World Record Snakehead Caught in Virginia

On behalf of Maryland, you do realize, this means war!

Giant ‘frankenfish’ caught in Virginia may be biggest ever

“I knew it was a good fish, but I didn’t know how good,” Mr. Newton, 27, said Tuesday.

The two men have been fishing partners for years, and they know the Potomac River and its tributaries like the back of their hands. On Saturday, they joined friends and family for the Big Bass Bachelor Fishing Tournament in honor of Mr. Wilcox’s upcoming wedding.

“We pulled up to the spot, put the trolling motor down on the boat, and I saw the fish in the water,” Mr. Wilcox said. “It was absolutely huge.”

Mr. Newton said he “could just tell by the reaction and tone of his voice,” that his buddy had spotted a keeper.

After a few attempts at luring the fish to bite, the animal finally latched on and took off.

It looks to me like a well experienced fisherman; he knows how to extend that fish out away from his body to make it look bigger in the photo.  I have a friend who's a master at it, and I'm not above it myself

“It went crazy, the water got to boiling, the grass was coming up, so I let the line go on its own,” Mr. Newton said. “With this fish you had to let him play his game.”

After about two minutes, the fish was reeled in close enough to the boat for Mr. Wilcox to scoop the beast out of the water.

Weighing in at 17 pounds, 6 ounces, the fish that Mr. Newton hauled in could be declared the largest snakehead caught on hook and line in the world, a title currently held by a fisherman in Japan for a snakehead only 2 ounces lighter.

I have a snakehead fishing trip scheduled this August with Capt. Mike.  Maybe I'll get a chance to bring the title back to Maryland.