.svg)
.svg)
.png)
.png)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
Giant Snakehead
Channa micropeltes
The giant snakehead, (also known as the red snakehead or toman) is a massive freshwater predator native to Southeast Asia. Growing nearly 5 feet in length and up to 44 pounds, it's size isn't even what makes the species remarkable. Toman are extremely aggressive, with claims of attacks on humans swimming in lakes. As highly protective parents with strong jaws and sharp teeth, they have been known to bite fish in half, just for being near their school of fry.
They can breathe air, surviving in low-oxygen water, as well as crawl across wet land - capable of surviving out of water for several days in damp conditions. Prized as a sport fish as well as in the aquarium trade; their evolutionary superiority has proven the Giant Snakehead to be a dangerous invasive species to ecosystems outside it's native range.
OTHER PHOTOS
OUR STORY
Our search for the giant snakehead (or Toman) was opportunistic, after finding ourselves in Taiwan on a business trip. We linked up with our friend and guide, Duane Christie, who we'd seen on a National Geographic show, who took us fishing on the flooded waters of Zengwen Reservoir. From a small handmade boat, we worked our way into narrow channels surrounded by subtropical jungle, casting frogs and other topwater lures into openings along the flooded vegetation.
One of our main tactics was searching for schools of giant snakehead fry. Hundreds of the tiny, bright-red fish would rise to the surface for air, revealing their location and, hopefully, one of the two parents guarding them below. We cast over school after school hoping to trigger a defensive strike, but despite how promising the tactic seemed, we never managed to fool one of the adults guarding its young.
Instead, our fish came from casting into openings and flooded vegetation where snakehead waited to ambush prey. After catching my first giant snakehead, I eventually traded the weedless frog for a Whopper Plopper. This change paid off - producing violent topwater strikes and some of the most exciting fishing of the trip.
Even the juvenile giant snakehead gave us a glimpse of what makes these fish so exciting. They attacked our lures with incredible aggression and continued trying to bite even after being brought into the boat. By the end of our two days on Zengwen Reservoir, we had landed several giant snakehead.
Between the flooded jungle, barking monkeys along the shoreline, bright-red schools of fry and explosive topwater strikes, fishing for giant snakehead in Taiwan became about much more than simply checking another species off the list. It was one of those fishing experiences where the place, the people and the fish all became equally memorable. The giant snakehead is truly one of the most remarkable freshwater fish on the planet, and should be on any serious angler's bucket list.
