WASHINGTON — A man from St. Mary’s County, Maryland, set a state record for the largest snakehead fish caught in the state.
It happened on the night of May 24 when 41-year-old Andrew “Andy” Fox was out on a boat in Mattawoman Creek in Charles County for some overnight bowfishing with two friends.
The recent heavy rain made it difficult for them to see fish in the water. But after a few hours on the water, the glare from the boat’s lights allowed Fox to see a fish that he originally thought may be a carp.
Turns out the fish was a northern snakehead, and a record-breaking one at that.
Fox struck the fish with an arrow from his bow and hauled it into the boat.
“That’s the biggest snakehead I’ve ever seen,” Fox said in a news release from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. “This might be a new state record.”
He was right.
Fox’s snakehead catch was weighed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Gray Brothers Market, where it was determined to be 19.9 pounds and 35.157 inches long.
It broke the previous record held by angler Dutch Baldwin, who caught an 18.42 pound snakehead in May 2016.
Northern snakeheads, an invasive species in Maryland, can be harvested year-round. In fact, anglers are encouraged to catch them to reduce the number in the water, and current state regulations prohibit importing or possessing live snakeheads in the area. More information can be found on the state’s invasive species page.
Fox plans to have his record-breaking snakehead mounted for display, according to a Maryland Department of Natural Resources news release.
