# Snakehead, Bowfin



## shamoo

does anyone know the impact either fish has on the other fish in a pond?


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## Jim

I dont know, but I have heard the reak serious havoc in the bodies of water that they are thrown in. PLUS, they can walk....go figure.


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## Waterwings

Don't know any stats on 'em, but that's one ugly fish!


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## shamoo

I heard their eggs are red and float around in a clump of mucus, when they are fry they hang together for awhile than become loners, they have no preditors, so we 're suppose to eradicate them if caught, nasty looken fish!


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## Nickk

shamoo said:


> I heard their eggs are red and float around in a clump of mucus, when they are fry they hang together for awhile than become loners, they have no preditors, so we 're suppose to eradicate them if caught, nasty looken fish!



I heard they're really aggressive and fight well.



and when you chop them into pieces the pieces become smaller more aggressive fish :lol: 


seriously though, are they toothy? I imagine they're fry are eaten by the usual suspects higher up on the chain(bigger fish, water fowl)


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## Jim

Teeth! :shock:

Look at this link for some intersting info!

https://www.aquamojo.com/snakehead.html


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## DocWatson

Here's a flyer from NC that denotes the difference between Snakeheads and Bowfin.

And there's some good, if not slightly out dated, information about snakeheads here

They have been caught for at least a couple years in the Philadelphia, PA area from a pond in FDR park near the airport.


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## shamoo

nice report Mr. Doc, I also heard that the place you mentioned in Phila.Pa. is loaded with them.


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## DocWatson

Thanks Shamoo. There are a couple guys on another forum that target them down at FDR. But they photograph and then release what they catch.

Just like with the Flathead catfish, I think the jury is still out on what impact these _non-native_ fish will have on our ecosystem and the other fish. Flatheads are native to this country, but not the Schuylkill River. Snakeheads are native to Southeast Asia so it's not really a good comparison.


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## FishinsMyLife

I didn't read the article yet, but bowfin are annoying and make you think you have a big bass but snakeheads eat everything out of a pond and make their way to the next one. Bowfin are a native species around here and don't throw off the food chain like the snakehead. I'm not sure if this is still true but they would pay you in some areas if you brought in a dead snakehead. I've heard that introduced largemouth bass somewhere in Asia do as bad to a body of water as snakeheads do over here in the US.


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## Waterwings

From what I've heard, bass are not real popular in Japan, and they encourage people to eliminate them. Just what I heard, but could be wrong (first time in my life! lol :roll: )


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## xmytruck

Their is a huge difference between a snakehead and a bow fish (bowfin), a bow fish is considered a protected make sure you cleary know which one you have. Bow fish have been in the water since dino's walked the earth and should be protected. Bow fish need cold water to surive and that is the main reason what they have been considered protected fish because the water temp have been rising and the numbers have declined because some people catch them and assume that they are snakeheads. I beleive that no one should transplate fish from any body of water to antoher, it will have an impact despite the type of fish. But if Bow fish are native to that body of water please realse them.


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## mtnman

from what i heard a bowfin will bite your finger off and if you are in a boat they will do everything possible to get you. any time i catch one i dont even try and save my hook i just cut my line. they are mean and nasty and if they bite you they supposedly have a bacteria in there mouth that will cause infections. they are one of the most agressive fish in our area and they just kill,kill,and kill some more. most of the guys around here just throw them up on the bank for the raccoons and bear to eat but not me i wont even touch one. i think if you put one in a pond *nothing else will survive!!!!!!!!*


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## FishinsMyLife

mtnman said:


> i think if you put one in a pond *nothing else will survive!!!!!!!!*


Bowfin don't do that around here. They like the slow movin rivers and some swampy ponds. They are aggressive and strong but don't mess up a pond unless they outnumber the bass and forage species (bream/bluegill or whatever). The snakeheads haven't made it this far south yet, but they're the ones that are bad for the ecosystem. They will eat everything out a pond and make their way to a new one to clean out. Bowfin can't go from one body of water to another unless there is a stream or somewhere they can swim. Snakeheads can crawl from one pond to another out of the water.


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## little anth

i heard about a guy in ny this year got attacked by a snake head while fishing in a pond it swam up to him and bit him. nasty fish. they will destroy a bass population in a few years if not delt with.


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## DocWatson

Check out this website. It's the guy who was fishing for freshwater stingrays in Thailand on the National Geographics show Monster Fish.

I can't find any information on the internet about these fish attacking people or being dangerous or aggressive when caught or boated. I'd suspect that is just an urban legend. But without any documented proof either way, I'd have to say its just not true. 

As far as the bowfin being aggressive and attacking people, the males are only know to exibit this behavior and only when protecting the nest during the spawn.

Calm down guys. They aren't sharks !!!


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## Jim

I hate sharks! LOL!


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## little anth

i think it was on fox


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## DocWatson

Text below the video.....

_See it only on The National Geographic Channel.

Release Year: 2006_


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## mr.fish

I don't think the snakeheads have much impact on other species. I fished the infamous FDR park in phila once last year, and managed several nice largemouth on creature baits fishing for snakeheads. I didn't get the oppurtunity to catch any snakeheads, but did spot 2 on spawning beds. I also noticed a good population of sunfish, carp, and goldfish there also.


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## little anth

the attack might have been at fdr now that you said that i think that was the name of the place.


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## FishinsMyLife

Sorry to bring up an old topic but I saw this article. 
https://www.nbc4.com/news/3249506/detail.html
Some of the other related articles at the bottom talk about 'em too.


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## SMDave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmU7etSYYqI&feature=user 
Shocking!!! I watched this exact same show on the NGC last Saturday night, it was VERY informative! You guys might wanna check your air dates. It's called Fishzilla: the Snakehead or something like that. Did you know in California, snakehead fish were being smuggled into Korean markets by south Korean people (from Seoul to L.A.)? Disgrace to us Koreans :evil: :evil: !


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## FishinsMyLife

Thats movie shows some scary stuff. I knew they would mess up an ecosystem but bite a person? Thats a crazy fish


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## little anth

sounds like a sweet show


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