Angler thought he was reeling in ‘average’ fish. Turns out, it could set world record

Irene Wright
·3 min read
16

When Damien Cook felt a tug on his fishing line while sitting in his kayak, he didn’t think it was anything special.

The Maryland angler was out on a Dorchester County river on July 5, using custom bait he called a “cooker.”

On the other end of the line was a northern snakehead, a type of invasive fish in Maryland’s waters.

“Honestly I thought it was just your average 30-inch snakehead when I first hooked the fish,” Cook told the Maryland Department of Natural Resources in a July 7 release. “It pulled hard, but I had the advantage of it being close and I got it in the net pretty quickly.”

But soon after the fish was out of the water, Cook knew he had something special.

Weighing in at 21 pounds, the catch was a new state record.

“I am a full-time fishing guide,” Cook told McClatchy News. “I am on the water six to seven days a week. They are mine and my customers’ main target.”

“The Northern snakehead is an invasive species now common throughout Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay tidal waters,” wildlife officials said. “Snakeheads have become popular for sportfishing in Maryland because they fight hard and strike traditional artificial lures that are often used for largemouth bass.”

Cook brought the fish to a certified weigh station in Cambridge and was met by a Maryland DNR biologist to certify the catch.

The chunky fish was 36 inches long, according to the release.

The fish officially broke the state record, formerly set on May 24, 2018, at 19.9 pounds. That fish was 35.157 inches long, according to the state DNR.

“(It) feels great,” Cook said. “I do this for a living so it definitely makes me feel like I have done something.”

But that’s not the only title Cook might be able to claim.

The official world record for largest northern snakehead caught is 19 pounds, 5 ounces, according to the International Game Fish Association that certifies world record catches.

The standing world record was caught in Virginia in 2018, the association said.

Even with a larger state record reached just weeks after the world record, Cook’s fish knocks both titles out of the water.

“The paperwork is already turned in to the IGFA,” Cook said.

Cook, a full-time fishing guide, is on the water almost every day, he said.
Cook, a full-time fishing guide, is on the water almost every day, he said.

Friends of Cook’s shared their excitement on social media.

“I am so happy it was you,” Rashan Hunt said in a comment on Maryland DNR’s post. “You have put in the time and effort and grind … Such a humble guy with a great personality, and values.”

Cook’s friend and fishing partner, Matt Fletcher, said he was happy to “finally publicly congratulate” Cook in a Facebook post.

“I’m happy as can be for Damien Cook for catching this record breaking fish. This is a great picture of him and the fish, but for (me) personally, seeing and holding it, the picture doesn’t do the fish justice of how fat that fish really is. Congrats bro,” Fletcher said.

The Maryland DNR encouraged anglers to “kill all snakeheads that they catch” to help knock down their numbers as an invasive species and save the native wildlife.

Dorchester County includes the eastern bank of Chesapeake Bay, about 100 miles southeast of Baltimore.

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