South Florida Snakehead Fishing

[hawgenvy]

Although my primary freshwater fishing target in South Florida has been the largemouth bass, for several weeks now I have had a real blast catching the enigmatic bullseye snakehead. I am just beginning to learn its habits and have only recently started to see large numbers of them in southern Palm Beach County. Although one can access in books and online a million techniques for catching largemouth bass, learning the life cycles, habits, and angling techniques for snakeheads has been a challenge. But it is an interesting challenge because I am mostly learning on my own. Furthermore, due to social distancing requirements for the coronavirus epidemic, my fishing is currently entirely on foot, done by prowling the banks of local canals and man-made ponds and lakes with polaroid lenses, hoping to spot, and then target the powerful toothy snakehead. I tell ya', when you've hooked one of these guys, you are in for an adrenaline-filled wild ride of strong pulling, and wild thrashing and splashing. Unfortunately, they are not always easy to catch.

 

So far, I have learned the following, gleaned over just a few weeks (so I may have some stuff wrong). Anyway:

 

• Snakehead mostly live on shallow bank shoulders, facing the bank, as if waiting for a frog to pop in for a snack. I see their snouts typically only a foot or two from the water's edge. The fish exist singly or as mating pairs, and except for the mating pairs, they are solitary hunters. They appear to have a specific territory, spanning perhaps 30-40 meters along the bank. So if you see, miss, or catch one, go down thirty meters or so for the next cast.
• Snakehead spook easily, much easier than bass, perhaps more like carp. They sense footsteps on grass up to 20 feet away. It is nevertheless helpful to try to visually spot them. The bullseye snakehead has a long broad head, usually dark or reddish, and has characteristic pectoral fins that are 2-4 inches long and stand out perpendicular to the body, just as in the photo below -- that's how they position those fins in the water as well when hovering in place.
• Cast parallel to the bank and as close to it as possible. Try for 12-18 inches from the water's edge. In many cases a weedless bait setup will be needed. 
• Use a heavy rod. These fish may commonly weigh more than 6 pounds and fight stronger than bass. They don't jump like a bass but will splash the surface of the water violently and will constantly dive and shake to and fro. They will seek cover to get away, so keep them out of pads and trees and rocks after they are hooked, if you can.
• You don't have to use braided line and it's probably best not to except in thick cover or with surface baits like frogs where you need the most powerful hookset. But keep braided line mostly out of the water because, as I said, they spook easily. If you use mono or FC use at least 12 pound test. The fish have teeth and a lot of power.
• As far as bait, I have caught them on hollow body frogs, punching rigs with a creature bait, horny toads, Zoom flukes, and even with a jerkbait. Sometimes you have to reel the bait fast, and they'll attack it with gusto; but other times they just inch over over to the bait and suck it in when it's nearly motionless, so sometimes a very subtle presentation is required. Once they have the bait, snakeheads swim to deeper water away from the bank, and they don't let go right away. I let let them carry the bait a few feet and let the line start to tighten before I set. Then I set hard and hold on tight. For some reason a lot of times I have messed up the hookset, or the hook pulls free, so I probably have only a 60% hooking success using frogs and toads
• Once caught, you must not lip them with your thumb; they have nasty teeth. You can safely grab them behind the gills. You can hold their bodies, but they are slippery. I always throw them back alive. I don't kill them because I don't really know that they are ecologically harmful and they are such fun to catch. If you transport them alive it can be a big fine so don't do that. They will peacefully die on ice. If the water is relatively pollutant free you should eat them. I have, and they are incredibly delicious. The meat is white and delicate. Cook filets or grill whole. In Asia they may insert a big stick down the middle to use as a handle for grilling the fish whole.

 

I would like to hear about others' experiences with snakehead fishing, and want to learn more about them, especially seasonal habits and fishing strategies.

 

 

[evinator63]

Thanks for the post, I live near a canal in Boca that is untouched and was planning to go hunting for snakehead. This info will be helpful as I am new to angling.

ek

[Bird]

Do you eat them ? 

I hear they are very tasty.

[Kelvin]

Let me know if you want to go locally sometime.  I'm out of boynton beach. 

[soflabasser]

Nice snakehead @hawgenvy. Bullseye snakehead are one of my favorite fish to catch in South Florida. They fight hard, hit the same lures a bass hits, and can grow to over 10 pounds. The big ones fight like a snook trying to get into cover and snook is another fish I enjoy catching. I catch snakeheads on frog lures but they will also hit spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, jerkbaits, and other lures.

[evinator63]

On 4/20/2020 at 8:38 PM, Kelvin said:

Let me know if you want to go locally sometime.  I'm out of boynton beach. 

I would @kelvin 

[Michael Adler]

Thanks for your advice. I'm out of lake Clarke shores and would love to go sometime with someone who knows what they're doing to show me how. I want to learn the ways of the snake and bring some home. 

[Seaworthy81]

I just moved to Pompano from California, and since doing so have become obsessed with Snakhead fishing on foot. Thank you for the tips! 

[Nelson Wormefeller]

Do they have spines on any of the fins ?

[Seaworthy81]

12 hours ago, Nelson Wormefeller said:

Do they have spines on any of the fins ?

If they do, I haven’t found them yet. 

[Nelson Wormefeller]

Thanks. I was just wondering if they were difficult to grab

[Seaworthy81]

Besides their teeth, no they can’t hurt you, but they don’t give up once out of the water and are a lot stronger than they look. The also  wriggle around around a lot. A boga style grip works pretty well on them for handling.