Northern snakeheads are a nasty invasive species, which makes them all the more fun to shoot with a bow and arrow.
Andrew Fox, of Mechanicsville, Maryland, spend Memorial Day weekend bowfishing with buddies at Mattawoman Creek in Charles County, Maryland. He came home with a new state record.
Snakehead Record Almost Wasn’t
The trio was out on the water for a few hours the night of May 24, waiting for low tide, but despite the favorable tides, recent rains made visibility nearly impossible. By pure luck, Fox caught a glimpse of a fish illuminated in the glare of the boat’s lights. Thinking it might be carp, Fox said he was slow to respond. After a few seconds he was able to determine it was a snakehead.
“That’s the biggest snakehead I’ve ever seen,” said Fox.
Pulling back his bow, Fox struck the snakehead and hauled in the monster “frankenfish.” With the snakehead in the boat’s hull, Fox removed the arrow and said, “This might be a new state snakehead record.”
In fact, it is now the biggest northern snakehead catch in the state of Maryland. Fox’s snakehead tipped the scales at 19.9 pounds with a length of 35.157 inches, breaking a 2-year-old record.