New Maryland State Record Snakehead

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Misha Gill

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Aug 11, 2015, 4:01:02 PM8/11/15
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Todd Murphy shot a 17.47 pound snakehead with bow & arrow this weekend in the Potomac River:


They're out there... waiting....

Misha Gill

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Aug 11, 2015, 4:02:10 PM8/11/15
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Oh, and for the record (From the OP on Reddit):

"The State currently recognizes three invasive species for state record status - northern snakehead, blue catfish and flathead catfish. The fish must be killed to be eligible and caught by any legal means. All other state record recognized species must be caught with a rod"

D. Walker

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Aug 11, 2015, 8:56:19 PM8/11/15
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Holy cow. Could you imagine that on the fly!?
I'm still on the hunt for one myself

namfos

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Aug 12, 2015, 8:34:51 AM8/12/15
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The link didn't work for me but this does,  http://dcist.com/2015/08/thanks_todd.php

Mark

TurbineBlade

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Aug 12, 2015, 10:41:04 AM8/12/15
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People seem to like pulling out old, crusty adjectives when writing snakehead articles. They're okay, but not overly difficult to catch nor do they fight like carp. They also aren't particularly "scary" to me. They're just another fish. ;)

Gene ("crusty irony") tb

Scott Stankus

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Aug 12, 2015, 10:51:11 AM8/12/15
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"They're okay, but not overly difficult to catch"

That is a bold, bold statement, Gene!

On Wed, Aug 12, 2015 at 10:41 AM, TurbineBlade <doubl...@gmail.com> wrote:
People seem to like pulling out old, crusty adjectives when writing snakehead articles. They're okay, but not overly difficult to catch nor do they fight like carp.  They also aren't particularly "scary" to me.  They're just another fish. ;)

Gene ("crusty irony") tb

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TurbineBlade

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Aug 12, 2015, 12:03:46 PM8/12/15
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I stand by it! Now show me a picture of a > 1 pound bluegill!

Misha Gill

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Aug 12, 2015, 12:23:10 PM8/12/15
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Gene, here's a picture of a bluegill that I think is close to 1 lb. That's a size 6 woolly bugger hanging out of its mouth. 

I disagree more with your statement about a snakehead's fighting ability than their difficulty to fool. I hooked one that was 30+ inches and it snapped me off in a hot second. Granted, they do have sharp teeth, which was the likely cause of the break off. But I think they pull pretty good. 
1lb Bluegill.jpg

TurbineBlade

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Aug 12, 2015, 12:53:15 PM8/12/15
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That's totally fair.

That's a good one! I'm still looking for one with the huge nuchal hump that's the size of a manhole cover! I think monster stud bluegill are harder to find than just about anything.

TurbineBlade

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Aug 12, 2015, 12:55:13 PM8/12/15
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The fish, not the hump. Grammar. ...

Ben Sacher

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Aug 12, 2015, 2:47:16 PM8/12/15
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I caught a 34 inch snakehead that ran out then jumped and shook like a small tarpon... not like a bass. I would say pretty good fight. They don't run like a carp, though.  

Also have a hard time getting them to take. 

Jeffrey Silvan

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Aug 12, 2015, 9:55:38 PM8/12/15
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In case you don't believe they're in the c&o canal yet, I saw a dead one today that was easily pushing 30 inches. I also saw a small one that had created a bait ball just like it was a pelagic. Of course, I tied on a clouser and a different one surprised the heck out of me and nailed the fly. Unfortunately, what would have been my first ever snakehead turned out to be a short lived fight, and it broke me off after about fifteen seconds.

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20150812_193900 - Copy.jpg

Daniel Davala

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Aug 13, 2015, 5:45:02 AM8/13/15
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Hey Jeff

Great pictures.  Pretty sure that "bait ball" is a Snakehead nest.  Snakehead fry can have that reddish color and there are usually two adults guarding them.  This would explain why you cast at the one you saw, and then the attack came not from the front, but from the other one you didn't even know was there. Clever girl!  

All Jurassic Park references aside, that's a great, clear shot of a nest and could be useful in educating the public.  I suggest you send it to our local agencies, VDGIF, MDDNR, DDOE and ask for a photo credit if they decide to use it.  In the meantime, go back to where you found it with a heavier leader and catch both adults.  You should be able to get quite a few tacos out of the pair.  Looking forward to the report!

Dan Davala

namfos

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Aug 13, 2015, 9:01:45 AM8/13/15
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In addition to the photo credit, I'd ask for one of those cool Snakehead Control caps from Maryland DNR. ;-)

Mark

Jeffrey Silvan

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Aug 13, 2015, 9:02:16 AM8/13/15
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Dan, thanks! That makes complete sense. I was a little puzzled by the reddish-orange baitfish when I saw them. I assumed they were some sort of fry from the beginning just due to the tiny size, but them being snakehead fry never even crossed my mind. I'll pass the pics along to agencies this morning!

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/CAEKpoJeYH-Td-HwGCJagp9OVhkJNTTuNzuw8zG1LO97Q%3Dt4cbg%40mail.gmail.com.

TurbineBlade

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Aug 13, 2015, 5:28:31 PM8/13/15
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Very cool -- just take it from Beth that "snakehead are slimy".  We cleaned one in our former apartment bathtub.  

They are good eating though!

Gene


On Thursday, August 13, 2015 at 9:02:16 AM UTC-4, Jeff Silvan wrote:
Dan, thanks! That makes complete sense. I was a little puzzled by the reddish-orange baitfish when I saw them. I assumed they were some sort of fry from the beginning just due to the tiny size, but them being snakehead fry never even crossed my mind. I'll pass the pics along to agencies this morning!
On Thu, Aug 13, 2015 at 5:44 AM, Daniel Davala <daniel...@gmail.com> wrote:
Hey Jeff

Great pictures.  Pretty sure that "bait ball" is a Snakehead nest.  Snakehead fry can have that reddish color and there are usually two adults guarding them.  This would explain why you cast at the one you saw, and then the attack came not from the front, but from the other one you didn't even know was there. Clever girl!  

All Jurassic Park references aside, that's a great, clear shot of a nest and could be useful in educating the public.  I suggest you send it to our local agencies, VDGIF, MDDNR, DDOE and ask for a photo credit if they decide to use it.  In the meantime, go back to where you found it with a heavier leader and catch both adults.  You should be able to get quite a few tacos out of the pair.  Looking forward to the report!

Dan Davala

On Wednesday, August 12, 2015, Jeffrey Silvan <jeffre...@gmail.com> wrote:

In case you don't believe they're in the c&o canal yet, I saw a dead one today that was easily pushing 30 inches. I also saw a small one that had created a bait ball just like it was a pelagic. Of course, I tied on a clouser and a different one surprised the heck out of me and nailed the fly. Unfortunately, what would have been my first ever snakehead turned out to be a short lived fight, and it broke me off after about fifteen seconds.

On Aug 12, 2015 2:47 PM, "Ben Sacher" <bsa...@gmail.com> wrote:
I caught a 34 inch snakehead that ran out then jumped and shook like a small tarpon... not like a bass. I would say pretty good fight. They don't run like a carp, though.  

Also have a hard time getting them to take. 

On Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at 12:23:10 PM UTC-4, Misha Gill wrote:
Gene, here's a picture of a bluegill that I think is close to 1 lb. That's a size 6 woolly bugger hanging out of its mouth. 

I disagree more with your statement about a snakehead's fighting ability than their difficulty to fool. I hooked one that was 30+ inches and it snapped me off in a hot second. Granted, they do have sharp teeth, which was the likely cause of the break off. But I think they pull pretty good. 

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Lane Smith

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Aug 13, 2015, 11:07:46 PM8/13/15
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In the interest of supporting the anti-snakehead efforts. Is there any way to destroy those frye on the fly if one were to see a pod?

Scott Stankus

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Aug 14, 2015, 6:48:03 AM8/14/15
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Yes. Catch and kill both fish guarding them!

And actually, that's probably the time time when they are most aggressive and most easily taken on the fly.

--Scott

Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 13, 2015, at 11:07 PM, Lane Smith <jlane...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> In the interest of supporting the anti-snakehead efforts. Is there any way to destroy those frye on the fly if one were to see a pod?
>
> --
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TurbineBlade

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Aug 14, 2015, 8:36:31 AM8/14/15
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Fly fishermen are an interesting lot -- one day we're telling people not to use barbs or dry hands on a trout, the next we're using terms like "destroy" "kill" and "tacos" ;).  Actually I think it's just people in general who are interesting.  

Over in Wild Basin (CO) this one older bearded guy asked us "are you killin the d@#n brook trout?  Get 'em outta here!"  

Then this one lady accosted a fly fisherman for "tormenting" the fish via catch-and-release in DC....probably while on her way to buy a 50-pound bag of Meow Mix (now with 60% more ground horse!)  to feed the feral cats behind her house.  

I guess I'll hang around -- 

Gene


On Friday, August 14, 2015 at 6:48:03 AM UTC-4, Scott S wrote:
Yes. Catch and kill both fish guarding them!

And actually, that's probably the time time when they are most aggressive and most easily taken on the fly.

--Scott

Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 13, 2015, at 11:07 PM, Lane Smith <jlane...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> In the interest of supporting the anti-snakehead efforts. Is there any way to destroy those frye on the fly if one were to see a pod?
>
> --
> http://www.tpfr.org
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> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.
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Jamie Carracher

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Aug 14, 2015, 9:52:41 AM8/14/15
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A couple months ago I was casting on the Tidal Basin and my fly landed right on the nose of a rising snakehead to my surprise. The snakehead immediately fled. A tourist watching kept yelling for me to go after it. I withdrew from that fight. I had a 5 wt and a net, which didn't seem like the right tools for that job.

Curious, what makes snakehead OK to eat in local waters compared to bass and other fish that have limits due to toxins in the water?

TurbineBlade

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Aug 14, 2015, 10:03:39 AM8/14/15
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They taste better.  


Gene

Jeffrey Silvan

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Aug 14, 2015, 10:05:11 AM8/14/15
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I believe the main reason why they're considered more safe is because they have an extremely fast growth rate which limits the amount of toxins found in their flesh. 

On Fri, Aug 14, 2015 at 10:03 AM, TurbineBlade <doubl...@gmail.com> wrote:
They taste better.  


Gene


On Friday, August 14, 2015 at 9:52:41 AM UTC-4, Jamie Carracher wrote:
A couple months ago I was casting on the Tidal Basin and my fly landed right on the nose of a rising snakehead to my surprise. The snakehead immediately fled. A tourist watching kept yelling for me to go after it. I withdrew from that fight. I had a 5 wt and a net, which didn't seem like the right tools for that job.

Curious, what makes snakehead OK to eat in local waters compared to bass and other fish that have limits due to toxins in the water?



On Friday, August 14, 2015 at 8:36:31 AM UTC-4, TurbineBlade wrote:
Fly fishermen are an interesting lot -- one day we're telling people not to use barbs or dry hands on a trout, the next we're using terms like "destroy" "kill" and "tacos" ;).  Actually I think it's just people in general who are interesting.  

Over in Wild Basin (CO) this one older bearded guy asked us "are you killin the d@#n brook trout?  Get 'em outta here!"  

Then this one lady accosted a fly fisherman for "tormenting" the fish via catch-and-release in DC....probably while on her way to buy a 50-pound bag of Meow Mix (now with 60% more ground horse!)  to feed the feral cats behind her house.  

I guess I'll hang around -- 

Gene

On Friday, August 14, 2015 at 6:48:03 AM UTC-4, Scott S wrote:
Yes. Catch and kill both fish guarding them!

And actually, that's probably the time time when they are most aggressive and most easily taken on the fly.

--Scott

Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 13, 2015, at 11:07 PM, Lane Smith <jlane...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> In the interest of supporting the anti-snakehead efforts. Is there any way to destroy those frye on the fly if one were to see a pod?
>
> --
> http://www.tpfr.org
> ---
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.
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Clever Knickname

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Aug 15, 2015, 9:51:59 AM8/15/15
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I've heard this as well but never understood how this could be possible.  They eat everything in the Potomac, which presumably also contain toxins, why wouldn't they absorb the toxins as they eat and grow?
They taste better.  


Gene
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Rob Snowhite

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Aug 15, 2015, 10:34:53 AM8/15/15
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I don't thinks it's a case of bio magnification (build up of toxins from eating other organisms that have eaten other organisms etc) it's more of being bathed in and living in a toxic environment. 

A one year old NSH in the river is about five pounds. Thus it has grown at a faster rate than other fish in the same dirty waters and has grown faster than the toxins can be absorbed. A catfish of the same size would be older and thus have more nasty in it. 

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Clever Nickname

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Aug 15, 2015, 11:13:40 AM8/15/15
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That makes sense - it's just hard to imagine that biomagnification wouldn't be a factor as well given their diet.

They taste better.  


Gene
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namfos

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Aug 24, 2015, 11:06:40 AM8/24/15
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I believe most bio-accumulative substances accumulate in adipose (fatty) tissue not the flesh, i.e. muscle, one eats. That is of course if one consumes one's catch.

Mark 
 

TurbineBlade

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Aug 24, 2015, 11:48:00 AM8/24/15
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If you haven't tried sunfish, I recommend it.  

The best "tool" for fly fishing for sunfish is a filet knife!  

Gene ("eat 'em once >> catch 'em twice") TB

namfos

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Aug 25, 2015, 12:25:06 PM8/25/15
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With you there, Gene.
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