On The Hunt For My First Snakehead

[TomyTek]

I was on the hunt for my first Snakehead. I fished Dorchester, MD using topwater frogs and paddle tail swimbaits. This area is loaded with spatterdock and timber along the shoreline. The Bass bite was on, but Snakehead fishing was a little tough. I end the day with 2 bass and a lost Snakehead. My friend's were able find a couple of Snakehead and got some nice bass on topwater. Check out my video below. I have proof of the lost Snakehead. I'll get em' next time.

[mchottie]

WOW! Almost like a torpedo out of the water! Once you land one in the boat, you will be hooked. SH is my gamefish of choice.

[DanMarino]

Snakeheads are certainly an adrenaline rush!

[Slobber Bob]

Good job on the video. I enjoyed it.

I fished last weekend not too far away from the spot in your video and got 3 snakeheads. One on a frog and two on a chatterbait.

It seems like snakehead fishing is the "in" thing to do over there now. I'm not a huge snakehead guy, I just enjoy doing it for the meat and something different, so last weekend was my first time this year and I couldn't believe how many people I saw out there chasing them. The couple times I went last year I hardly saw a person.

Goodluck on your quest to land that first one!

[nhunter344]

Seems like its a challenging fish on rod and reel. That could be part of the allure. I honestly don't see the sport in grabbing them with a weighted treble or a high powered bow, but to each their own. I suppose its not a big deal if youre not looking for a challenge and just want some table fare. It might be nice if they were a bit more considerate and looked at what hey were shooting to reduce the amount of non-target species killed. Even nicer if they didn't plow through and tear up all the cover to get to them. I think the days of using the eco-warrior excuse of taking them out before they become established are long gone.

The good thing (bad depending on what you think of the species) is that they are becoming more and more prevalent so there should be plenty for everyone.

[Slobber Bob]

Seems like its a challenging fish on rod and reel. That could be part of the allure. I honestly don't see the sport in grabbing them with a weighted treble or a high powered bow, but to each their own. I suppose its not a big deal if youre not looking for a challenge and just want some table fare. It might be nice if they were a bit more considerate and looked at what hey were shooting to reduce the amount of non-target species killed. Even nicer if they didn't plow through and tear up all the cover to get to them. I think the days of using the eco-warrior excuse of taking them out before they become established are long gone.

The good thing (bad depending on what you think of the species) is that they are becoming more and more prevalent so there should be plenty for everyone.

Everybody I've ever seen here on the Shore is targeting them with rod and reel. And nobody was tearing stuff up or being rude, I was just surprised at how many people I saw out fishing in places you used to never see people fishing. I don't know that bow fishing or snagging them will catch on over here? The waters are dark in most places and visibility is very low, even with lights at night.

[nhunter344]

Hope things stay that way.

I just know that some places on the Potomac have some of the aforementioned people. Wide swaths of shredded spatterdock at Mattawoman, carp/gar/bass with arrow holes floating around Mallows Bay, and the last time I was at Fletchers on the Potomac, I could've brought home at least 50 fish that met their fate at the hands of a weighted treble. Blue cats, channel cats, shad, carp.........

[DanMarino]

At night the snakeheads sit on top of the millfoil/grass and are super shallow. The bow fishing guys in generator boats on the Western Shore/Potomac areas shine spot lights in the grass and look for the snakehead's reflective eyes. Yup, I don't get the bow hunting or snagging thing either.

[clm]

Keep trying Tomytek, finally got my first last week...had quite a few misses and shook hooks...Mattawoman, using an icredifrog lure and a stiff rod with braid to assist with the hook set...saw a huge fry ball of babies...and the parent popped up and scared the crap out of me..it was huge...the one I landed was 3.6 lbs, and very tastyIMG_20180624_140925633_HDR.jpg
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[mchottie]

This forum used to be die-hard majority rockfish, i'm glad SH /sneks are getting us closer to 50/50. They are an awesome fight, wait till you land one close to 10lb! I believe citation is anything over 31"

[TomyTek]

mchottie - I'll go after them again soon. That lost one just got my blood going. As soon as I set the hook, it jumped. It was almost like it knew what to do. I'll be setting the hook much hard next time. I think I'm already hooked on them even after losing that one.

DanMarino - It got me going with the short amount of time. Can't wait to experience a full fight. I know it's not over until you get them on the stringer.

Slobber Bob - Thanks. I enjoy making videos to share my passion. It's a beautiful area to fish. A friend of mine fished a Snakehead tournament there and it was a pretty big turn out. I've already got the Snakehead bug. I just wish I had more time.

nhunter344 - I initially just wanted to catch one to scratch off my bucket list. The challenge of catching them has really got me hooked. I had a lot of blow ups with a swing and a miss. I heard they have bad aim.

clm - I'll definitely keep at it. Catching the bycatch of nice Largemouth Bass was fun too Congrats on your first one. I'll get mine soon.

[manlystanley]

My son-in-law caught a snake head last year. He is still talking about the fight. The thing he kept talking about was the way the jumped. I understand it--watching the video. Thanks!

Best Regards,
Stan