Finally, a Northern Snakehead

In life, the visible surface of the northern snakehead is not the least among the many marvels he presents.

Over the past few years in central NJ, I’ve made quite a few attempts at catching a northern snakehead. A combination of bad luck and poor execution prevented me from hitting what should have been a relatively easy target. I’ve had a snakehead come unbuttoned right at the bank or next to the kayak almost a dozen times by now. And a half hour before I caught this one, I caught my first—only to have it launch out of the bottom of the kayak and back into the water, unhooking itself in the process before I could get a picture to count it on my lifelist. Expletives were stated.

So when this fish exploded on my topwater frog, I horsed it in like a madman and promptly paddled to shore where I could safely photograph it. When I finally had my lifer northern snakehead in hand, I thought I should’ve felt more excited. Instead, all I felt was relief. The saga was over, and the fish that ended it was a dandy. My 333rd species.