July 19, 2019 walk in the park to do a little scouting

It’s as hot as Hades out there and most fish are hunkering down during the heat of the day. However, there is this one invasive yet crafty and cunning predator that enjoys the summer heat. This fish is capable of surviving in the harshest of environments, in areas almost complete void of dissolved oxygen. These fish are obligate air breathers and could easily live out of water if they could stay moist. No they are not going to eat your dog, but they may just take a mouse, turtle or a plastic frog thrown deep into thick cover. I took about a 30 minute walk down the C&O canal this afternoon and counted 8 snakeheads, including this beast that was every bit of 24 inches. This fish was cruising through the vegetation on a seek and destroy type attitude. It was in full hunt mode. I even threw a stick his direction and he responded to it. He was actively hunting and would have jumped on just about anything you threw at him. Of course I didn’t have a rod with me, I was merely just scouting for future trips. The trick is finding a fish that is in that hunting mode. It’s easier said than done and these fish are not the easiest fish to catch. They aren’t stupid. They have not changed their design in millions of years. They are nature’s perfect predator caught somewhere in the middle of a fish and an amphibian. They are certainly here to stay and just add another exciting predatory trophy fish that calls the Potomac and its watershed home.