Devilish Snakehead Fish

The fearsome snakehead fish is a voracious freshwater predator, with plenty of razor-sharp teeth.

Belonging to the family Channidae, consisting of about 28 known species. They are usually found in Africa and most Asian countries.

The Giant Snakehead also known as “Toman” in South East Asia can attains weight of more than 30 kg or more is known to attack and consume human beings.

Snakeheads are considered a valuable food fish in Asia. Some large species are farmed commercially for their meat. The white meat is tender and firm, a delicacy for most Asians. During festivals, especially Chinese New Year, snakeheads are hard-sought for making “Yee Sang” a traditional fish recipe served raw with fresh vegetables.

Characteristics

The snakehead has a distinctive, snake-like head covered with large scales, a long dorsal fin and a large mouth with a row of sharp-teeth.

Snakeheads are hardy creatures, able to live on land for 3-4 days, and wriggle from one body of water across land to another by using their pectoral fins. They are also able to breathe air and during time of drought they will buried into mud for long periods of time to protect themselves against the heat.

Diet

These snake-like fish are aggressive feeders. They’ll attack and eat anything available around them. Fish, frogs, crustaceans, snakes, insects, birds, ducks and anything that moves around them is a good meal to these voracious eaters.

Habitat

The snakehead fish is able to live in all sorts of freshwater environment. Ponds, canals, lakes, swamps, rivers and even dirty ditches are some of snakeheads' inhabitants. They are almost similar to the largemouth bass, preferring to hide among snags and weedy-areas to ambush their preys.

Baits

These hard-fighting predators can be caught with natural baits, such as frogs, small catfish, lizards, clams, chicken liver or even a piece of beef cube. They readily take lures or flies. There are an enormous number of lures to catch them. My favorite is the weedless spoons to encounter the snags and weedy areas these predators like to hide. Streamer flies that mimic minnows are also effective lures for snakeheads.

Tackle

Both spinning and baitcasting outfits can be used. The rods are either medium-heavy or heavy action. And the reels must be able to handle braided line of 30 lbs. test.

Due to the bad neighborhood of snakeheads' inhabitants overkill tackle are used by most anglers. The fight is usually short, but always get prepared for bent rod and a heart-thumping experience. The first thing when one’s hooked it will dive deep and rush for the 'jungle'. Be prepared for a tug-of-war scenario!

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