# Possible snakehead?



## Aidan Kirkpatrick (Nov 8, 2021)

I was fishing the alum creek spillway when close to leaving I saw something with a round head and body that looked like an eel or thick snake swim to the surface and stick its nose out of the water before getting scared away. It looked too thick to be a snake and kinda looked like a foot long tadpole. I didn’t get a picture because it was only visible for a couple seconds. Could this be a snakehead? Has anyone else seen anything like this in alum?


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## bassin mickey (Apr 22, 2004)

Could be a Bowfin ??


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## Patricio (Feb 2, 2007)

bassin mickey said:


> Could be a Bowfin ??


Most likely.


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## Workingman (Jan 21, 2016)

Or a mud puppy


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## Patricio (Feb 2, 2007)

Workingman said:


> Or a mud puppy


Most likely.


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## bassin mickey (Apr 22, 2004)

Workingman said:


> Or a mud puppy


Yes .....that's what they call them down south "mud fish". They are ugly critters...


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## dholmes (Jun 29, 2014)

Bowfin. Wonderful fish.


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## Aidan Kirkpatrick (Nov 8, 2021)

bassin mickey said:


> Could be a Bowfin ??


I didn’t even think of a bowfin. It looks like it could have been but would they be in central Ohio?


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## Aidan Kirkpatrick (Nov 8, 2021)

Workingman said:


> Or a mud puppy


That would make sense the tail the thing had looks closest to a mud puppy


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## 1basshunter (Mar 27, 2011)

It’s was just a black Croppie


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## flounder (May 15, 2004)

This it?


















They are often mistaken for the exotic northern snakehead. *They are native to Ohio and can be released*. The bowfin also goes by other names: dogfish, mudfish, grindel, and choupique.


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## Aidan Kirkpatrick (Nov 8, 2021)

flounder said:


> This it?
> 
> 
> View attachment 490118
> ...


I think it is a mudpuppy cause of the tail but it still could be


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

Mudpuppy mud dog dogfish call it what you will


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## tomwadejr2007 (9 mo ago)

DHower08 said:


> Mudpuppy mud dog dogfish call it what you will


dont forget Water Dog, or maybe even a Hellbender


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## mn4 (Oct 14, 2020)

Aidan Kirkpatrick said:


> I was fishing the alum creek spillway when close to leaving I saw something with a round head and body that looked like an eel or thick snake swim to the surface and stick its nose out of the water before getting scared away. It looked too thick to be a snake and kinda looked like a foot long tadpole. I didn’t get a picture because it was only visible for a couple seconds. Could this be a snakehead? Has anyone else seen anything like this in alum?


I snagged a mudpuppy on a jerk bait in the Alum spillway several years ago. Those things might be the Missing Link - they honestly kinda gross me out for some reason. Besides their fish/reptile/amphibian appearance, they make this clicking, grunting, almost barking sound that is super weird. I might be wrong but I think they’re part of the salamander family.


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## dbortolani (Jun 1, 2016)

Dogfish. We used to catch them oftens when fishing live suckers under a bobber for pike. My Dad hated them and many were turned into fertilizer......


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## Snookhunter52 (Apr 1, 2019)

Yep most likely a mud puppy. Ohio State University does research on mud puppies in that spillway. It's pretty doubtful a bowfin would be in the Alum creek spillway. Bowfin are pretty rare in central Ohio.


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## Kyle46n (Jun 22, 2020)

Def not a snakehead by your description. They look very much like a fish, and move like a fish. Spent four years catching them on the Potomac.


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## Husky Musky (May 21, 2004)

when i was a kid (about 60 years ago), we would catch them in the Olentangy below W. Beechwold. They did make barking sounds, and they are ugly. We called them mudpuppies.


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## HLS (Jul 13, 2004)

We have caught several bowfin on our Pymie vacations. Here is my younger son with one he caught in 2020. Bowfin fight like crazy. Fun to catch. I also saw the biggest mud puppy of my life in that lake.


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## Mickey (Oct 22, 2011)

HLS said:


> We have caught several bowfin on our Pymie vacations. Here is my younger son with one he caught in 2020. Bowfin fight like crazy. Fun to catch. I also saw the biggest mud puppy of my life in that lake.
> View attachment 490294


Great post and photo, but could that big mud puppy have been a hellbender?


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## HLS (Jul 13, 2004)

Mickey said:


> Great post and photo, but could that big mud puppy have been a hellbender?


It had gills


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## Snookhunter52 (Apr 1, 2019)

Yes hellbenders are mostly restricted to southeastern Ohio.


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## JCarp (Feb 1, 2005)

Snookhunter52 said:


> Yep most likely a mud puppy. Ohio State University does research on mud puppies in that spillway. It's pretty doubtful a bowfin would be in the Alum creek spillway. Bowfin are pretty rare in central Ohio.


Pretty neat to learn OSU does research on them in the spillway. It wasn't uncommon to catch them through the ice off the beach yrs ago when I fished there.


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