splash of the lure. Might be a territorial type thing or they are defending an area for spawning.

I actually started lobbing my spinnerbaits higher to create a larger splash and disturbance.

The biggest one I saw this season was caught by a guy bombing away with a 3/4 ounce spinnerbait.

p.s. I could not open the link to the article

[ronaultmtd]

Invasive species are an economic boom to South Florida and they could be here, too- Snakeheads are a good food fish and put up a good fight- stripers were an invasive species to Santee-Cooper and the Pacific Coast...flathead and Blue catfish are an invasive species, and most of the introduced fish in middle America were brought there- like the Florida strain of LM Bass and the small mouth bass to Arkansas and Tennessee- same story of the hybrid cross between white bass and stripers and the big hybrid Arkansas shellcracker perch-

Once established, as they are now in Maryland and Virginia, they are here to stay- might as well get used to them and enjoy-

[HJS]

This link should work to the BPS article on snakeheads.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...objectID=30064

[surfdog]

thats a pretty helpful article

[tufnik]

Hybrids? Snake-pers, crapheads, croakheads, stripeheads, snaketogs....?

[surfdog]

crapheads and croakheads LOL we should import those striper looking fish from africa with the huge nasty teeth and release them in the south river to keep the snake heads at bay the craphead fishing is real good now by harbor hospital also the Baltimore redfish are schooling up around the drains as we speak

[mcveyr]

Is anyone interested in forming/joining a kayak fishing team to compete at the snakehead tournament scheduled for 2/3 June on the Potomac this year. According to the rules there can be teams of up to six members and I was wondering if anyone who like to team up with me for this event (11. Size of Teams: Teams are limited to no more than 6 participants. Canoes and kayaks may form teams as long as they do not exceed 6 members per team. Registration will be organized according to the Team Captain’s name.).
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Open to Hook and line and Bow Fishing. Participants can fish anywhere on the tidal Potomac in Maryland and/or Virginia. The tournament is open to anyone with a valid Maryland or Virginia Fishing license. A percentage of the tournament profits will be donated to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to help fight invasive species in the Potomac River watershed.
CASH AND PRIZES
Heaviest Fish and Overall Total Weight
TOURNAMENT ENTRY FEE
$50.00 per person for advanced on-line registration on or before June 1, 2012 (SAVE $10!)
$60.00 for walk-up registration on June 2, 2012, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. (Cash Only)
LOCATION
Smallwood State Park 2750 Sweden Point Road Marbury, Maryland 20658
June 2, 2012
4 to 7 p.m. – Walk-up Registration and Check-in
5 p.m. – Pre-Tournament Conference (All participants encouraged to attend.)
6 p.m. – Fishing Begins!!
June 3rd, 2012
12:30 p.m. – Fishing Ends
1 p.m. – Fish Weigh-in
12:30 to 2:30 p.m. – Invasive Species Tasting and Flying Dog Beer Sampling
This Tasting is open to the public and it is free!
■Snakehead Tasting (Prepared by Chad Wells, Executive Chef, Alewife, Baltimore, MD)
■Flying Dog Beer Sampling (Ben Savage, VP Marketing and Brand Development, Flying Dog Brewery, will share some amazing beers) You must be 21 to sample beers.

[Turtle135]

I'm interested in the tournament.

However, this is looking like a bowfishing event with the tournament running from 6:00 P.M. to noon the next day. Have you ever caught a snakehead after dark on a rod and reel?

[mcveyr]

I attend the captains meeting then to fish until around 10 PM (thirty minutes after sunset), sleep until 5 AM and continue fishing the tournament.

[Turtle135]

Alright, what the heck, I can sleep when I'm dead. I'm in for the tournament!

[nay_sayer]

You guys are killing me with this tournament!!! I want in but I have a charter boat trip with my company that day. Since I am the trip organizer and I have all of the money, I can't bow out! Aaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggghhhhhh!

Best of luck!