Snake head fishing

[quang tran]

Any member here fishing for snakehead in Florida ?Any caught in Tampa area and what month is best for them ?

[nelz]

I'm in SE FL but I've read that snakeheads can be found around Tampa too.

Take a look at my post here:

https://alantani.com/index.php/topic,36709.0.html

[JasonGotaProblem]

Talked to a buddy who is a lot more active in fresh water than myself. Says they're around, he's seen a few, but hasn't landed any.

I'm sure that's super helpful.

[quang tran]

I only catch a few small fish when I was very young in my country .Often go with some big guy just to see they are catching these huge snake head . The snakehead in Florida from Nelz's picture is different than Northern snakehead found in Maryland they prefer deeper water ,fight harder and normal take big bait .
Back in 2004=2005 when all the news that snakehead invaded US water and these fish will eat all US natural  fish and they can travel on land ....that are not true .To me they are good fish ,willing to take lures ,take good care of there young and good taste .Compare the damage that snakehead do to the carp I think carp do much more damage and 1 of our president bring them here .
I will be in Tampa area for Christmas hope to catch one but seem not much change .
When you see young snakehead swim around, a bunch of small red minnow then big snake head surely there

[nelz]

Yes, I've seen them nursing a big ball of babies.

Btw, I had a very knowlegeable fisherman tell me that snakeheads do not normally prey on small fish, but prefer frogs and other small critters in the shallows.

[quang tran]

Yes, in my country they use baby duck for bait .They hook it up some how I don't remember but no ham for the duck

[nelz]

They hook it up some how I don't remember but no ham for the duck

Umm... until a big nasty fish eats him!

[nelz]

Btw, what country are you from?

[quang tran]

I'm from Vietnam ,that time I was a little boy and about 55 years ago so I don't remember but no ham to the duck and can use it to fish several time

[nelz]

Ok, I asked because they have some monsters in Thailand and Malaysia.

[quang tran]

We soon have better fish here and I'm not going back there

[oc1]

A friend of mine used to raise snakehead in ponds in Hawaii.  He said they are easy to grow, but he could never get the authorities approve of it so the project died.

I agree strongly with the comparison to carp.  Common carp have been doing their damage for over a century now.  It's been so long that nobody remembers what things were like in the pre-carp days.

[MarkT]

Carp are crap by those who can't spell!

[Patudo]

Large snakehead, like the giant snakehead prized as an angling fish in South East Asia (NB. that one pictured in the link above looks like a different species, but is pretty decently sized!) often prey on carp.  They have sharp cutting teeth and can kill quite large prey with a cutting bite similar to a (small) shark or bluefish. Carp don't have many natural predators in many areas they've been introduced to, but snakeheads definitely are one. 

They are very cool game fish IMO - very oriented to surface disturbance (not really a surprise as they take a lot of frogs in the wild), good fighters, and as the link above notes, can require real watercraft to hook.  And they're tasty.    Not saying they should be introduced, in the US or elsewhere (though Florida is so full of exotics already that one more probably doesn't matter) - but they are interesting critters, both as fish and as gamefish. 

[quang tran]

I totally agree with you Patudo