Markham Park at New River Canal east of the boat ramp

This stretch of canal at Markham Park, running east of the boat ramp, is classic bullseye snakehead water — a straight, non-tidal cut with steady levels, so you're never fighting a clock on the tide. What you are fighting is light and cover. These fish stack up tight to matted grass, lily pads, and any downed wood along the bank, ambushing from the shade rather than roaming open water. Early morning and last light are the money windows, when snakehead push shallow and slap topwater with real confidence. Midday, look for whatever shade or wind-blown pad edges you can find and slow down.

Access here is easy on foot — mapped parking sits close, about 0.11 mi from the water, so walking rods down and working the bank is very doable. If you'd rather cover water from a kayak or small boat, there's a ramp roughly 0.42 mi off, giving you a way to slide along the grass lines and pads that bank anglers can't always reach.

Tackle-wise, keep it simple and stout: weedless frogs and buzzbaits worked right over the slop, chatterbaits for a change of pace, and weedless soft plastics punched into thicker cover. Spool up with 40-65 lb braid — snakehead bury into grass instantly, and you need the backbone to horse them out clean.