>>1107810They are fun to catch...
But after you catch a few, you start to realize why they are such a threat to US waterways.
Besides the fact that they breathe air and survive in conditions that will kill most native fish, they are really aggressive. They have tons of fry twice a year and the adult will guard the shit out of them and strike at anything that gets close. And they hunt like no other natives. Most of the bigger predator fish in the US are opportunists and kinda lazy with hunting aside from pre-spawn. But sneks do that ambush predator thing where they lay in shallow patches of vegetation and hit anything that moves by them. It's normally the same grass patches that native fish like to breed in so the smaller fish never even have a chance. Largemouth bass and other typical predators rarely even venture into those areas, they only strike prey that ventures into open water. Shakeheads actively feed in the same spots that natives would normally use for protection.
They're pretty smart too. If you are walking along shore and a snek sees or hears you, they won't hit anything for the rest of the day. And while bass will sometimes bite artificial baits 4 or 5 times before you hook them, sneks won't touch a lure for the rest of the afternoon if you don't hook them in that first half second after they try to grab the bait.
