Va. men catch possible world record snakehead
http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/22488578/va-men-catch-possible-world-record-snakehead#axzz2VGVDJ0R6
STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. - On Saturday, Caleb Newton and his fishing buddy, Phil Wilcox, were celebrating Phil's soon-to-be wedding with a bachelor party and fishing tournament.
They were on Aquia Creek in Stafford County when Phil spotted a huge snakehead.
“By his reaction, I knew that this was the one," says Newton.
Soon they had landed the fish and it was worth celebrating. The snakehead weighed 17 pounds, 6 ounces. It is uncertified, but it seems to be a few ounces over the world record caught in Japan.
The snakehead was first identified in the Potomac River in 2004. Early predictions were that it would do major damage to other species.
"It doesn't necessarily look like it's going to be the destruction of the ecosystem that a lot of people had predicted. We don't think it's a good thing, but it doesn't necessarily seem like it's a huge downside," says John Odenkirker, a biologist with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Read more: http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/22488578/va-men-catch-possible-world-record-snakehead#ixzz2VGVMrkPq
http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/22488578/va-men-catch-possible-world-record-snakehead#axzz2VGVDJ0R6
STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. - On Saturday, Caleb Newton and his fishing buddy, Phil Wilcox, were celebrating Phil's soon-to-be wedding with a bachelor party and fishing tournament.
They were on Aquia Creek in Stafford County when Phil spotted a huge snakehead.
“By his reaction, I knew that this was the one," says Newton.
Soon they had landed the fish and it was worth celebrating. The snakehead weighed 17 pounds, 6 ounces. It is uncertified, but it seems to be a few ounces over the world record caught in Japan.
The snakehead was first identified in the Potomac River in 2004. Early predictions were that it would do major damage to other species.
"It doesn't necessarily look like it's going to be the destruction of the ecosystem that a lot of people had predicted. We don't think it's a good thing, but it doesn't necessarily seem like it's a huge downside," says John Odenkirker, a biologist with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Read more: http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/22488578/va-men-catch-possible-world-record-snakehead#ixzz2VGVMrkPq