We came prepared with one thing in mind.
Although these fish have a bad reputation in the lower part of the United States, it is a prized gamefish in Asia. Imagine muskie or pike fishing, except these fish can still live after being out of water for several hours. While not necessarily an easy fish to catch, they can often be found in vulnerable circumstances (while coming up for air or guarding their young). These apex predators take turns guarding their young and will test the patience of even the most skilled angler. However, given the right conditions, it will strike at anything it sees as a threat (especially to its young). An added bonus is that snakehead do not shy away from displaying their aggression on topwater lures.
Note:The last time I caught a sizable giant snakehead, it straightened my salmon hooks and aftermarket split rings.
Each morning greeted us with mist covered trees, such a beautiful sight to behold.
This man-made lake was created to aid in the fight against the communists by cutting off their lines of communication and supply lines, and also to generate electricity. Much of the lake is filled with submerged trees that provide a superb habitat for the 23 species of fish that live in it.
So much water to cover! I should have brought more Terminator spinnerbaits.
An aboriginal doing her chores. Rumour has it the natives don't let their children swim in the water due to 40lb+ snakehead that live in the lake.
The first 2 days of fishing can be described as a typical snakehead fishing experience - hours of casting lures, stalking schools of fry, a few missed strikes and for some, landed fish. On the 3rd day, it was anything by typical. A day which I can only describe by borrowing from Franklin Roosevelt's speech - "a day that will live in infamy."
It started with our fishing guide bringing us along a stretch of river that looked seemingly innocent enough. It was slow flowing, shallow on one bank and sparsely dotted with broken tree branches sticking out of the water on the other. In fact, some of the guys had fished it on a previous trip but hadn't found it too productive.
That was all about to change.
It was humbling to be fishing amongst giant centuries-old trees. It was on this stretch of river that my friends and I would soon get a once in a lifetime experience.
When approaching a potential snakehead habitat, there are a few rules-of-thumb to follow: be stealthy (turn off the motor, paddle in), be on the lookout for "rises" (adult snakehead coming up for air), schools of fry (coming up for air or to feed) and the most obvious, splashes along the surface to indicate adult snakehead feeding. Barely a minute in and we heard a surface splash. Then another. Then another. The fish were hungry, but something was...different.
A school of fry coming up for air in Khao Lam dam, Thailand.
Snakeheads are known to be fiercely territorial, and to witness so much activity in a relatively confined area was a rare occurrence. Lures were soon flying through the air.
Almost a hookup a foot from the boat. By the beard of Odin, this hit got my heart going!
It's no easy task hooking up and landing a snakehead. A double header with my brother made it so much more special.
This is what it's all about!
Snakehead are wary creatures and rarely strike by the boat. Having witnessed it firsthand, I knew I had experienced something awesome. Little did I expect lightning to strike twice.
Keep your eye to the lure on the right.
This fish practically set the hook by itself.
Say ahhh.
A young juvenile snakehead.
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In 4 days of fishing, we had no less than 50 missed strikes and close to 20 landed fish. This was a trip I'll never soon forget - fishing while surrounded by ancient rainforest, making some wonderful friends, and of course, a truly wonderful fishing experience. Fishing-wise, it's safe to say we made out like bandits.<br />
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