Snake Eating Fish
Variety of species! You never know what’s biting. That is the reason many
anglers give when asked why they prefer saltwater fishing over freshwater.
Another common reason is that their seems to be more fish available for the
saltwater angler. It is rare when an average saltwater angler spends the
entire day without a bite.
Recently we had a coastal saltwater trip where variety of species took on a new meaning. My partner for the day was Doug Williams from Athens, Texas. Doug primarily fishes for freshwater species but has been saltwater fishing before.
The wind was calm and the water was a beautiful color. With bait jumping around us we caught lots of trout and big redfish. It was a topwater bite like I hadn’t ever seen before. It seemed everything was feeding on the bait.
When the topwater bite slowed we switched to soft plastics. The action continued and we even caught flounder and hardhead catfish on our lures. Rarely do hardheads take lures. But this was a genuine feeding frenzy.
I have often said that the difference between freshwater fishing and saltwater fishing is simple. Freshwater fish relate to cover. Saltwater fish relate to bait. Find the bait and feeding fish won’t be too far away.
We had boxed quite a few fish and were well on our way to our limits when the bait action went slack. Consequently, the fish catching ceased. We decided to make a move hoping to locate more feeding activity. As the boat skimmed across the water we noticed something unusual looking on the surface. We turned around for a better look and found a huge snake coiled. It appeared to be injured so we took a closer look.
It was a giant water snake approximately 5 feet long and it had something big inside it. On it’s back were several red marks that appeared to be the cause of it’s injury. The snake was near death so we decided to investigate what it had swallowed.
Turns out, a 13” long hardhead catfish was in the snake. It had swallowed the fish tail first and the catfishes pectoral and dorsal fins had prevented the snake from being able to pass it through it’s body. The sores on the snake were cause from puncture wounds created by the fishes fins.
After taking some photos Doug said, “You’re right about saltwater fishing. When you find the bait, everything’s feeding.”