SNAKES !!!!!!

[Sam]

CH, you and those fishing ponds and banks are entering the environment of wild animals. As you know, this environment is home to many local animals, some of which are snakes.

As said above, you leave them alone and they will leave you alone.

However, please reread the posts about the vipers being aggressive. This is true, especially for the two major vipers in the Chesapeake area: water moccasins (cottonmouths) and copperheads. The rattlers are in the central and western part of the state.

To restate what has been offered, wear boots; watch where you walk and put your hands when retrieving a bait, sitting down or moving a tree limb or bush out of the way and using a tree to get steady if you stumble. You know snakes like to hide behind and under fallen trees and in the bushes. They also like to sun themselves on rocks, roadbeds or warm places on the ground.

You respect them and they will respect you. Then again................................................................................

[dsqui]

On 5/28/2016 at 6:55 PM, Master Bait'r said:

I prefer a Mossberg 500.  The short barrel with bird shot really gives the "flashlight beam" effect at shorter ranges.  

im with masterbaiter on this one except i prefer my remington 870 only good snakes i ever seen were the one on the wrong end of that 870

[N Florida Mike]

Got bit by a garter snake once.Even though I knew what kind it was it still messed me up in the mind a little.Thinking, but what if I'm wrong? 

Been bit by yellow jackets,yellow flies,deer flies,small black flies,chiggers,wasps, hornets, fleas , ticks,spiders,earwigs and lots of skeeters.Also fire ants and native black ants and 1 dog.

Also been bit by a cooter turtle.

Also been bit by the fishing bug

Life's rough here in FL

 

[gardnerjigman]

18 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Very few venomous snakes in KS, but lots of water snakes. I like messing with them when I see them around the shoreline. They'll charge a frog pretty hard. Had one eat my wacky rig I cast a little too far and landed on the rocks. He was one it before I had a chance to move it and refused to let go. Just held the line and grabbed the hook with pliers and popped it out, hissed at me as he fell back in the water. 

The feel vibrations of you walking and take off, so walk with heavy feet. You'll scare some fish too, but if you're worried about snakes, that's a good precaution. 

The girlish scream that comes out of me usually scares them off too. Not that I know, as I'm running towards the next county. 

[wytstang]

I am very blessed to have access to private ponds with fishing members who care about keeping every one as safe as possible form snakes and other things that go bump in the tall grass.

We went from the property looking like this

To now this (much more camping friendly)

Snake resistance boots are still a good idea, snakes play an importance roll in the natural eco system you fish in. Walk to the next spot and leave it be, we have some nice size rats running around and snakes keep that population from exploding.

[mrmacwvu1]

On 5/28/2016 at 9:02 PM, chmeyers said:

So after roughly 15-20 of not Bass fishing, I have started hitting hard again in the last 10 months. Fishing atleast 3 times a week. Even during the dreaded winter months. Even though I wasn't catching anything I was learning a lot. Getting use to a bait caster again, how baits react and so on. So this leads me up now, my first summer in many years fishing again. Being a bank fisherman, i pond hop often. Ive been hitting a lot of places of the beaten path, places where theres over growth 10-20 ft from the shoreline. After seeing 2 snakes in different places, i am beyond freaked out about coming up on others. Any suggestions or tips to avoid Johnny no shoulders???

Where you are at the chances of you encountering a poisonous are very slim. A good pair of boots and you should be fine.

[blckshirt98]

I like to walk game trails because I figure the deer walk them all the time and they don't seem to get bothered by snakes, so I just assume the snakes are aware that large things walk those game trails so snakes will think I'm one of them and will leave me alone.

[Rampow7155]

Kill this one or move it to the side with a stick? 

[chitura]

I agree with people about carrying a stick and disturbing brush ahead of you while your walking to your fishing spot.  If you are fishing in late afternoon or dusk, be careful around paths, roads, or rocky areas because the snakes like to warm up before nightfall.  Also be careful around any trash, which may attract it's prey.  Especially with all water snake species try to avoid blocking it's exit route to the water.

[Senko lover]

I used to be freaked out about snakes, always trying to spot them out and the like. I gave up; they are masters of camouflage.

An example; my best friend and I were fishing a pond, we were heading back to the woody, overgrown section, and another guy who was fishing told us to watch out for the "big ole snake" that lived back there. We thanked him and moved on, watching carefully the ground we were about to step on and keeping our eyes peeled. We both started fishing about 10 feet away from each other. After about ten minutes, I looked over at my friend, see his eyes bulging and a look of panic on his face. Turns out, that big ole cottonmouth had been coiled up literally two inches from his leg for the entirety of the ten minutes he had been fishing there, neither of us saw it.
Just yesterday, I had a cottonmouth wriggle out from underneath the rocks I was standing on.

I've kinda learned to deal with them, they always scare the ish out of me, but they've never once harmed me, so I kinda don't worry about them anymore. Seems like the harder I try to prevent an encounter with them, the more they show up.

 

[S. Sass]

On 5/28/2016 at 2:27 AM, Alonerankin2 said:

You saw 2? Haha, wait till you stagger onto 200! No joke..thought i stepped into the pit to hell. 

Creepy stuff..

Not sure I ever been in 200 but rattle snakes, and cottonmouths are the two I see most. They in most cases as has been said usually do not want anything to do with humans.

The rattle snake does more of a hold its ground type defense using its rattle to say leave me alone. And unless I am bored I do.

The cottonmouth is a quiet glad to go away snake unless you surprise it like stepping on it. 

We have enough of them that unless one catches me by surprise they are no big deal. I've lived here all my life so nothing new dealing with them. I just respect them for their dangers and do my thing. 

[blckshirt98]

39 minutes ago, S. Sass said:

The rattle snake does more of a hold its ground type defense using its rattle to say leave me alone. And unless I am bored I do.

And if you're bored what do you do?

[S. Sass]

24 minutes ago, blckshirt98 said:

And if you're bored what do you do?

See how loud they can rattle. 

[frosty]

I fish a small pond way out off the beaten path occasionally. It's in a state forest, and half way around the pond is mowed, the other half is pretty grown over except a very narrow path at the edge of the pond. The experience with the snakes are they will be invisible until they are next to your foot, they will then shoot out from under you, making this fat guy jump high enough to make Michael Jordan proud! 

I had a small water snake hanging out at my feet at a strip pit I was fishing. I didn't know he was there until I went to throw back a small bluegill and it slipped out of my hand. That snake grabbed it before it hit the mud and scared the pudding out of me!

[F14A-B]

3 hours ago, S. Sass said:

Not sure I ever been in 200 but rattle snakes, and cottonmouths are the two I see most. They in most cases as has been said usually do not want anything to do with humans.

The rattle snake does more of a hold its ground type defense using its rattle to say leave me alone. And unless I am bored I do.

The cottonmouth is a quiet glad to go away snake unless you surprise it like stepping on it. 

We have enough of them that unless one catches me by surprise they are no big deal. I've lived here all my life so nothing new dealing with them. I just respect them for their dangers and do my thing. 

Right. I was running a survey crew, the snakes were in breeding balls spread over a acre and a half..garters i think..they were freaking everywhere. Multiple balls, snakes moving from one area to another. It was in close proximity to a large dog kennel too. That was 94. Anyways...creepy for sure.

[Loochy88]

I used to laugh off the fear of snakes.  My mom got bit by a (baby) copperhead a couple years ago.  Shes ok but it did a number on her.  Nothing wrong at all with a healthy fear of snakes, but a good pair of boots and a little bit of awareness will go a long way.  

[Gundog]

Spotted this rattler on the road going to one of my fishing spots. He was just sunning himself on a back road and didn't feel like moving. I took the photo from the car and thats as close as I got. 

 

[Jtrout]

Went fishing on my lunch break and had snakes on both sides of me lol they both are banded water snakes i let them be i think they were looking for an easy meal!

[Maxximus Redneckus]

humans are more dangerous then any animal we will encounter....be vigilant out here

[soflabasser]

Like others have said,watch where you step and wear a good pair of boots.Snakes usually only attack if you step on them,bother them,or get to close to them.This weekend I saw at least 3 cottonmouths(the biggest cottonmouth was over 4 feet long and thick)by the edge of the canal I was fishing at and they didn't bother me one bit.I made sure to keep a safe distance from them.Give them their space and you should be ok to fish with them around you.

[herbu]

On 5/28/2016 at 11:45 PM, Team9nine said:

If you actually have a lot of poisonous snakes around... I wouldn't worry too much about them.

And if you had a lot of poisonous snakes around, I wouldn't worry too much about them either.