For the life of me…why do they do this??

[NavyVet1204]

Seeing all the YouTubers fishing in the snakiest settings in flip flops and shorts. I bet it wouldn’t take but one or two water moccasins to change that for them. 
 

I always wear pants and lace up boots because of the close calls I’ve had in the past with venomous snakes. It could just be my neck of the woods and it’s critters to blame, but you won’t catch me in knee to chest high grass in the summer sun wearing anything less.

[Bird]

I'm a shorts and flip-flops fisherman but also seasoned with age. Never get out of the boat once launched.

 

[MN Fisher]

Closest poisonous snakes to me that we have in MN are timber rattlers down in the SE corner of the state---100 miles+ away.

 

I still wear long pants though - my legs would look like a lobster's after cooking.

[BigAngus752]

1 hour ago, NavyVet1204 said:

Seeing all the YouTubers fishing in the snakiest settings in flip flops and shorts. I bet it wouldn’t take but one or two water moccasins to change that for them. 
 

I always wear pants and lace up boots because of the close calls I’ve had in the past with venomous snakes. It could just be my neck of the woods and it’s critters to blame, but you won’t catch me in knee to chest high grass in the summer sun wearing anything less.

You certainly live in a snake-infested state.  I bet you also know alot of people.  I'm curious, do you personally know someone that has been bitten by a cottonmouth?  In a fishing situation like you describe?

[NavyVet1204]

6 hours ago, BigAngus752 said:

You certainly live in a snake-infested state.  I bet you also know alot of people.  I'm curious, do you personally know someone that has been bitten by a cottonmouth?  In a fishing situation like you describe?

Same guy. Twice.

 

He was running a trot line on the river and while up close on the bank pulling the line up out of the water one fell out of the tree limb(s) above his boat and into his boat. He lost the battle with the boat paddle and the snake and got popped on his right shin. He made it to the ramp, loaded his boat, and drove himself to the hospital 20ish miles away. He took a break from fishing for about the next two months and rest of that year he was fine. The next year was at the same boat ramp, but loading the boat after finishing the day out. Same foot nearly in the same exact area. 

[cyclops2]

Snakes have long memories.

 

A natural park swimming place. With loads of 2 to 4' sized boulders stacked on 1 side..  I was always visited by a pair of large Copper Head & Black water snake pair. They would come to about 10' of me.  I stopped visiting there.

[813basstard]

Flip flops and shorts are part of the Anglo Saxon uniform…it’s in the DNA. 
Snakes and spiders be damned. 

[BigAngus752]

2 hours ago, NavyVet1204 said:

Same guy. Twice.

 

He was running a trot line on the river and while up close on the bank pulling the line up out of the water one fell out of the tree limb(s) above his boat and into his boat. He lost the battle with the boat paddle and the snake and got popped on his right shin. He made it to the ramp, loaded his boat, and drove himself to the hospital 20ish miles away. He took a break from fishing for about the next two months and rest of that year he was fine. The next year was at the same boat ramp, but loading the boat after finishing the day out. Same foot nearly in the same exact area. 

Someone needs to buy him some boots for Xmas. 

[LrgmouthShad]

35 minutes ago, 813basstard said:

Flip flops and shorts are part of the Anglo Saxon uniform…it’s in the DNA. 
Snakes and spiders be damned. 

Jeans and flip flops in mine. Not in the kayak, mind you. 

[gim]

I sometimes see people with flip flops in their fishing boat and they take them off, so then they're essentially barefoot.  That doesn't sit well with me either.  Fishing involves hooks.  If you step on a hook barefoot, you have it coming.

 

I wear sandals a lot in the summer time fishing, but they are real sandals with backstraps and I never take them off to go fully barefoot.  I try to keep a clean boat because the dog comes with sometimes too.

[MN Fisher]

17 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I wear sandals a lot in the summer time fishing, but they are real sandals with backstraps and I never take them off to go fully barefoot.  I try to keep a clean boat because the dog comes with sometimes too.

I go even further - to prevent sunburning the tops of my feet

Hiking Sandals

[Finessegenics]

I wear closed shoes/boots when fishing whether it’s a boat, the bank, a dock or whatever, and I would wear them in a kayak too. Not taking any chances with hooks laying or flying around. If I had the added danger of snakes then I’d be even more inclined to wear shoes LOL

[Jmilburn76]

No cottonmouths in the area I live in, just copperheads and rattlers to look out for. 

[NavyVet1204]

There’s some times when I watch them on YouTube where they will literally walk nearly bare foot and with shorts on in areas where I couldn’t be paid to go with out a charmer(.22) and they are just Willy nilly 100mph lol.

 

God bless their determination to enjoy fishing in a way that’s comfortable for them.

[Log Catcher]

6 hours ago, Finessegenics said:

I wear closed shoes/boots when fishing whether it’s a boat, the bank, a dock or whatever, and I would wear them in a kayak too. Not taking any chances with hooks laying or flying around. If I had the added danger of snakes then I’d be even more inclined to wear shoes LOL

I also wear blue jeans and closed shoes all the time. I want all the protection I can get. Too many people would rather worry about comfort when safety is a lot more important.

[NHBull]