http://rule-303.blogspot.com/2011/08/snakehead-lures-suck.html
Here is the big problem with snakehead lures: they are all really designed for bass.
What everyone is using on snakeheads is top-water weedless frog lures. Snakeheads prefer weedy areas with thick cover to lunge from. This demands lures that don't get loaded with weeds right away. Snakeheads eat a lot of frogs so the design sort of makes sense.
The problem is with the location of the hooks. Bass swallow their prey whole so it doesn't much matter where on the lure you have the hooks placed. But snakeheads usually don't swallow things whole. They tend to grab the tail end of their prey with their sharp teeth, give it a good twist and pull off a chunk to eat. Then they come back and tear off additional chunks.
That tendency to grab the back end is key here. You know what's at the back end of these top-water frog lures? Fake plastic frog legs with no hooks in them.
I have experienced strike after strike by invasive northern snakeheads on various weedless top-water frog lures and again and again I lost the fish. The reason was that they were never hooked at all. The fish was merely grabbing on to the back of the lure and holding on for a while. After a few seconds they just let go.
No doubt, these lures can catch snakeheads. Given enough strikes, sooner or later you'll get one. But the ratio of strikes to hooks is abysmal compared to what it should be.
What we need to really clean out invasive snakeheads is weedless lures that have the hooks set up at the back of the lure. Frog and duckling lures with the hooks in the legs.
Is there a lure manufacturer ready to step up to the plate?
My suggestion is to "doctor" your lures to move the hook to the back of the frog. :fishing: