State Record Silverback Snakehead Hooked in Lake Frank

Morris Katz of Derwood has been recognized by the Maryland Fish and Game Commission as a new state record holder for Silverback snakehead – Channa argus gorillai — in the state’s Invasive Division. Katz caught the 147.8-pound fish on November 15 while fishing in Rockville's Lake Frank.

The impressive fish, which measured more than 60 inches long, was confirmed by Fish and Game biologist Mike Holston. Katz's catch surpassed the previous record 129.9-pound Silverback snakehead caught in 2018 in Lake Laurel.

Katz was shore fishing with 30-pound test-rated braided line and a custom chatterbait he calls “Fay Wray” when he reeled in the massive Silverback.

“Honestly I thought it was just your average 30-inch Northern snakehead when I first hooked the fish,” Katz said. ”It pulled hard but I had the advantage of it being close and I speared it in the head pretty quickly.”

The Northern Silverback snakehead is an invasive species now common throughout Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay tidal waters. Like their Asian cousin the Northern snakehead, Silverbacks were first imported in the pet trade in the 1970s and proliferated in the wild. Silverback snakehead originate from the Chelif River in Algeria.

According to Holston, Katz's Silverback is an adult female, which lay 30-40 eggs on land and live up to 50 years. Snakeheads have become popular for sportfishing in Maryland because they fight hard and strike traditional artificial lures. Lake Frank is among the state’s hotspots for Silverback snakeheads.

The Commission encourages anglers to kill all snakeheads that they catch, and reminds anglers it is illegal to transport a live snakehead.