This will always be an ongoing battle, no matter what the evidence we have or dont have that snakes co-exist and dont destroy the habitat (which they dont), someone will always argue the fact that they will. I have also found out the a lot, not all but a lot of the people complaining dont even fish or rarely fish but yet the get on Google, read a little about their search title that they want to hear just so they can come back with a statement they dont know nothing about and they think they are experts on the matter, even the so called experts arent experts, take the word expert as a grain of salt because thats all its worth. And Joe, you are not expert, no matter how many Google searches you have done, no matter how many papers you have wrote for school or college or wrote to obtain your PHD, on snakeheads. There isnt a single expert on this board that Im aware of. You want to do some research on snakeheads, move to Florida if you arent already there, put your house on a canal, becomes a scientist on the matter, study nothing but snakeheads, catch them, do whatever it is that you can and do a lifelong study on snakeheads and in 60 years come back with an actual conclusion of your findings. I guarantee you your finding will be that of what we have been telling you all along. I dare you to prove me wrong and others.
If you all sit down and think for a moment, just think really hard...are these snakes really destroying the ecosystem? Yes we all know they are not native, but neither are many other fish introduced in our waterways all over the US. The snakes are in no way destroying the ecosystem, just like your little brothers local fish store goldfish that got too big for the goldfish bowl that was released into the local lake is NOT going to destroy the ecosystem, despite what others will tell you. Lets talk the peacock bass in Florida, how many of us like to catch them? Are they native? No, do we love to catch them, yes. Is there a market for them, yes. Are they good eating, yes. Are they destroying the ecosystem because they get bigger than the native largemouth, etc., no they are not. Are the snakes destroying the Florida canal ecosystem, no. Neither are the rest of the fish I named above
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Everything usually balances out, the snakes in my opinion have balanced out, you go to any canal where the snakes range is and you will catch them along with a host of other native and non-native species, they may be known to be in these parts but they may be so elusive you wont even catch any. I dont see people on here complaining that the mayans, jacks, devils, convicts, salvinis and plecos are destroying the ecosystem. Why?? Probably because of us, the media hype of a snakehead, first of all the name snakehead scares folks, but yet we have bowfin and burbot that look closely the same as a snakehead with the teeth and attitude to match. You got some idiot that claims they walk on land and eat little kids and dogs, even thou its not true, but lets say it was just for giggles, gators and crocs do the same thing in Florida but they are native to Florida, I dont see a big issue going on in Florida to kill all the gators just because they ate your Fido off your porch.
Instead of complaining and acting like you know what you are talking about by posting links that help support your cause but not actually being there in person over years and years to see how they are actually doing, why dont you just enjoy what you are doing? Why cant you just fish and be happy with what you catch? Snakeheads are fun to catch and its another opportunity to catch a fish that isnt native to your state or the country.
Think about this, what is your complaining going to do on this board? You think you are going to change the way we feel about snakeheads over night? Lets just say a miracle happened, you was able to convince everyone on MFK and everyone you talk too about them. Do you actually think if we were to kill every snake we found, that it would actually make a difference? What about the rest of the folks that dont hear what you have to say and return the fish to the waters? No matter what you say or do or how you act, the snakes are here to stay and they will be here long after you are dead, after your kids are dead and after your kids, kids are dead. You are not going to make a difference in this world when it comes to snakeheads. You want to help make a difference for the hungry, catch all the snakeheads you and your friends can catch and give them to a food shelter, this way you can make a difference in feeding the hungry but again, you wont make a difference in the snakehead population.
When I caught these two goldfish, a guy that lives on the lake told me to kill them because they dont belong here and they are going to overpopulate the lake. The guy was an idiot, and of course I released them both unharmed as I do 99% of my fish.
