Tag Archives: how to catch snakeheads

Snakehead Season

Spring is Here and Snakeheads are Biting!

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Spring Snakeheads are Back!

cropped-snakehead-mount.jpg
Not my fish but a great mounted Snakehead from the Maryland Snakehead Tournament in 2015

Of course the camera was on the blink and my cell phone died so no stills when I caught my first snakehead and some small largemouth bass on my first Spring fishing trip to the Potomac River two weeks ago.  I wore out the screw on mount on my Ion AirPro 3 it kept falling off the camera pole that I have installed on my kayak.  When I got home that night I filled it with gorilla glue and it seems to work now and not fall off the camera pole on my kayak, LOL!  Always have your outdoor cameras secured with an snapable safty line as even the best mount will come loose. I know dropped my new Ion Airpro 3 in the river two years ago!  Expensive lesson.  But now I am ready so the next time I blog here I should be able to have some good footage for you.  It will be posted here and on my Youtube channel soon!  I’ve been very busy with work and have limited time on the water but am clearing my schedule for the warm weather Potomac River season so you will be hearing a lot from me.

So in summary the water is still cool, the weed beds are growing but still not that big so the snakeheads are roaming more this time of year.  I had to cover a bit of water in my kayak to find a few nice ones.    The bass were holding on the drop offs too early for bedding in early April but by now that should be changing.  You bass specialists can keep me updated on that.  I found some nice snakeheads hunting the “soon to be weed beds” which that day were still just barren mud flats. I caught my snakeheads on this trip about 30 feet off the shoreline in two feet of water at a very high tide.  They were just randomly cruising (at least randomly to me since I am sure the fish had a plan, lol).  Snakeheads do not school so to speak although at times in the hot summers they seem to be a lot in certain areas.  They are solitary fish for the most part.

If someone has information on some scientific research that is contrary to this please let me know. I am not a fish biologist just and observant fisherman.

Make sure to visit and subscribe to my Youtube Channel if you want to see all my Snakehead trips this year.  New films weekly starting in May.

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Make sure to check out the Helo if you want to monitor your health, like a Fitbit on Steroids will even measure your blood sugar without a needle stick!  www.DrDak.Worldgn.com

Watch my 5 min video here.

If you are concerned about your health you HAVE to get one of these
If you are concerned about your health you HAVE to get one of these
Snakehead Season

Snakehead Fishing Fall Drop Off?

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Snakehead Fishing Drop Off?

I am not a biologist just a fisherman who spends a lot time on the lower Potomac River chasing snakeheads.  It has become my addiction!  I am new to this and only started May 2014.    But last year I noticed that by the end of August the fishing had slowed down dramatically.  Now this year was a “slower” year all together compared to last year and everyone I spoke with who was snakehead fishing agreed with me.  The fishing this year did have a little peak in certain creeks like Accokeet off Potomac Creek in July and early August then it died by September 1st.   Like I said earlier I saw the same pattern last year and think this may be a seasonal change in snakehead fish behavoir more than a population change.

One interesting thing I noticed the last few weeks is that I get fair amount of “follows” and short strikes now they are much less aggressive so the “misses” happen more often now than the pole bending slammers of July.   I am also catching and seeing mostly small fish under 20″.  In the past 3 weeks I have only seen 4 “bigger” snakeheads (caught one 27″).  When you seem them they are the ones that just crash out as you get close to their sunbathing spot or when you cast a bait over them and it scares them. I assume they think it’s a bird trying to eat them!   Early last month even when catching them was slow I was still spooking 10 or 12 big ones with their characteristic big swirly splashes as I cruised by them in the weeds!  Now nothing but small ones bugging out occassionally and only a few.

So maybe the big ones move to deeper water and hang in the channels as opposed to their summer haunts in the weeds.  No sure.  Any observations you have please leave your comments below, all us snakehead fishing fans would appreciate it.

See you on the water but the woods will be calling me soon as bow season is not far away and I have a buck or two that I’ve been watching all summer!

 

Dr. Demetrios Kydonieus, Chiropractic Nutritionist with a passion for the outdoors!

Check out my chiropractic website or radio show pages.  www.TotalChiro.net or www.DrDSays.net, my weekly radio show.

Snakehead Season

A great 12 lb. Snakehead with video too!

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12lb Snakehead caught on green floatin' Toad top water
12lb Snakehead caught on green floatin’ Toad top water

A Great Way to End a Snakehead Fishing Trip!

I fished all day that day on Potomac and Aquia Creeks, it started out well with a 6 pounder and a 9 pounder in the first 45 min

Two nice Snakeheads, 6-9lbs.
Two nice Snakeheads, 6-9lbs. Gave the smaller one to a nice young couple fishing on their aunt’s dock. I have plenty in my freezer.

of an outgoing tide that morning but then it died for the rest of the day only 3 bites.  Two of those strikes missed the lure but tore up the weeds as they dove back down and one bite spit the hook, that’s fishin’.  But as high tide came in the late afternoon and then started going out again the evening bite picked up.   That is when I missed 4 and caught 3 more by dark, one of which is the 12lb monster you see pictured at the beginning of my post.

They were again in the large grass or weed flats along the edges at low tide and across the flats in the higher tide times.

but not in the leafy lillies that stick up above the waterline where you “usually” find them hanging out. But as fish change habbits with many factors you never know for sure and have to just start your day figuring out their current pattern.

 

See you on the water!

 

Dr D

For nutrition or chiropractic check out my office webpage.  www.TotalChiro.net

Snakehead Season

The Snakehead fishing is DEFINATELY SLOW THIS YEAR

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Snakehead Fishing  2015 is DOWN

4Lbs. and 7lbs. both got filleted and tasted great!
4Lbs. and 7lbs. both got filleted and tasted great!

But the good news is that the bass fishing on the Potomac River and its creeks seems to be up!  I have caught more largmouths this year than Snakeheads which for me is a bummer but I will take it as the bass have all been nice ones in the 2.5 to 4 lb. range…a bit skinny but long.  Now since I am fishing 90% top water my numbers are not huge on the bass, 3 or 4 most days and on a slow day  just 1 or 2 bass.   The snakeheads which I am targeting not bass have been hard to find, at least for me in my kayak.  I have caught a few each day but no numbers and definately not like last year.  A average day on the water for me in my kayak is 1 or 2 landed and 4 or 5 misses- but spectacular misses!  The acrobatics, jumpsand head shakes wear the spit the lure most of time is awesome!  I have to get a better video system on board and try to get some their areals on film.

This is one of the best things about fishing for snakeheads that I love.  Not to mention their shark like attack, they see or hear the lure and charge it from a distance fin up leaving a huge wake like Jaws as they SMASH the lure and dive.  As  you set the hook they dive deeper and swim hard, many times coming right up and out of the water like a minature swordfish or marlin tail-walking on the water thrashing their head side to side trying to spit the hook- which many times they do!  Their areal moves are great to watch even when you lose them.

This year though I have not seen many of those great water walks, just not catching that many fish.  In my conversations with other snakehead anglers on the waters where I have been fishing they all say the same thing.  “This year has been really slow and the lowest catches in 5 years”, Stewart told me yesterday on the Potomac Creek.

Now these fisherman have been fishing snakeheads hard for 4 or 5 years and can remember in 2011, 2012 and 2013 catching 10 to 20 fish in the boat between 8lbs. and 15 lbs. regularly!  Even last year 5 to 15 fish caught regularly was common by many snakehead fishermen.  But this year so far it’s 2 to 5 a day most of the time with a few big ones at 34″ and 12 lbs. but it a long day finding them.

I have fished Quanico Creek, Aquia Creek and Potomac Creek mostly this year and did one long day on the Maryland side at Matawoman Swamp(didn’t catch one, only missed one small one!)  So it’s been hard, I don’t hear as many breaking the surface this year either.  Last year was my first year targeting snakeheads I heard them all day long smashing the surface inside the lilly pads but this year it is sporadic and not so many “KIRSPLASH’S” in the weeds a sure sign the catch and kill regulations have greatly reduced their numbers if you aske me.

 

So I will keep hitting the water till deer season wish me luck.  Hope to see y’all on water sometime soon!

Dr D

I would love to hear your comments so please post them here and I will read and approve them.   Please post ONLY fishing stories, I appreciate the “nice blog comments…keep up the good work, etc” but most of those are just people trying get their sales weblinks which they post in the contact part of their comment posted on my blog and I willl not approve those types of posts.

Snakehead Season

The Snakehead Waters are Warming Up!

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Out last week, 4/21/2015 and the water was warm on Potomac Creek.  After the wind calmed down by 7 pm the water was smooth and the fish were jumping!  Caught one nice 8 lb snakehead about 28 inches and one nice largmouth 4 lbs. in the same set of pads.

Sorry left the camera in the car that day but will have pictures next trip.

Let me know how you are doing and where you are fishing.

 

Dr D

Snakehead Season

Windy Fishing in Early April!

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Snakeheads Were Being Picky!

Soft plastic white frog lure
I use the large ones, 5-6″ for big snakeheads justy like you would for Muskies

Wow hit the water on a warm but windy day! Made kayaking hard work, it was low tide when I put in and I paddled till most of high tide came in but no luck on Potomac Creek in Stafford area. I saw some nice snakeheads jumping up river in the shallow flats but no takers on my rattle traps, 6″ white frog with a red head or my orange buzz bait! They seemed to be cruising and not staying in one area since no weeds were growing yet. The protected little cutouts with less wind were where I saw the few jumpers of the day as opposed to the windy side of the river which makes sense. Scared a lot of carp and a few big catfish as I paddled around these low areas but not many snakeheads yet.

Snakehead Season

Snakehead Season is Finally Here!

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Wow  what a long and COLD winter it has been here in Virginia but now it is finally warming up!  Can’t wait to get out on the water next week and find some snakeheads!   They should be out of the mud and moving around a bit now that the water is above 40 degrees.   I would recommend noisy deep water divers for now.  Rattle Traps, large ones and bright colors over dark.   Orange deep diving rattle bugs are my favorite for now.   But cannot wait for the water to warm up more and hit the top water frogs!