Snakehead in the James River
Northern snakehead continue to spread through Virginia’s waterways as they have established permanent residence in Lake Anna and the Rappahannock River. Additionally, as of May 4, 2018 there has been a confirmed capture in a Colonial Heights Reservoir. This is the first time a snakehead has been found in the James River drainage basin. Ever since snakehead first spread from the Potomac, it was inevitable that they would reach most of Virginia’s river systems. However, experts predicted that it would take a lot longer for the fish to appear in the James River. This is because the salinity of the Chesapeake Bay makes it difficult for the freshwater fish to move around the peninsulas. Northern snakehead are native to Asia, but were released into a Crofton, Maryland pond in 2002 and spread from there. Northern snakehead can be easily confused with other native Virginia fish species, most notably the bowfin, American eel, and sea lampreys. Check out the detailed snakehead identification guide HERE.
The snakehead in this reservoir likely got there from illegal stocking practices rather than natural causes. Snakehead can survive for short periods out of the water and are becoming a popular game fish. This makes people want to stock their local ponds with the fish, and makes moving them there a fairly easy process. Just a reminder that it is illegal to have a live snakehead in your possession and stocking a live snakehead in any body of water will land you a Class 1 misdemeanor with a $2500 fine and/or 1 year of jail time. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries requests that you kill all snakehead that you catch, however it’s not illegal to release a live snakehead back where you caught it. They also ask that you take a picture of your catch and report it to them by calling 804-367-2925. The VDGIF recently created an online reporting form to make it even easier for you. You can access their form by going to this web page HERE. This system is interesting because you can see all of the other reported catch locations. If you catch a snakehead you should kill it by removing the head, cutting out the gills, or gutting it and putting it on ice.
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Fishing for snakehead is very similar to bass fishing. Snakehead have become a choice target for anglers recently due to their voracious strikes and great taste. If you’re interested in combating the spread of this invasive species, check out our guide to snakehead lures HERE. Once you’ve caught your snakehead using these lures check out this post about one of our favorite recipes for preparing snakehead HERE.
In addition to Colonial Heights Lakeview reservoir, snakehead have also recently been caught in Swift Creek Reservoir. So there haven’t been any confirmed catches of Snakehead in the James River yet, but at this point it’s just a matter of time. Even though these fish prefer the slower moving muddy water typically found below the fall line, snakehead in the James River could spread in a similar fashion to the Rappahannock River in Fredericksburg. In the Rappahannock snakehead have moved above the fall line to the faster-flowing, clearer water. Snakehead in the Potomac River ecosystem haven’t had the devastating effect originally feared and evidence suggests that the bass population is actually thriving. However, the presence of snakehead in Virginia rivers is still in its infancy so we will have to wait longer to get a more accurate assessment of their effect. Lakes and ponds are also very different from river ecosystems, so snakehead in these bodies of water could be much more disruptive.
