Snakehead hunting! Need tips.

[CHOC]

My buddy and I were going to try Blackwater on Sunday, but it's too far for him for a day trip.

Would anyone be willing to share a Snakehead spot near Route 50 from the Western Shore to the Potomac?

[CHOC]

We’re going to hit Patuxent wetlands. There’s a snakehead tourney there soon. Figure that’s a good sign.

[mchottie]

I'm just south of Baltimore and I agree, heading to the shore for sneks is a haul. Almost a full "day-trip" if you want to fish successfully. My past 2 outings to BW have been skunked, and I tried another spot on the shore, lots of movement but still skunk. It's been a weird year, typically by July the will tear up topwater lures, but this year its just not happening (for me at least) and we're almost halfway thru July already.

[gliebig]

My only two sh trips have been to the blackwater area. (it is a long day driving from Harford County) First trip I didn't get bit. We saw them, but couldn't get them to eat.

I wasn't too excited to make that long haul again yesterday, but I had to check my sh box. We hit an area of blackwater again. Not sure where exactly. My buddy just found a put in off google maps. Turned out to be a good day. I landed eight and lost that many more. We covered a TON of water. I couldn't figure out a pattern of why they were in the spots where they were. Everything looked the same to me.

[CHOC]

Ended up going to Piscataway Creek off of the Potomac. Buddy found a map where it showed high concentrations of snakehead in that area. We had in total 4 kayakers in our group. One guy in my group owns a Jackson Mayfly so his boat is easy to stand in. He said he put eyes on several snakehead throughout the day. At one point, he turned towards the direction that he wasn't fishing, and a large snakehead was sitting on the surface just two feet away from his kayak. At that point we knew it wasn't to be our day. I might have to rename them skunkhead. Luckily, there were white perch and largemouth in the creek. We caught some of both.

I think I've decided not to target snakehead any longer. I'll go to waters looking for largemouth, and if I'm lucky enough to run into a snakehead so be it.

[captmikestarrett]

Targeting them requires dedication to newly established fishing styles. Good design in weedless lures and 40 lb braid. Never ever cast at them. Always cast past them and create an intercept point for the snakehead to follow and strike. Never cast in open water and always try to land in grass or pads.

Capt Mike

[CHOC]

Thanks for the reply! I use 20lb braid, but other than that am already practicing your advice. I guess I've just been unlucky. I did hook a massive one on my first trip. It looked no less than 30". It broke me off like I was nothing. To be fair, I was targeting perch at the time and it snapped a tiny bettlespin.

[DanMarino]

I've caught a snakehead on a beetlespin. haha.

My only advice is this:
1. A big net helps a ton.
2. Get a broomstick handle to beat them over the head while in the net.
3. Cut down behind their head to cut the spinal cord.

Catching them to me seems like just a matter of spending enough time on the water. Sure, you gotta be in the right place at the right time. However, I've seen snakeheads caught on everything from beetlespins, to spinner baits, to topwater frogs, to chatterbaits, to tubes and jigs with craw trailers. They eat what bass eat, so just go bass fishing, but shallow and near cover or cuts/holes in the vegetation. I'm sure low tide vs. high tide plays a factor, but I'm too dumb to figure that out.

[CHOC]

but I'm too dumb to figure that out.

Well you are Dan Marino afterall. Didn’t you score less than Michael Vick on the NFL’s Wonderlick test?

[Cluelessandfly]

Yeah, saw a bunch of snakes, a couple right up next to me. They seemed to be taunting me. I have another buddy who fly fishes for carp a lot. He's recently caught more snakehead than carp using small puke and carp flies. I guess I need to stop targeting snakehead and just go for carp haha

[DanMarino]

Well you are Dan Marino afterall. Didn’t you score less than Michael Vick on the NFL’s Wonderlick test?

haha. Marino is no Einstein.

Here is a wonderlic score database. Looks like Marino was 16 and Vick was 20. Jim Kelly was 15. https://footballiqscore.com/wonderlic-score-database

[AmberjackYakin]

After a failed target fishing on the Honga River Friday morning due to heavy eel grass everywhere, I had a craving for some snakehead nuggets and stopped at blackwater refuge to catch my first of the year. I saw plenty of them as well and managed to get a 25" on my go-to smallmouth bass bait, Water Melon River Bug. The 25" male SH was guarding a fry ball, I couldn't get the female SH to bite. Later in the day while cleaning the SH, found a very large Beetle and 4" crawfish in its stomach.

I've seen a lot of people use topwater lures, spinnerbaits, and chatterbaits at blackwater refuge, 80% of my snakeheads at blackwater last five years have come from medium to large bucktails, especially musky bucktails. Good Luck!

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[Cluelessandfly]

i mean...we are forgetting about the other great...errr Vince Young. Wasn't his super low?

Just goes to show, how little the wonderlic matters for success in the league..Well, maybe you need a high score to win a suer bowl. I remember cheering for four in a row and Jim Kelly never came through. Good guy though


Interesting on the bucktail. I'll have to start throwing some natural color musky flies around the edges of the spatterdock

[mchottie]

Water Melon River Bug

I don't fish fresh water much at all (unless landlocked on vacation) and i've never used a River Bug, is there a specific way you guys rig them up? Jig Head? Worm Hook / Offset Hook / Wacky Hook?