A 21.8-Pound Snakehead Below Conowingo

On the evening of June 7, 2025, an angler bowfishing on the Susquehanna River below Conowingo Dam shot a fish that became Maryland’s state-record Chesapeake channa, the species also called the northern snakehead. It weighed 21.8 pounds and measured more than 36 inches. This is what is known about the catch, drawn from the state’s announcement, and what the record means in a fishery where the goal is removal.

The catch

Matt Foreman of Crownsville took the fish while bowfishing. Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced on June 16, 2025 that it was the new state record. The previous record was 21.0 pounds, taken in 2023 by Damien Cook in a Dorchester County river. The Bowfishing Association of America recorded the fish. The International Game Fish Association does not recognize fish taken by bowfishing, so this is a state record, not a world record.

Why it is remarkable

Maryland accepts records for its invasive species by any legal recreational method, which is why a bowfished fish can hold a state record. The record also sits next to a standing request: DNR encourages anglers to kill all invasive species they catch, and for snakehead there is no season and no limit. The record fish is a measure of how large these fish can grow, not a target to protect.

Connection to the waterway

The tailrace below the dam, covered in the Conowingo Dam guide, is best known for catfish and shad. The record shows that snakeheads also live in the river here. Transporting a live snakehead is illegal, so a fish you catch should be killed, not moved to another water.

The water below the dam

The tailrace at Conowingo is in Harford and Cecil counties, at Darlington, where Route 1 crosses the Susquehanna. It is a fishery with several moods. Spring brings American and hickory shad, striped bass and perch, and snakeheads show up at certain times. Blue catfish are always present, with fish well over 20 pounds reported, and walleye are frequently found near the dam. Above the dam, the Conowingo Reservoir holds smallmouth bass, catfish and walleye, according to DNR.

Maryland DNR asks anglers to kill all invasive species they catch, including Chesapeake channa. There is no season or limit, and transporting a live channa is illegal. Maryland allows records for these invasive species by any legal recreational method, which is how a bowfished fish counts.

Safety at the foot of the dam

The turbines that bring fish up also change the water quickly. When they start, a siren sounds and lights flash, and anglers must leave the water and move gear to higher ground. The water at the wharf can rise more than two feet.

What anglers can take from it

If you catch a snakehead on rod and reel, DNR’s guidance is to kill it and not release it. Keep it identifiable, since it can look like other fish to someone who has not seen one, and check the DNR invasive fish page for current reporting and handling instructions. More stories from Maryland waters are in the Dock Tales index, and a related story about how snakeheads spread is in the snakehead above Great Falls tale.

Sources and caveats

This tale uses the Maryland DNR release of June 16, 2025 and DNR’s invasive fish page. The two agree on the rules. The release does not describe how the weight was certified. We did not read the Bowfishing Association’s own record entry.