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Basstrapper



Joined: 04 Apr 2011
Posts: 71
Location: Prospect Ct

PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:21 am    Post subject: update on snakehead in ct Reply with quote

my last post may have been misguiding. i believe it was a snakehead but to my knowledge the river has had bowfin in the past. and now that im more familiar with the fish. id have to say without seeing it again i do not know if it was a bowfin or a snakehead. my guess and prayers would be with a bowfin. how i hope it was a bowfin.
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colburn



Joined: 16 Apr 2010
Posts: 125

PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:01 am    Post subject: Re: Unfortunatly i seen my first snakehead in CT Reply with quote

Basstrapper wrote:
Yes thats right, I didnt want to believe it. This guy says hay man you ever see a fish like this. he kept it, it was dead. but when i saw it my jaw dropped. he would not let me take it. i tried to buy it off of him. it was one of those local fisherman that can care less about laws or regulations. keeping anything they catch. and well, what i saw in his bucket was a snakehead. there is no other fish that looks like that. Big teeth. massive head. guy wouldnt give his name or anything, and i had no way to contact dep at the time. uhg. I hope for fishing sakes that was a one and only snakehead there. scary thing, it was BIG. easily pushing 2 feet long.


you should report to the dep the location and what the guy looked like. they will check out the spot
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Basstrapper



Joined: 04 Apr 2011
Posts: 71
Location: Prospect Ct

PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 2:27 pm    Post subject: bowfin vs Snakehead Reply with quote

Im curious to find out all the rivers bowfins have been in. I know the quinipiac river is tidal, and has brackish sections. so im wondering if its more likely a bowfin was caught here and not the snakehead. there both unfamiliar fish to me, if i happen to see this guy again i will find out more. The dep is aware of this area being a problematic area for unsportsman fisherman. and nuisance species. We have had a Swarm of Lampreys this past two season to the point you can almost walk across the 2foot deep stream on nothing but lampreys. ugly pain in the neck parasites. I hate them. ive had them knock me off my feet, and brake lines on a daily bassis. gotta get some kinda control over our nuisance species.

as for the snakehead. im going to be keeping my eyes open on the river for any signs of them. i ask around. and hopefully this guy caught the only one if it be a snakehead. i know a guy caught a pacu out of there recently as well. people need to stop taking pets they cant care for. so pathetic.
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jomonkey527



Joined: 22 Oct 2010
Posts: 225

PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 6:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok I know lampreys are nasty, but I would love to catch one once. That weird sucker mouth, and teeth are pretty cool to catch just once.
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Basstrapper



Joined: 04 Apr 2011
Posts: 71
Location: Prospect Ct

PostPosted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 9:47 am    Post subject: they are a awsome looking creature Reply with quote

as ugly as they are, they are very intriguing for sure. Crazy holes in side of its head for breathing. its mouth is something you can stare at for a hour. The strength behind there long bodies is absolutly amazing. ive had one brake 10 pound test when i snagged its tail. i pulled as hard as i could and the only thing it was holding onto was a concrete block with its mouth, and i could not pull this thing off. eventually snapped my line and continued to sit there as if nothing happened.

ugly parasite, but interesting as well. one of those things you just cant stop looking ate but hate it at the same time. lol.
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atkins



Joined: 13 Apr 2010
Posts: 220
Location: Manchester

PostPosted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 11:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bowfin are in the river, dep says kill em or eat em supposed to be good, bowfin are what people are calling "snake heads"
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atkins



Joined: 13 Apr 2010
Posts: 220
Location: Manchester

PostPosted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 11:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

and bowfin are just as bad to be here, not that bowfin, or snakeheads or any fish are bad, just not suited to the enviorment
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Basstrapper



Joined: 04 Apr 2011
Posts: 71
Location: Prospect Ct

PostPosted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 12:28 pm    Post subject: bowfin Reply with quote

good to know. I personaly have only seen that one in the bucket. could have been snakehead or bowfin i may never know. but i am going to check with the locals if they have seen or heard anything. im interested to know what it is he caught over there. big freakin fish for the area.
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TurtleKiss



Joined: 09 Mar 2010
Posts: 1200
Location: central CT

PostPosted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 10:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

atkins wrote:
Bowfin are in the river, dep says kill em or eat em supposed to be good, bowfin are what people are calling "snake heads"

Please back up this claim with evidence from the DEP. Thanks.
P.S. You won't find any.
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Kira

*~ "Not everything about fishing is noble, reasonable and sane..." -Henry Middleton ~*
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PECo



Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 5203
Location: Avon, CT

PostPosted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 10:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Section 26-55-1(j) of the DEP Regulations states (in pertinent part):

Quote:
Live fish or live fish eggs of the following species, genera or families shall not be imported into the state or possessed except that, when it is in the public interest, permits for the importation or possession of specimens may be issued, at the discretion of the Commissioner, for research or public display purposes or as provided for in section 26-40d-1 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies:

(1) bowfin (Amia calva);

* * *
In the event that any of the species listed previously in this subsection are liberated or introduced into any waters of the state, the Commissioner may, in the public interest, order that all such fish as well as any other fish present in such waters be destroyed by whatever means he shall determine is the most practical and in the best public interest.

Now, I don't know whether any such order pertaining to bowfish has been issued by the DEP, but I wouldn't be surprised if it has been or will be issued. I suspect that, unlike zebra mussels, the less prolific bowfin is simply flying under the DEP's radar. For now, at least.
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Basstrapper



Joined: 04 Apr 2011
Posts: 71
Location: Prospect Ct

PostPosted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 8:24 am    Post subject: Unusual Fish Reply with quote

Any time i come across something unusual, i always contact dep anyways. Me and my buddy found many illegal fish traps last year. So i have a good rep with the local dep. I dont kill anything unless im told to. Im a strict catch and release fisherman, and only keep what i intend on using or am told to kill. So if i come across one of these prehistoric looking fish, you can be sure i will get as much info on it as soon as possible. and it will either live to fight another day, or it will be disposed of properly.
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therieldeal



Joined: 20 Oct 2010
Posts: 245
Location: Thompson, CT

PostPosted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 10:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

never heard of snakehead before... anyone know where in MA or RI they can be caught?
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setterman



Joined: 10 Dec 2009
Posts: 28

PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 6:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bowfin are native to ct waters. It was reported a few years ago some were caught in Scoville Resevoir, CT River. I know Lake Champlain has a good population and landing one in the 7 pound range is quite a batlle!
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PECo



Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 5203
Location: Avon, CT

PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 8:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

settlerman

Not that it really matters, but according to the late Walter R. "Doc" Whitworth, who is often credited with writing the definitive work on Connecticut fish, Freshwater Fishes of Connecticut, bowfin are an introduced species in Connecticut.

While bowfin are sometimes described as voracious piscivores, they don't appear to have spread throughout Connecticut's waters as widely or as rapidly as the alarmists would have you believe. I consider them to be like northern pike; there seems to be room for them in Connecticut's sportfishing ecosystem.

Phil
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setterman



Joined: 10 Dec 2009
Posts: 28

PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 6:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I understand what you are refering to but in other articles i have read they haven't changed sin " prehistoric times" and have been found in lakes and rivers but since considered a " trash fish" kind of ignored or unreported. If you get lucky enough t hook one it will out fight anything you have experienced. Makes a northern pike seem like a guppy!
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