You may have heard of a rather nasty critter called a "snakehead." A type of fish, it's an alpha predator from Asia that sits at the top of the food chain. Considered a delicacy in Asia, the first ones were discovered in 2002 when a man who bought them for soup decided to let them go in a local pond. Though those fish were thought to be killed, it was probably a similar story that introduced others into the Potomac River ecosystem. And here's the interesting part: they apparently are growing even bigger here than they do in their native habitat.
A friend and I thought it might be something of an adventure to fish for them, so we did. We hired a local guide to show us how it's done. As it turns out, it's a lot of fishing for not many fish. This was the only we caught in a long day of hard fishing. They are big, however. This one weighed in at over 11 pounds and was 31 inches long. I didn't think it fought particularly well given its size, but it was still a thrill to catch.
Here's a close up of the head. Some think they are really ugly and some think they are actually a pretty fish. Either way, they do have a rather ornate scale pattern that is quite striking. And yes, the overall effect is distinctly reptilian.
The head is also quite broad, with strong jaws filled with very sharp teeth. All in all, it made for the adventure we hoped for. Would I do it again? Probably not. I think I'd stick with the excellent bass fishery for which the Potomac is known, enjoying the good possibility that I might catch a massive snakehead on the side as well.
G's ! I haven't fished in Maryland in more than 40 years ~ but I had no idea there were cafisth like than in the Potomac! That is OUTRAGEOUS! That is a nice fish! I lived in Ohio 30 years. Across the street from my parents' house is a pay-lake where they commonly catch flat-head cafisth over 40#. I saw a picture of one they stocked which weighed 76# ! I never caught a cafisth more than about 5#.I really want to fish in the ocean more. Unfortunately I don't have a boat. I have access to surf, but I have seldom caught much ~ and it usually has been sand sharks &/or skates. From boats I have fared much better: I caught two striped bass about 25# each. I haven't caught fluke with any consistency, but I have caught them periodically from boats.
Posted by: Pinky | September 09, 2012 at 06:56 AM