Snakehead fly fishing in Hainan, China

✍️ TO WRITE: EN editorial angle (cf. CLAUDE.md §5). Do not translate the FR page. Key angle: the giant snakehead / toman (Channa micropeltes) is NOT native to China; Hainan’s native species are C. maculata, C. asiatica, C. gachua, in natural tropical rivers, not reservoirs. Draft until written; the page is noindex.

Snakehead fly fishing in Hainan targets native species (Channa maculata, Channa asiatica and the dwarf snakehead Channa gachua) on the popper, in the natural tropical rivers that fall from the island’s central mountains (Nandu, Wanquan, Changhua), not in artificial reservoirs. These are the species actually found in China, not the Southeast Asian toman (Channa micropeltes). An inland spring fishing ban has applied in the province since 2017, so the useful season is summer to autumn.

Natural, vegetated tropical water, the kind of habitat where snakehead hunts.

Snakehead taken on a surface popper. Systematic catch and release.