Slaying Dragons in Chesapeake Bay

Northern snakeheads were first confirmed in Maryland some 20 years ago. Ominous predictions that they would end fishing as we knew it on our beloved Chesapeake Bay soon followed.

The fear was they would devour the native game fish, and those fears were not unfounded. Snakeheads are top-of-the-food-chain predator that quickly surpass the average size of most native fish. A snakehead that measured 8 inches when released as part of a U.S. Fish & Wildlife study measured 27 inches when it was recaptured 18 months later.

They are also insanely prolific. Yet here we are, two decades later, and any negative impact the snakehead has had on the bay is negligible.

This may be because the invaders prefer the shallow tidal creeks where low oxygen content doesn't typically support the more popular game fish. Snakeheads thrive in stagnant water partly because they not only "breath" underwater like all fish with gills, they can also breathe air with a primitive labyrinth organ.

What I am about to say next has the makings of a tall tale, but some say snakeheads can use their bottom fins like legs to wiggle across land searching for new water to occupy. To be clear, I have never seen this myself, and biologists are skeptical. It is plausible, however.

Snakeheads can survive out of water for days if their skin remains moist. Far from ending fishing as we knew it, the snakehead now supports a sport fishery of its own with a growing legion of dedicated followers. Fishing for snakeheads is fun; they are thick in the right waters and ready strikers. After someone catches a few typical snakeheads, they usually start targeting the brutes, affectionately known around here as "dragons." There is no official definition, but for a fish to reach this trophy status, most aficionados would agree it needs to weigh at least 10 pounds or be a minimum of 30 inches in length. The first time you hook such a fish, you may think your lure snagged a ballistic missile somehow launched out of two feet of water. The powerful, acrobatic fish test the muscle and every method of a skilled angler.