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Fished the Mattawoman from 11am-3pm. Tide was supposed to go from low to high, but was pretty low to start. Caught a 12 inch bass behind some wood but that was it for a while. Ventured down stream and into the increasing winds. Was hard to hold anchor and cast to the pads/spatterdock. Kept on chugging away. Only got nibbles here and there. Saw a horror movie sight.....bobbing dead baby deer head in the water, furless and bleached white. Ugh!! Must have been attached to the body or skeleton below the surface...stuff of nightmares for sure. Headed back upstream to refish areas that had more water in them from incoming tide. About 40 yards from where I got the first fish, I get a nice strike on a 4" white fluke and land a nice bass. 17.5" and around 3 pounds. My biggest of the year. I cross the river and fish some denser weeds of a different type. Cast and swim/drag the fluke over and through the weeds when I get a voracious hit with a big swirl in the water. Soon into the fight, my suspicions were confirmed when a nice snakehead rockets out of the water. I adjust my drag to prepare for the quick runs. I haven't hooked or landed a snakehead in a few years, so I was very anxious. Managed to do an adequate net job with my small net and swing it into the boat. I have a small sit inside kayak....so definite "bull in a china shop" scenario ensues... it is a nice snakehead of about 26 inches and 6 pounds and is very angrily thrashing around at my feet. I grab the shoulders and remove the hook. Start looking around for something to use as a stringer (can't believe I forgot it...guess I was pessimistic)...and wouldn't you know it....the jerk fish goes crazy again, my grip slips and it jumps right out of my kayak!! ARGH!! I was beyond pissed. I went from visions of fried/grill/broiled snakehead meals to absolute anguish. I am a very passionate person when it comes to fishing and all I wanted to do was yell f bombs up and down the river. 30 seconds ago I was hooting and hollering about my victory over the snakehead and now I was left empty handed. But I got control of myself, thought happy thoughts about my wife and kids and decided to just enjoy the scenery and call my parents for a little bit to get my mind off things. After about 20 minutes, I went back at it. Headed back to the launch and tried a small swampy tributary that now had enough water to get my kayak through. First cast in and another crazy loud and splashing blowup....another snakehead!!!! This one is even bigger. Thankfully due to the weeds and shallow water the fight wasn't as crazy as before...but when she got closer to the boat, I could see the hook was deep and therefore the line was exposed to her sharp teeth. I took no chances, got the net out, and made the luckiest and/or most skillful scoop of my life, tail first, capturing the whole snakehead. 28 inches and 7.5 pounds, my new personal best! I basically left it in the net, kicked it to the front of my kayak and paddled back to the launch. Just like that my day had gotten decidedly better. Attached are pics of the big bass and the snakehead....which had about 1 pound of eggs in her.
“As no man is born an artist, so no man is born an angler.” - Izaak Walton
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