MD Record Snakehead Fish Hooked In Charles County

It was a long, memorable Memorial Day weekend for 41-year-old Andrew “Andy” Fox of Mechanicsville. Fox, along with two of his closest friends headed to Indian Head, Mattawoman Creek, in Charles County for a little overnight bowfishing for northern snakehead.

The trio was out on the water for a few hours the night of May 24, waiting for low tide, but rain 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 may be carp, Fox said he was slow to respond, but after a few seconds determined that it was a snakehead. “That’s the biggest snakehead I’ve ever seen,” said Fox in a Maryland Department of Natural Resources news release.

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 record.” Fox was correct, he now holds the record for the biggest northern snakehead caught in the state of Maryland invasive species division.

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. And like Patch on Facebook!)

Fox’s snakehead was officially weighed and certified by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Gray Brothers Market. The hefty fish tipped the scales at 19.9 pounds with a length of 35.157 inches, breaking the 2-year-old record of Dutch Baldwin’s 18.42 pound catch in May 2016.

Fox plans to have his record-breaking catch mounted for display, the DNR says.

Northern snakeheads are considered an invasive species in Maryland. Current regulations prohibit the importation, possession and transporting of live snakeheads. Anglers are encouraged to catch-and-harvest snakeheads immediately or release them back in the exact location they were found. There is no minimum size or creel limit, and they can be harvested year-round.

Photo of Andrew Fox and his record-breaking northern snakehead, courtesy of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.