Tag Archives: potomac river fishing

Spring is Here and Snakeheads are Biting!

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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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

Well It’s Getting Cooler and the Snakeheads are Slowing Down

As I have seen every year so far the snakehead bite slows as September rolls around and is basically done by the end of the month.  Sure a few here and there may show up on some lucky fisherman’s hook but for us ‘addicts’ they just seem to hide in the mud till April or May.  Now it has been very warm this month so they may bite a little longer this year but I am seeing hit or miss days now.

To wrap up the season here are some pics of some real nice fish my friend and fellow Snakehead addict, Emanuel Tankersley caught.  He had a lot of fish this season and about 8 over 35″ and 15 lbs plus! Way to go Emanuel… he also is one hell of of kitchen cabinet maker/carpenter.

16l lb snakehead

A friend of mine who knows my passion for catching these fish  forwarded me this picture of his buddy’s snakehead but forgot to tell me his name!  He caught back in July, a very nice fish caught over by Aquia.  It looks to be around 8-10 lbs.

aquia snakehead 2016
Aquia Snakehead July 2016

 

Send me your snakehead pics and some info like where caught what lure did you use what were the water, weather conditions and I will post them here!  DrD@snakeheadfishing.net

 

 

A great 12 lb. Snakehead with video too!

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

They’re Back! Snakehead Fishing Has Exploded!

Snakeheads in the Potomac Creek and Aquia Creeks Are Out and Biting!

10 lb Female Snakehead on a 5" bubblegum swimbait
10 lb Female Snakehead on a 5″ bubblegum swimbait
2  nice ones, about 10 and 8 lbs almost 30"
2 nice ones, about 10 and 8 lbs almost 30″

Now they have come out of hiding,  the grass beds at low tide on the creek last week is where they were, stacked!  I ran over a bunch as I kayaked up the grass edge.  A change from the week before when they were in the lillies and large expanses of water plants that grow above the water while they swam in between the stems.  Now there were some in those big lilly expanses but most were out in grass at low tide.  I found the incoming tide better than the outgoing and things slowed down dramatically at high tide, even in the lilly fields.  But after 9 hours on the water I landed 9 nice ones 5 of which were 6-10lbs and 4 smaller ones.    And the largemouths, bigs ones were hitting at the end of the day, 4-7 lbs!

 

Here is one I caught two days later on the bass boat.  Only had 4 snakeheads that day.  But over all they have really picked up, saw 3 pods of babies being guarded by mom and dad but they weren’t biting anything just hanging by the “kids”.

 a nice 6lb largemouth on a floatin Toad top water
a nice 6lb largemouth on a floatin Toad top water

Other anglers on the water that day were having success too.  Jason here had a nice 10+ pounder that did a lot of jumping as he fought to get him to his kayak.  Way to go Jason!

Jason with a 10+ Pounder
Jason with a 10+ Pounder

Snakehead Fishing is Picking Up!

Ah the Snakeheads are Still There!

Well another day on Potomac Creek and I found a few fish. The days are hot now and the fish are active.  Still casting to the banks by any vegitation, lillies and grass seem the best. The weed flats are slow as the fish seem to be underneath and aren’t coming up to grab the top water stuff (the only thing you can fish in the thick weed flats, drop shotting hasn’t worked for me).

This average 5 pounder was right at the bank mid day and very hot 92 degrees. He was sitting inbetween the thick weed matts that the low tide was exposing when he slammed my  white “Floatin’ Toad” straightened the hook a bit too!

Potomac Creek pretty far back
Potomac Creek back way back up in the small part of the channel

The nicest one of the day was this 8 pound female that also killed my “Floatin’ Toad’, green/silver pattern in the morning.  She also almost go off by straightening the hook!

Nice 8lb female Snakehead
Nice 8lb female Snakehead

 

Here was real nice largemouth right at dusk in the main channel of the creek, about 5 lbs. It was real wild hard to hold and snap a photo with my phone so this was all I could get.  Wiggled right out of my grip when I was holding it up for a nice classic pic and went back into the river!  So you just get my foot(size 12) and the fish, so you can get an idea of the fishes size! LOL!

5lb. Largemouth on a White Floatin Toad top water
5lb. Largemouth on a White Floatin Toad top water

Well see ya’ll next time on the water.  Share your bass and snakehead fishing stories, tactics and locations(if you don’t mind that is..)  We’d love to learn from you too.

 

Dr. D (Dr. Snakehead) signing off till next time!

 

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