Comments on: FLORIDA: Snakehead Success and More Peacocks

By: tony

tony — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 03:26:35 +0000

i want to catch some of these snakeheads does anyone know of anyplace in the glades to catch these

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 03:22:37 +0000

Yep snakeheads are no threat, do the math 127 snakes, 68 Peacocks, and only 41 bass caught, Yep No problem at all

No worries I killed thee over 9 pounds this week and we killed a little over 100 over the weekend. with a bit more awareness this problem of Snkaeheads will get under control PDQ

By: Pete McDonald

Pete McDonald — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:34:03 +0000

The picture above is most definitely a snakehead. Confirmed without a doubt.

Here is a bowfin:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fishingjones/2300236135/

By: Justin

Justin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:24:15 +0000

http://www.tnfish.org/InvasivesExoticSpeciesTennessee_TWRA/files/BowfinSnakeheadGLERIdotNOAAdotGOV.gif

By: Justin

Justin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:18:50 +0000

That’s not a snakehead. It’s a bowfin aka mudfish. Snakeheads have a different fin pattern and have noticeably large teeth. I caught a bowfin two days ago on a spinner. They are easily mistaken for the snakehead, but check out the link I added.

By: Pete McDonald

Pete McDonald — Fri, 07 May 2010 03:29:08 +0000

The FWC encourages you to kill snakeheads if you catch them, provided you are certain you have not caught a bowfin:

http://tinyurl.com/fwcsnakehead

By: David

David — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:57:26 +0000

I am with George on this one and I don’t care what that article says, I suggest you actually try fishing for them. I live in South Florida where over the past few years snakeheads have gone from virtually non-existant to now where I can walk out to the lake in my backyard at any time of day and spot at least a dozen of them. And at the same time only be able to catch largemouth no bigger than a pound when 5-10 years ago eight to ten pounders were common so I tend to get very angry when someone tells me they aren’t a problem. They compete with largemouth and peacocks very much so, not to mention snakeheads will kill simply for sport and leave mangled and dismembered fish to die. This is because snakeheads are highly aggressive and simply outbreed the local species, unlike most fish (such as largemouths who offer no protection to their young and will often eat their own young if they hang around their parents for too long) snakehead parents will remain paired up and protect vast swarms of their young until maturity. This behavior coupled with the fact that each female can have over 100,000 babies every year means that snakehead populations are growing exponentially while native species are not. Snakeheads are also bigger, faster, and stronger than most native species, ask anyone who has had one on their line. This means that they win when competing for food sources (one source being infant and juvenile largemouth) and once the native species become too thin, they cannot breed thus further reducing native populations. The snakehead is a serious threat to North American aquatic life and should not be taken lightly. It is common knowledge among S. Florida anglers that any snakehead caught should be killed and never thrown back. It is actually illegal to possess live snakeheads in the U.S. (that shoudl tell you something). It doesn’t take a genius to understand that, given the facts and shear numbers, snakeheads have the potential to severely and adversly impact N. American ecosystems not to mention a $30 billion a year freshwater fishing industry.

By: Tom

Tom — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 02:43:01 +0000

I suggest that you check out this article titled “Snake Heads pose no threat.”

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/story/1319821.html

Here is an excerpt:
Early results from the FWC’s most recent electrofishing study in the C-14 (stunning fish with a mild electrical charge so they can be examined) shows that although snakeheads are abundant, they are not destroying populations of largemouth and peacock bass — the two main gamefish species in South Florida lakes and canals.

FWC scientists using the marine version of electric cattle prods caught as many as 1.58 snakeheads per minute weighing up to 9.2 pounds.
Examining the stomach contents of 127 dead snakeheads, they found the remains of 13 of their own species plus one bluegill, 11 mosquitofish, seven warmouth, two peacock bass, several lizards, bufo toads, small turtles, a rat and a snake. No remains of largemouth bass were found.
Looking at 68 peacock bass’ stomachs, the researchers found 16 snakeheads. In 41 largemouth bass, they found one.

“They seem to be complementary predators,” Shafland said, referring to snakeheads versus peacocks and largemouth. “We don’t see one dominating the others. I think they’re all pretty much holding their own.”

By: george thomas

george thomas — Wed, 27 May 2009 23:57:56 +0000

snakeheads are the worst thing to happen to florida wildlife! they are a horrible gamefish and are killing the largemouth habitat. everyone caught should be killed for the better of south florida fishing