Snakehead

Type: Nontidal
Region: Eastern
Location: Swan Creek

I am submitting this entry for the DNR Snakehead Contest on behalf of Gary Calik. Gary was bass fishing near some docks in Swan Creek mid-day on 13 May 2011 and caught this 27� Northern Snakehead. He was flipping a creature bait along a bulkhead when the fish was hooked. He said it put up a heck of a fight, and he thought he�d hooked into a big bass until saw and netted it.

Since we were sampling nearby, he flagged us down and asked us take the fish. When we killed and dissected it, we found that the snakehead was a female with eggs. It hadn�t fed recently, though, as its stomach was empty.