Snakeheads in the Connetquot?

[JW]

I just got back from the Connetquot. I had a great time. As a beginning flyfisher, I needed that, because otherwise I've been skunked despite a lot of work. Posted advice and info I've gained through lurking was all great! I didn't run into Gil, though.

However, looking around after my session, I thought I saw a huge snake in the water. On closer inspection, there were two snake-like fish fighting over a trout. It was a sizeable trout. Without ever having seen one, I'm going to say they were snakeheads. I would guesstimate they were two-three feet long each. They even seemed bigger at the time.

They were rolling over and over, each one trying to wrestle the trout away from the other.

Eventually, each one got half a trout, and sulked away into the weeds, munching down on the way. Surely, the park knows about the presence of these things. This was between beats 26 and 27.

I'll guess I'll call the main park number. But would anyone anyone have any other recommendations?

Kind of a downer on an otherwise really great day.

[Fly Tier]

JW,
Sounds like you had a great day with fish. Good for you. Ive been stuck behind this darn computer all day doing research. THe Connetquot is a great place to build confidence with a fly rod.

I would take a stab at what you saw being possibly a lamprey eel, or two. I see them often on the bottom of the Delaware during the summer. I could be totally off with this but its just a thought. I am sure others who "catch" there more often would have a better feel on what it or they may have been.

[JW]

FT, I really did have a great time. A bunch of brookies, some of which were really nice fish. And two rainbows that jumped all over. It was really cool!

I don't think these were lamprey eels, though. They had rounded tails, and dark markings that were too large to be called spots. The markings had irregular edges. I think snakeheads have markings like that. But, they were more elongated than I thought snakeheads were. I believe there is a northern strain of snakeheads that can handle the cold water.

Maybe that was a crazy thought. In any case, I hope you're right about them being lamprey eels.

[Pete]

Is it possible that they were ordinary "American Eels"? If the trout was already dead or injured, a couple of eels would certainly scavenge.

I've seen eels in some pretty unlikely places, including a brook that was upstream from a heavily polluted river and series of dams that would have challenged a salmon.

[willowhead]

I think your right Pete. mark.......

[JW]

The internet is really a great thing, especially google. Based on the information in these two URLs obtained via a google search:

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries...infosheet.html
http://216.27.49.98/pg03_fishing/pg3g3.htm

I still think that what I saw today were quite possibly a couple of snakeheads. I really don't think they were eels. An eel has a continuous fin top and bottom that meet at the tail. These fish had a distinct tail fin, but the tail fins were rounded, as the pictures at the above sites depict.

The fish I saw were not quite as dark as indicated above, but coloration varies with environment.

It sounds wacky, I know, and there's been a lot of snakehead alarmists around. That's still what I think I saw today. In any case, I think I'll shut up about it now.

[sol53]

JW,
I've helped the DEC electroshock the Carlls River which is probably 15 miles west of the Connetquot & we netted eels over 2 feet long and as thick as my forearm. They are in most waters on LI that connect to saltwater & they are carnivorous.
Sol

[Scott]

Snakeheads sound very similar to Bowfin, which are an indigenous fish. http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/bowfin.html

Maybe what you saw were Bowfin.

[Unregistered]

I;d hate to see this snakehead http://www.apescaconnoi.it/snakehead%20BSL.JPG in a trout stream. Or this one http://www.babalog.com/archives/snakehead.jpg People do release them and tehy can travel on land several miles to find water.

tom

[willowhead]

Holy Cow, i've never seen that fish. You say it can travle overland? I suppose they live on other fish? What waters are they indiginous to? How do they breath on land? mark......

[Scott]

Excerpted from an article appearing on "www.thestate.com", South Carolina's website

Posted on Fri, Aug. 30, 2002
S.C. on lookout for snakeheads

Two of the voracious predators reported caught near N.C. border

By CHUCK CRUMBO
Staff Writer


"The snakeheads, which have elongated bodies and grow up to three feet long, have voracious appetites. They've been known to eat their young and all other fish in a lake or pond. The snakeheads can slither across land to find food, staying out of water for three to four days.

The snakeheads' natural habitat is freshwater lakes, ponds and rivers in Africa and Asia. They prefer heavily vegetated areas like swamps and shorelines along natural lakes. Contrary to popular belief, they do have natural predators like alligators and larger fish.

In some parts of the world, snakeheads are considered tasty table fare suitable for grilling, frying or baking.

Besides North Carolina, snakeheads have been found in Hawaii, Florida, California, Maine, Maryland and Rhode Island."...

"Snakehead sightings in the Palmetto State have turned out to be either cutlass fish found in the brackish waters near the coast or the bowfin, which live in freshwater lakes and streams, Self said. Both fish have elongated bodies.

Around Lake Wylie, there's still plenty of talk about snakeheads, said Carla Pendleton, owner of Pendleton Sporting Goods near Clover.

It isn't unusual for customers to mistake a mounted bowfin hanging on the store's wall for "one of those snakeheads," Pendleton said. "But we don't even know if there are any more snakeheads out there.

N.C. officials aren't so sure either"...

[JW]

Scott,

After examinIng the link you posted, if, in fact, bowfins are found in the Connetquot, then it is conceiveable to me that these fish were bowfins based on their appearance. I don't remember them being as deep bodied as the bowfins shown in that link. And they were lighter in color than in the links posted by unregistered. Right now, I can't accept that they were eels.

I really do hope these were bowfins or eels and I'm just an alarmist. In that case, apologies for starting this thread. I do think the truth will come out, and I'll either feel foolish or justified. I called the park yesterday.