Snakeheads!!!

Made an interesting discovery a few weeks back while I was out tarpon hunting in my canal. With my fresh cut mullet head sitting on the bottom waiting for a giant poon I decided to fish a topwater hollow frog for bass. As I made my frog dance across the surface I felt a strike. Definitely wasn't a lunker- felt like a little bass shot up the water column and tried to claim my lure as his own.

After a short fight a flopping pile of weeds greeted me at the banks edge. I proceeded to remove the cabbage nonchalantly so I could thumb grip this little bass and release him as soon as possible. After I removed the final strand of weeds I began to reach down with my bare hand when I realized I was about to make a potentially costly mistake as this bass had teeth- lots of sharp teeth.

My eyes immediately opened with a childish expression of surprise and delight that can only be comparable to a child's first trip to Disney- that's a snakedhead and my first. I immediately took a step back to analyze the situation (snakeheads breathe air so relax, you have time). After giving myself the proverbial celebratory fist pound I went into action. Although this was just a baby I wasn't messing around- first things first, gloves on. By now the hook had come out naturally so all I had to do was grab it, take a quick picture and then the tricky part- since snakeheads are an invasive species you are required by Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) policy to dispose of them.

I knew I had a decision to make.  First and foremost, I believe in taking care of our waters and fish- as anglers if we don’t who will?  That being said I understand both sides of the argument.  Invasive species can wreak havoc on ecosystems- we’ve all seen evidence of this with the silver carp problem in the Mississippi River water system.  What would happen if the silver carp disaster happened on the same scale in South Florida with snakeheads?  South Florida including Lake Okeechobee has some of the best bass fishing in the world- could snakeheads jeopardize this?   

After quick but careful consideration I released my snakehead and did so for many reasons.  First, snakeheads are nowhere near as big of problem as they are made out to be.  I’ve been fishing the same canal and in roughly the same spot for well over 2 years and this was my first snakehead.  While there are definitely some hot spots in some canals they have not taken over South Florida.  Second, peacock bass are not native as they were imported to eat small fish destroying the vegetation.  Well since snakeheads eat the same small fish as peacocks aren’t they at least part of the solution?  Third, a strong snakehead following has embraced this species complete with tournaments and guide services. 

Finally, if you do choose to kill your snakeheads please take the time to learn the difference between invasive snakeheads and indigenous bowfin.  The result of the FWC execution and an equally dramatic episode of River Monsters was a mass movement to kill snakeheads.  The problem was and still is that overly ambitious yet uneducated anglers are mistaking bowfins for snakeheads.  Although they may look identical at first glance a seasoned angler can easily tell the difference.  By far the easiest way to distinguish the two fish is the anal fin.  Snakeheads have a long anal fin while bowfins have a much shorter one.

 

 

The bottom line is that while snakehead are an invasive species released illegally in South Florida they're not going anywhere. We might as well embrace them- they fight like hell and most importantly no matter what we do they are here to stay.

Take care and tight lines!