I need to catch these two guys π. I may have a chance at gafftopsail cats when I go to TX in Nov. It may be a bad time for them but will give them a shot. I also need to catch a hardhead and will try for those as well. I have more hope for the hardheads.
Sounds like a great time and a very successful trip. Great photos. That was a beast of a black drum! We were sweating it out thru texts with Ham hoping for you getting a gator garπ!
When we lived in FL and headed to Tampa area, we would more often than not see crested caracara on this same ranch near Lake Wales FL. Very cool birds.
Channa argus or the Northern Snakehead is the species that we have here in Maryland. I think that is the same species found out in Arkansas and now in Missouri. The state guys here had two other names that they were looking at when they decided to try and relaunch with a new common name for this species in Maryland. I personally don't like this but they didn't ask meπ€. Might as well called them brimπ€£
The dam does stop a lot more from getting upstream to spawn than the numbers that make it up the fish ladder. There are two spawning creeks downstream that get a lot of spawners in them. The dam is really close to the PA border and we don't usually get PA licenses. The Delaware River in Eastern PA is a better free flowing shad fishing destination in PA.
My favorite place to shad fish is the tar river near Rocky Mount NC.
The renaming is an attempt to get more people to consider eating them. I guess eating snakehead was not as palatable as Chesapeake Channaπ. Many folks like us do like to eat them when we catch themπ
The Chesapeake Channa π started being caught only two or three years ago at the dam. Lots of folks go up there to catch them now. Personally I prefer those shadπ.
Dan that sounds like a fun trip. We have a family trip out to KC in early Sept and I doubt that I could swing travel down that way again in Oct. I hope that you guys can get something worked out. Oh and I want to see photos ππ