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 IGFA WORLD RECORD. 5.22 KG COBRA SNAKEHEAD (CHANNA MARULIUS).On March 16, while guiding a group of six anglers from various nationalities at Srinakarin Reservoir, Master Angler Jean-Francois Helias beat his own world record for the rare and elusive cobra snakehead (Channa marulius), also known as great snakehead whose population is extremely scarce here in Thailand.
This amazing catch was the 4th world record set by Francois for the Channa marulius species.
This time, he captured on top water a lovely 5.22 Kg cobra breaking the former record he set a year ago, in March 2006, a 4.46 kg cobra. Francois' latest 5.22 kg Cobra Snakehead catch had a total length of 97 cm and a girth of 37.5 cm. Like any of the several thousand snakehead he has caught through the years, that splendid cobra was safely released to "maybe" be caught another day.
 Francois' former 4.46 kg IGFA world record cobra snakehead (Photo courtesy of jean-Francois Helias, Fishing Adventures Thailand)
I had a long and interesting conversation over the phone with Jean-Francois, whose knowledge about snakehead species is second to none, about the mysterious cobra snakehead or channa marulius.
Administrator: "Hey man, what a lovely catch you had the other day"!
Francois: "Thank you amigo! I wish you could have seen the zen accurate cast I did six times in a row through bushes and floating bamboo poles to make that fish come out of its lair and strike! Had it been recorded on film it would be a piece of lure fishing anthology! I have been dreaming of catching such a big size cobra snakehead over the 5 kilos mark for a long long time. I knew it could eventually happen but I also knew to catch one of that size was almost impossible. Cobra Snakeheads of that weight and bigger do exist in our Thai waters, but are very rare, elusive and cautious creatures, so obviously extremely difficult to catch. Man, what a shot of adrenaline it was when I saw it following my frog lure! And what a tremendous feeling of achievement it was to hold for a while such a magnificent specimen of Channa.marulius in my hands, before releasing it back to where it belongs. Another great feeling to me is the fact that three months ago I had a stroke and was in hospital for 10 days. My balance and the coordination of my limbs got hit pretty bad. I was in such bad shape at that time I thought I would never be able to fish again with the same level of skills and casting accuracy... three months later this 5.22 kg "cobra" catch happened....I am so blessed!"  Francois' new IGFA world record: a splendid 5.22 Kg Channa marulius (Photo courtesy of Jean-Francois Helias / Fishing Adventures Thailand) Francois adding: "Had I caught it a week later it would have been perfect timing. On March 27, I am departing on an expedition I am leading in the Thai jungle with a film production crew. We are gonna shoot 5 days of footage mainly about the cobra snakehead, but also about the giant snakehead too, this for a TV documentary about snakehead species, which by the way is a project of mine at its very origin. You'd better believe I had to work very hard for months to convince the US film production company that such a documentary absolutely had to be made .
I had already appeared in a National Geographic documentary about the Mekong giant catfish and the Giant freshwater stingray. They also had seen on ESPN the two episodes of the film I did with Cindy Garrison. So they knew I could deliver. It helped. Finally, they said OK, let's do it!"
Administrator: Congratulations man! So what's the script about?
Francois: The script is about various Asian snakehead species, and more especially the ones that have invaded American waters, such as the Northern Snakehead (Channa argus) in the Potomac River and its tributaries, and the Bullseye snakehead (Channa marulius) in Florida canals. The Bullseye snakehead is the american common name given to our Thai cobra snakehead.  An invader, The Northern snakehead (Channa argus) captured by electro-fishing in a tributary of the Potomac River, USA. (Photo courtesy of Jean-Francois Helias / Fishing Adventures Thailand) Administrator: Obviously you have an impressive knowledge about Thai fishes for a foreigner, and more especially about snakehead species. Did you study about them?
Francois: Not really. But I've been living in Thailand for 21 years now, and I have fished lots of water around the country, spending a lot of time talking about Thai fish species with locals and angling buddies. I always have been a fast learner and if I am passionate about something then I give it my all. I love learning new things. Now my passion for Thai fish species has initiated through the years a wonderful relationship with several of the world's leading ichthyologists and fishery biologists, such as Dr. Walter Courtenay, Professor Emeritus at the Florida Atlantic University, or Dr. Maurice Kottelat, the world's leading authority on the taxonomy of Eurasian freshwater fishes, or Leo.G. Nico, a Research Fishery Biologist for the USGS, all great individuals with whom I have a regular exchange of mail. I have given them, and to other fish experts, as well as museums, some valuable information, data, and exclusive photos from my personal colection. Somehow, because of the positive relationship I am having with scientists, I have became a humble amateur fishery biologist on my own, without formal training or having a degree in this area. It is a positive friendly exchange of knowledge between myself as a professional fishing guide who has the chance to interact with the fish on a regular basis and between fishery biologists. We learn from each other!
 Francois taking fin clips of a Toman (Channa micropeltes) in Northern Malaysia for DNA research by Dr. Prachya Musikasinthorn, Kasertsat University, Thailand (Photo courtesy of Jean-Francois Helias / Fishing Adventures Thailand)
"In this new TV documentary, my role is to be part of a scientific mission. I have to capture (on rod and line) one or two specimens of native Thai Channa marulius, so I can photograph them and take fin clipings to be preserved in screw-top vials containing 95% ethyl alcohol. The fin samples will be sent to Dr Walter Courtenay and Jim Williams. Walt and Jim are the authors of USGS Circular 1251, which I like to call "the bible" about snakehead species. If you do not know that circular, and if you have any interest to learn about snakehead species, then you got toclick on this website address.
http://fisc.er.usgs.gov/Snakehead_circ_1251/html/title.html
Then the Channa marulius fin clippings will be sent to the Natural History Museum in London who will be doing the DNA work. So let's say the purpose of my mission is to help to be able to compare the DNA of the Channa marulius tissues from Thailand with the Channa marulius they now have in Florida.
Administrator: Would you say these Florida snakeheads are originally from Thailand?
Francois: "We know lots of things about these invading Channa marulius in Florida, such as the fact they arrive there through the aquarium trade. We also know the first documented snakehead catch there by an angler was on October 5th, 2000. The angler initially thought it was a bowfin until noticing the ocellus, a distinctive dark spot rimmed in brilliant orange near the base of the tail fin. What we do not know is from what country these marulius came from. Here is a mystery to solve! To me, they look pretty similar to our Thai Cobra snakeheads, and yes I am ready to bet they come from Thailand alright! But only DNA will confirm that!"
 A Channa marulius caught by a young american angler in a Florida canal (Photo courtesy of Jean-Francois Helias / Fishing Adventures Thailand) "It doesnt stop there, we are going to go even further, A part from the TV Snakehead documentary I am also initiating further DNA research.for the Channa marulius from India and from Myanmar ( Burma) with the collaboration of Dr. Walt Courtenay and a couple of angler friends in those countries. Up to today, the Indian murrel (local name for the marulius) and our Thai Cobra snakehead share the very same scientific name: Channa marulius, though some of us think the Indian Channa marulius and the Thai marulius could be in fact two distinct species. No scientific research has ever been done to this day to find out. The only way to know for sure if these two fish are a unique species or two different ones is to clip fins of an Indian murrel and Thai Cobra snakehead, so we can compare the DNA of both fish. I only had to contact my good friend Bopanna, an authority in freshwater sportfishing in India, to do so and ask him if he was willing to be part of our project. He kindly accepted. Next I am gonna to ask my friend Min in Mandalay to do the same thing with a Burmese marulius."
 A lovely specimen of Indian Murrel (Photo courtesy of Jean-Francois Helias / Fishing Adventures Thailand)  Burmese channa marulius (Photo courtesy of Jean-Francois Helias / Fishing Adventures Thailand) Administrator: Snakeheads are usually perceived by the American public as vermin. They truly scare people. Will the new TV documentary help for a better comprehension of that particular species?
Francois: "I hope so. Anyway it's gonna be a very interesting documentary as interviews of pro-snakehead people and anti-snakehead people will be conducted.
Myself in Thailand, and my good friend Derek Radoski, the founder of the Snakehead Angling Society in the USA, will be the devil's lawyers for the Channa species. The most important thing to me about this documentary is to come up with the very first piece of reliable and accurate material about snakehead species. Since the Crofton incident in 2002, I have always wanted to set the record straight - once and for all - about true facts regarding the snakehead and their behaviour. Right now, except for a very few knowledgeable fishery biologists and sport anglers fishing for them on a regular basis there are not many people who do know the true facts about this amazing asian fish species.
The American general public does not have a clue about snakeheads.
All the general American public know about Snakeheads is the bull and the distorted facts they have been fed with by most of the US press and media. There are only two great pieces of work about snakeheads. The excellent book written by Eric Jay Dolin: "Snakehead: A fish out of the water", and a brilliant humoristic article by Dave Barry. A part of that, most that was said and written about Channa species five years ago was sadly pure fantasy and scaremongering.The media and press did not bother to check any facts with knowledgeable fish biologists but distorted instead the few they knew about to make the whole story more exciting, hyping everything to scare even more the people. When in 2002 I was reading articles about the Channa argus invasion in Maryland, I could imagine the reason why US citizens were thinking of locking themselves at home, to hide wives and daughters, and to wait with a shotgun for the scary "Frankenfish" that was going to mug them at night. This kind of nonsense and absurd journalism with no professional conscience sadly helps sell magazines and newspapers so much better. So I guess this new TV documentary aired around the world will help to give to people a better understanding of a predatory fish like the snakehead."
Administrator: Thank you for your time Jean-Francois!
Francois: My pleasure amigo! And good luck with your excellent and very informative portal! SOME ANGLING FACTS ABOUT THE THAI COBRA SNAKEHEAD
For Thailand's most dedicated snakehead addicts, the cobra snakehead is the ultimate dream catch. Only a very tiny few of them have had the privilege to add such a unique species to their personal catch records.
According to Francois: "The cobra snakehead (Channa marulius) and its fishing is similar in many ways to its distant cousin, the Emperor Snakehead (Channa marulioides), another rare snakehead species to be found only in Malaysian and Indonesian jungle waters, and called locally there "Toman Bunga". Channa marulius and channa marulioides are the most difficult species to capture. The reasons behind the difficulty of catching a specimen of these two ultimate prize fish species are various. First, because of their distribution; these two species are not to be found all over the country but only at certain specific areas. Both cobra and toman bunga are very elusive, cautious and shy."  Francois showing a rare Toman Bunga he caught in the Malaysian jungle (Photo courtesy of Jean-Francois Helias / Fishing Adventures Thailand) "To make it even tougher, these two species being territorial inhabit a kind of underwater "lair" often located in a heavily snagged area, like a dead end in the jungle. Cobra and Toman Bunga love to hide beneath branches of submerged trees, under floating pieces of wood, or in thick weeds. In this kind of territory, an average lure angler who does not have 100 % perfection in his casting accuracy, or does not have 100 % confidence in his casting ability, would not dare make a cast knowing the odds to not get his lure snagged are almost none. The absolute need for the Cobra snakehead hunter to possess "total perfect casting accuracy" is vital, so he can stand a chance of triggering a strike from a Channa Marulius, "the ultimate ghost trophy fish". Casts must be often done from a long distance into openings and "holes" of very small diameter in very heavily snagged territories. Exactly what I like to call "PURE ZEN ARCHERY". A cast as accurate and as lethal as the arrow of a Japanese Samurai!"
According to Francois who keeps records of fish catches from the last 20 years he has spent fishing in Thailand, apart from himself, there are up to today only 18 foreign anglers who have ever succeeded to catch a Thai cobra. From these eighteen privileged anglers, four of them have succeeded to score a rare hat trick of cobra catches. They are respectively UK angler Richard Pike (4 catches), Frenchman Dr Mohammed (4 catches), Peter Cartwright .UK.(3 catches), and Japanese Tomo Kakiuchi (3 catches).
Jean-Francois who ranks the Cobra Snakehead as Thailand's most difficult predator fish, and as his favorite Thai fish species of all, followed by the Giant Snakehead and the Siamese Giant Carp, has caught himself up to today 23 specimens of the rare cobra, and 2 specimens of the even rarer Malaysian Toman Bunga.
"Any decent visiting lure angler can catch a "shado" (pla shado is the local name of the Giant Snakehead: Channa micropeltes) he says. "Micropeltes are the gangsters of the deep. If they are in the mood, they're mean enough to strike at anything passing above their head, or close to them. It is even easier for an American angler to catch a non native cobra snakehead in a canal of Florida where structures and snags are very few compared to our heavily snagged Thai waters. But to catch a Thai Cobra snakehead is another story!
It requires more finesse than any other kind of lure fishing, great angling skills, and as usual when it comes to catching fish: a bit of luck! Only a very few local and foreign sport anglers can brag they have ever caught one. That fish is nothing but the catch of a lifetime "par excellence"!"
Tight lines!
To see some amazing pictures of the Giant Snakeheads caught in Thailands fishing parks go to the Mega fishing Thailand Catch reports page.
For more information about the amazing Snakehead fishing in Thailand click here
If you are interested in more info or have any questions dont hesitate to email info@megafishingthailand.com we are always happy to hear from you..!!
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