Author Topic: Snakehead Fishing (Read 2593 times)

saltydad · « **on:** February 08, 2008, 08:32:51 pm »

Fishing for Snakeheads 3:35 1/29/2008 Steve Chaconas, who runs the National Bass Guide Service in Alexandria, and Derek Radoski, a client and snakehead fishing enthusiast, began fishing for snakeheads ni the Potomac Rover about 4 years ago. Together they hope to help promote the sport fishing

Go ti iTunes podcasts, under HD podcasts, washingtonpost.com, and click this piece. Very interesting. Caught any Tom?

tomterp · « **Reply #1 on:** February 08, 2008, 10:34:58 pm »

Haven't seen a snakehead yet, Salty. A few years ago I went with a very experienced fish collector to a creek in the Potomac where we attempted to capture a juvenile snakehead, but to no avail. We did catch 13 species that day, some of them fairly unusual (ever seen a 3" striped bass? How about a bluespotted sunfish?) But no snakehead. One of my friends caught one in Piscataway Creek, on the Md. side (rarer than the Va side).

The rare and beautiful bluespotted sunfish

saltydad · « **Reply #2 on:** February 09, 2008, 12:30:57 am »

That's a beautiful fish. I've been catching sunnies all my life; never even heard of it! From the pic reminds me of an African cichlid.

natsfan1a · « **Reply #3 on:** February 09, 2008, 07:59:21 am »

That is a pretty fish. I've never seen one. 1c hadn't run into a snakehead fish either.

tomterp · « **Reply #4 on:** February 09, 2008, 12:24:15 pm »

Quote from: saltydad on February 09, 2008, 12:30:57 am

That's a beautiful fish. I've been catching sunnies all my life; never even heard of it! From the pic reminds me of an African cichlid.

There are a bunch of sunfish that you would never catch, because they are miniature sized. The bluespotted one gets to around 3" in length. Here's another exceptionally rare sunfish from the mid-Atlantic area- the blackbanded sunfish, that only gets to about 2" maximum. This one is shown life size:

I also stumbled upon an article about the blackbanded sunfish, by the guy I was with when we got the bluespotted one, if you really want to get into the weeds:

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/ponds/Bock_Blackbanded_Sunfish.html

natsfan1a · « **Reply #5 on:** February 09, 2008, 12:38:16 pm »

Thanks for the link, Tom. I'll have to send it to my brother-in-law. He's a NANFA member, as is the author.

tomterp · « **Reply #6 on:** February 09, 2008, 12:46:05 pm »

Quote from: natsfan1a on February 09, 2008, 12:38:16 pm

I'll have to send it to my brother-in-law. He's a NANFA member, as is the author.

Me too, though I'm not active in any way.

natsfan1a · « **Reply #7 on:** February 09, 2008, 12:49:37 pm »

Cool.

He's gone to some of their conventions and has taken part in some other activities but hasn't been active in leadership to this point (if it's like many other organizations, it's only a matter of time until you run for office if you show up at most of the meetings

).

GburgNatsFan · « **Reply #8 on:** February 10, 2008, 03:04:51 pm »

Tom,

How do you fish? I did it when I was a teenager, but haven't been out since then. I'm buying a canoe in the Spring (because I've wanted one for years since I had one when I was a kid) and as I'm pretty near Tridelphia, I was thinking I might try some not-very-intense catch and release. Is that too silly from a canoe?

Quote from: tomterp on February 09, 2008, 12:46:05 pm

Me too, though I'm not active in any way.

Quote from: natsfan1a on February 09, 2008, 12:49:37 pm

Cool. He's gone to some of their conventions and has taken part in some other activities but hasn't been active in leadership to this point (if it's like many other organizations, it's only a matter of time until you run for office if you show up at most of the meetings ).

natsfan1a · « **Reply #9 on:** February 10, 2008, 04:00:54 pm »

I'm not Tom but my husband and I have done catch-and-release fishing on various canoe float trips. You just have to watch your back cast a bit if you're in the same canoe.

tomterp · « **Reply #10 on:** February 10, 2008, 08:52:52 pm »

I fish from a canoe all the time. Kayaks are all the rage these days, and offer some advantages, but also disadvantages. One disadvantage is the limited carrying capacity vs. a canoe. I often take a couple of spinning rods and a flyrod in my canoe, but most kayakers take one rod only. Regardless of your choice, the opportunity to find yourself in beautiful, remote places is worth the modest cost.

A couple of friends of mine paddling on the Cacapon, 1995:

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Ali the Baseball Cat · « **Reply #11 on:** February 11, 2008, 12:26:51 am »

Snakeheads actually taste pretty good...had 'em cooked a couple of different ways in Burma. Fried, they were like pike or gar.

Quote from: saltydad on February 08, 2008, 08:32:51 pm

Fishing for Snakeheads 3:35 1/29/2008 Steve Chaconas, who runs the National Bass Guide Service in Alexandria, and Derek Radoski, a client and snakehead fishing enthusiast, began fishing for snakeheads ni the Potomac Rover about 4 years ago. Together they hope to help promote the sport fishing

Go ti iTunes podcasts, under HD podcasts, washingtonpost.com, and click this piece. Very interesting. Caught any Tom?

saltydad · « **Reply #12 on:** February 14, 2008, 10:25:30 pm »

Tom-

Here's the latest- remote control fishing!

natsfan1a · « **Reply #13 on:** February 15, 2008, 06:34:37 am »

That's a big fish! Looks like he was using a worm for bait?

p.s. You're gonna need a bigger boat (R.I.P. Roy Scheider).

tomterp · « **Reply #14 on:** February 15, 2008, 09:07:08 pm »

Quote from: saltydad on February 14, 2008, 10:25:30 pm

Tom-

Here's the latest- remote control fishing!

Who says fisherman don't innovate!

natsfan1a · « **Reply #15 on:** February 16, 2008, 09:14:19 am »

Speaking of which - how about these these bobbers? (I also like the retrieval method.)

http://www.fishingpixels.com/toybobbers.html

tomterp · « **Reply #16 on:** February 25, 2008, 09:04:46 am »

From the Potomac River Smallmouth Club, as printed in the Post this past weekend. The referenced meeting is this Wednesday, Feb. 27:

Quote

Frankenfish Talk: John Odenkirk, a fisheries biologist with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, will be the guest speaker at the Potomac River Smallmouth Club's February meeting. One of the foremost experts on the northern snakehead, he will discuss the status of the invasive species in area waters.

The snakehead, originally from Asia, has been known to breathe out of water and wiggle its way short distances over land. It was first discovered in the area in 2002, when Maryland officials had to poison a Crofton pond in an attempt to contain the species.

The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Vienna fire station on Center Street.

saltydad · « **Reply #17 on:** March 13, 2008, 01:31:42 am »

Tom-

I couldn't remember the thread where we were talking about tanks, so I'll stick this here. When I had a reef and fish tank one of my cats' favorite seat was on top of the chiller. She spent more time watching the fish than I did.

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tomterp · « **Reply #18 on:** March 13, 2008, 08:23:02 am »

Our cat Alex has never been as interested in our fish as I thought he would be. Oh, he likes sleeping on top the aquarium where it's warm (when the lights are on), and he'll make an occasional leap against the glass in a vain attempt to snag a neon tetra, but he doesn't really watch it much.

kimnat · « **Reply #19 on:** March 13, 2008, 08:31:39 am »

Salty, she's a cute kitty! Looks soft!

blue911 · « **Reply #20 on:** March 13, 2008, 08:34:42 am »

Looks like a Maine Coon.

tomterp · « **Reply #21 on:** March 13, 2008, 08:53:28 am »

Quote from: blue911 on March 13, 2008, 08:34:42 am

Looks like a Maine Coon.

From some of Salty's old stories, it probably is.

kimnat · « **Reply #22 on:** March 13, 2008, 10:25:57 am »

I thought the same thing. I have a Maine Coon (my cat is pure white), but the from behind, this cat physically resembles mine. But I can't see the face or paws to firmly say that it is. I was gonna wait for Salty on that one. Maine Coons have large paws and a more "pointed" face than other long hair cats (which have more "pug" like facial features).

blue911 · « **Reply #23 on:** March 13, 2008, 10:27:41 am »

I was looking at the tail and ears (placement and shape)

kimnat · « **Reply #24 on:** March 13, 2008, 10:28:55 am »

Quote from: blue911 on March 13, 2008, 10:27:41 am

I was looking at the tail and ears (placement and shape)

Yeah, I saw that too and wondered, but thought that it coulda been a mixed breed and I wouldn't be able to tell w/o being told or seeing a front view of the kitty. Plus it's an obvious LARGE kitty, that also lends to the Maine Coon thought.