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Potomac River snakeheads & LMbass 6/21

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  • Potomac River snakeheads & LMbass 6/21

    Traffic has been a bitch lately & it took me 2 hours to get go my launch site.
    I arrived @ high tide & I made casts for about an hour during slack tide but as soon as it started to move out all hell broke loose with torpedos & rocket airs by snakeheads & LMbass. I netted 1monster LM that measured but 17.5" but it was built like a football. It was exciting having another wake coming at the bait so I paused it & then wham.....a snakehead! Another cast & a snakehead rocketed from heavy cover in the air to devour my frog. Other times they seem to be just slamming my bait for they must've been protecting fry. I even had them striking several times but not actually biting the bait. My medium rod's line got all tangled up so I retired it for the eve & just used my ultralight rod. Another cast & a snakehead slams my bait & rockets out of the water, lands w/a big belly flop, & spits the hook. A lil commotion further away & I cast my bait as far as I can & Jackpot! It gets hit by an atomic bomb. Then I realize my 2-pc ul rod is in 2 pieces. I start reeling my line in to get the 2nd half of my rod in my hand to put it together whilst my line is swimming away. Once together again, I reel in that fish but it jumps 4x w/o becoming unglued. I net it & roughly measure 17.5" but it's built like a football & fat! As I go to grip the fish it opens its mouth & out comes my bait which was never hooked. Wow!Then I hear a bunch of loud commotion & this seems to spook the fish. It turns out that the spookmasters have arrived....then, as fast as they arrived.....they disappear they zoom off in a no wake zone. As the light starts to fade some noisy peeps start to unload their boats. Soon the sky is lit up like a huge wildfire burning on the horizon- 3 spotlighting bowfish boats have converged to destroy the tranquility & peace I was enjoying w/ their noisy generators. I called it a day & loaded up. The bright lights blinded the heck out of me from the bowfishers boats AND the huge cloud of skeeters & bugs that followed those boats made me want to get away from those boats or I'd be eaten alive by the bugs. All 5 of my snakeheads & the 1LMB were safely released to be caught another day.

  • #2
    Great report. Yes, those generator boats with the bow hunters are lousy.

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    • #3
      Yeah those bowfisherman couldn't be farther from our way of fishing. It's a shame you released those snakehead, they are supposedly delicious. I want to go fish for snakehead this summer, I may hit you up if that's ok.

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      • #4
        Great Report, glad you were able to work thru the rod situation.

        Yak67

        2017 Hobie PA-12
        2016 Hobie Outback LE#217

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        • #5
          Originally posted by yakscientist View Post
          It's a shame you released those snakehead, they are supposedly delicious.
          Not to mention a terribly invasive species. Of course, at this point, removing them is little more than a feel good (and taste good) exercise, as they seem pretty well established. But if you ever needed a reason to harvest a fish, it's a good one.
          Kevin

          2013 Wilderness Systems Ride 135

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Crotalus View Post
            Not to mention a terribly invasive species. Of course, at this point, removing them is little more than a feel good (and taste good) exercise, as they seem pretty well established. But if you ever needed a reason to harvest a fish, it's a good one.
            Yeah we did a fish tissue study at a particularly polluted stretch of river in MD, we didn't throw any of the dozen or so snakeheads we got back, nor any of the 30 or so bluecats we caught. We used probably half for our tissue study, but unfortunately trashed the rest of the invasives instead of releasing them. We would've donated them or eaten them ourselves, but like I said, it was a nasty stretch of river (PCBs, heavy metals, etc).

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            • #7
              Originally posted by whenican View Post
              ....... All 5 of my snakeheads & the 1LMB were safely released to be caught another day.

              Great report, Thanks. But, I thought it was illegal to release a SH??

              Best Regards,
              Stan
              Wilderness Systems Ride 135

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              • #8
                Originally posted by manlystanley View Post
                Great report, Thanks. But, I thought it was illegal to release a SH??

                Best Regards,
                Stan
                It's illegal to possess one alive.
                Mark
                Pasadena, MD


                Slate Hobie Revolution 13
                Hidden Oak Native Ultimate 12
                Lizard Lick Native Ultimate FX Pro

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                • #9
                  I believe they have been backing off on that requirement lately. Direct quote from VDGIf: "Anglers are not required to report snakeheads nor are they required to kill them if caught, but the Department asks that the fish be reported and killed if possible".

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                  • #10
                    I see the jacklighters every evening and the next day pads are plowed up by motors.

                    Capt Mike Starrett

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