Aeds Gudgeon on a lure.

Common Name:   Gudgeon, Sleeper, 

Local Name:     (Tagalog),  Cadurog, Palog, Lagnas  (Cebuano)

Max Size:   cm

Biodiversity: Marine, Brackish, Freshwater

Depth:  0 – ?? m

Fishing Season:  All Year Long

Minimum Size Limit:  None

Recommended Bait:  Shrimp, worms and crustaceans;

IUCN Red List Status: 

This is a fish of the genus Eleotris which are known as Sleepers or Gudgeons. Similar to Gobies and Snakeheads, Sleepers often sit motionless on the riverbed waiting for prey to pass by.  They a generally quite small and of little value to sport fishermen however they can grow to impressive sizes of over 1 ft in length.  Anglers are most likely to encounter these fish when fishing in rivers and estuaries with bait or small lures.

Because of the diversity within this genus of fish we have simply listed the genus.

Note the thick body of the Gudgeon

Black Snakehead

Common Name: Snakehead, Mudfish

Local Name: Dalag, Haruan (Tagalog), Haruan, Haluan(Cebuano)

Max Size:  30 cm ( 1 kgs )

Biodiversity: Freshwater,  Endemic

Depth: 1 – 10m

Fishing Season:  All Year Long

Minimum Size Limit:  10 inches

Recommended Bait/Lures:  Shrimp, Minnows, Frog lures, Spinnerbaits, and more

IUCN Red List Status:  Least Concern (LC)

Here is a Black Snakehead caught in Taal Lake by Buboy.  This species is quite rare here in the Philippines compared to its cousin the Striped Snakehead.  It can be differentiated from its cousin by the lack of a white underbelly.  The Black Snakehead can be found throughout South East Asia from Thailand over to the Philippines and Malaysia.  This species is reported to grow up to 30 cm.   This fish was caught on a medium running crank bait.

Below is a picture of the fish’s mouth:

Toman

Common Name: Snakehead, Toman,

Local Name: Toman (Tagalog), Toman (Cebuano)

Max Size:  130 cm ( 20 kgs )

Biodiversity: Freshwater,  Introduced

Depth:  1 – ?? m

Fishing Season:  All Year Long

Minimum Size Limit:  15 inches

Recommended Bait/Lures:  Fish, Frog lures, Spinnerbaits, and more

IUCN Red List Status:  Least Concern (LC)

This is the largest species of Snakehead which has been imported via the aquarium trade to the Philippines from the Thai Peninsula. The Giant Snakehead or Toman is know to grow up to 1 meter in length and almost 20 kilos in weight.  These fish have been released into various lakes, ponds and waterways here in the Philippines as a gamefish and are thriving.  They are fished for with spinnerbaits, frogs, crank baits and more.  The main destinations for these fish are Lakeshore, a small lake in Mexico, Pampanga and also the Aulo Dam near Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija.  These fish can also be found in various other ponds and bodies of water around the country.

Here is another photo of Sonny with a nice 1kg Toman caught in a pond in Laguna:

Sonny’s Giant Snakehead

Common Name:   Snakehead, Mudfish

Local Name:   Dalag, Haruan (Tagalog);  Haluan, Haruan (Cebuano)

Max Size:  100 cm (3 kgs)

Biodiversity:  Freshwater

Depth:  0 – 10 m

Fishing Season:  All Year Long

Minimum Size Limit:  10 inches

Recommended Bait/Lures:  Shrimp, Minnows, Frog lures, Spinnerbaits, and more

IUCN Red List Status:  Least Concern (LC)

Sonny’s Snakehead (1.7 kgs) caught in Caliraya Reservoir

This is one of the more prevelent gamefish in the Philippines.  I have caught them in lakes Caliraya and Sampaloc, but I have seen them in almost every lake, river and pond I have been to.  Fish for them as you would bass.  I have caught them on bass worms, live minnows.  I have seen them caught on crankbaits, spinners, spinnerbaits, frogs, and more.  In Tagalog they are called Dalag. The one in the picture above was caught by Sonny on a Spinnerbait in Lake Caliraya and weighed 1.7kgs.