QUANTICO MARINE CORPS BASE, Va. -- Warm temperatures welcomed more than 80 Marines, wounded warriors and local residents taking on the “Frankenfish” during the 2nd Annual Commander’s Snakehead Fishing Tournament at Marine Corps Base Quantico Friday and Saturday.
Fishing began at noon on Friday and culminated Saturday at 3 p.m., with a weigh-in for the largest snakehead, largest species and total weight of snakeheads, gar, carp and catfish captured. Competitors were judged either by teams or individually. Fish could be caught using rod and reel or archery. The event also featured live music, fishing games for children, concessions, a wildlife education exhibit, craft and fly fishing demonstrations.
Snakeheads are an exotic, non-native fish that are top-level predators, meaning they have no natural enemies outside of their native environment. Although there has been no definitive research on their impact, the Virginia Board of Game and Inland Fisheries believes they could disrupt the waterways. As a result, they’ve added the snakehead to its list of predatory and undesirable exotic species.
Tim Stamps, head of Marine Corps Base Quantico’s Natural Resources Section at Quantico, said the goal of this competition is reduce the population of snakeheads but more importantly, get people outdoors, foster camaraderie and allow people to see snakeheads in another light.
“Snakeheads aren’t going anywhere so, now that they’re here, we need to use them as a resource,” Stamps said. “Also, this [tournament] is an opportunity it to get more people outside to enjoy the beautiful waterways that are here at Quantico.”
Jim Bensiger, competitor and assistant program leader for Project Healing Waters Quantico, a nonprofit organization that helps wounded veterans through fly fishing, said, even though snakeheads have gotten a bad rap, he sees them as an asset.
“Although they’ve been said to be the monsters of the Potomac River, it’s just another fish,” Bensiger said. “I don’t think snakeheads pose a problem. Although they’re not native, they are fun to fish for, they’re good to eat, so I think it’s a great opportunity.”
So far, Stamps said they haven’t observed any negative impacts from the species.
“We don’t know what the final results are going to be in terms of whether they’ll displace any of the other species that were already here, but right now it looks like all of the species are doing pretty well,” Stamps said. “Bass numbers have been going up, so our local waters are very productive with fish.”
Anyone could fish during contest, since June 7-9 was a free fishing weekend in the state, meaning licenses were not required. Boats could be launched from anywhere along the Potomac River but fish had to be taken from Quantico’s waters, including the Chopawamsic Creek and Quantico Creek.
— Writer: afelton@quanticosentryonline.com