The Charlotte Observer is reporting that a man in North Carolina recently caught a northern snakehead (Channa argus) that weighed in at an impressive 13 pounds. Barry Faw snagged the giant invader while he was fishing at Lake Wylie. Unfortunately, no one, not the fisherman, nor his friends, nor the person at the neighborhood bait shop, recognized the invasive fish, and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission didn't have anyone available to inspect it...so Barry threw it back in the lake. Later the NC WRC saw photos and recognized the fish as a snakehead, but attempts to locate the fish or any of its brethren in the lake by shocking them to the surface of the water have failed. This is the second record of a Northern snakehead in Lake Wylie, the first being from 2002.
Sounds like North Carolina needs more rigorous invasive species outreach for their anglers and their bait shops.
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