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Compared to the last few years, I think there are fewer snakehead; the bow fisherman have taken a toll. I've caught more blue cat than SH this year.
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I agree with mudcart on both counts. However I doubt NSH could ever be completely eradicated from the Potomac. The amount of food and cover available for them, combined with their prolific reproduction makes me think they are here to stay.
Regarding impact on the food chain, I think the rise of the blue catfish has a far greater effect than that of the snakehead. I have seen and caught more of them on bass lures in the past couple years than ever before. They are voracious piscivores, especially as they grow bigger. When the water is clear, you can go to the backs of the creeks and see them swarming by the hundreds.
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I've been in the back of pohick on the flats and there would be hundreds of blues feeding, couldn't throw a lure on it without hooking up to one... Was terrible
Last edited by Thai (Sep-06-13 10:44AM)
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I've caught more snakeheads this year than any before, but I was targeting them more. Blue cats are out of control. Trolled for stripers last week and caught a dozen blues and they are a pain when trolling......they roll, twist, and tangle other lines.
I'm going out with Odenkirk to shock up NSH on Thursday and will get his take on the current/relative NHS population...........
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I'm glad the BBC chose those two highly regarded scientific groups to present the facts...
Last edited by dave (Sep-07-13 7:49AM)
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I was out with Odenkirk today on a couple of the Potomac creeks electroshocking. Does not appear to be a shortage of bass or snakeheads from what I saw today...............
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Curly wrote:
I was out with Odenkirk today on a couple of the Potomac creeks electroshocking. Does not appear to be a shortage of bass or snakeheads from what I saw today...............
Nice to hear.....
So....when I drive to get my boat at Algonkian, there are lots of deer and most of them are not scared of my car. The same thing happens to the ducks on our ponds as I take my walks. They are not scared of me unless I make a sudden movement. However, when I was riding my bike teh other day, some deer were crossing the road. I made a loud "boom" sound as I was getting close to them and those deer took off as fast as I have ever seen them run. Hmmm......
Why am I saying this? I have heard lots of folks talk about slow fishing for both bass and NSh. They get LOTS of pressure, especially during tourneys. Do the fish get a little conditioned?
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I think every body of water has a fish that gets all the blame for lack of catching.
Ernie in response to conditioning the males forget within seconds after catch and release. But females remember a very long time.
Also if all tournys where to photo and release with no live well usage perhaps less stress on the fish will result in more of them.
Capt Mike
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