Snakes

[Tooth Dr]

Memory tells me from Zoology, that a common water snake is a natrix, after 35 years memory is faint. This snake is somewhat similar in marking, but the major difference is the body. The bad boy is the cotton mouth. The cotton mouth has a short thick body with a wimpy tail. The natrix is more slender. I once had the opportunity to pick up a natrix from the bottom of a creek while searching for Hell Benders (Cryptobranchus) spelling? This was a class project with several members.

Dr T

[BlakeMolone]

Tooth Dr. It changed from natrix to nerodia.

[Drew9586]

Lots of people are afraid of snakes to some degree.  I, however, have a true case of ophidiaphobia (sp?).  I wake up at least once a week from nightmares about snakes.  If I see one while fishing I have to leave that part of the lake because, as crazy as it seems, I just cant convince myself that the sneaky thing isnt just trying to get out of sight so that he can come up behind me and bite me!  I have not been able to fish from shore for close to 20 years now!  I cant even walk out of my house (in the city where I have never seen a snake) and walk on grass without at least haveing shoes on, and I'm nervous as hell doing that (boots are much easier on my mind).  Dosnt matter if they are poisoness or not, they still scare me more than I could explain.  Makes fishing very difficult, to the point that fishing in winter is much more fun than in nicer weather!

All of this is said to remind you guys that do like snakes that you should exercize caution when handeling them or showing them to others as some of us just truly cant handle it.  For most of us with a real phobia often one traumatic experience is what truns a normal aversion into a phobia that haunts your whole life.  That traumatic experience, from talking to others with the same problem I have, can be as simple as seeing someone holding one, so please, exercise caution and good judgement in your interactions with others.

[slomoe]

Oddly enough, whenever we see snakes in the water, or along shore we tended to hit some nice bass.

That's interesting because last year, any time my fishing partner and I would see a snake the fishing would pick up. We started to consider the snakes good luck.

[shocker1310]

Washinton doesnt have western diamonbacks there actualy northern pacific rattlensakes.

washington is a northern pacific state  

[deadeye32.]

I hate snakes as much as much as anybody, but good lord Drew9586  I feel for ya bud.

[Big Mike in Fl]

I'm very sorry to hear it too drew, that's a tough one. I used to have a fairly frequent reoccuring dream/nightmare that involved snakes, always started with seeing a large diamond back, then I'd be rolling down a hill, or around on the ground,and I could never stop because if I did I would be landing on one and it would try to bite me...it was a weird dream that I've had for many many years, but I do not have a phobia, Isee them frequently when out bank fishing and have never had a major run in with one. altho I have considered getting a little pistol to carry on me for just such the occasion. because I have seen cotton mouths a few times, I've just been real good at avoiding them when I see 'em.

about 6 months ago I had to pin down a pygmy rattler while my girlfriend and her 3 year old walked by it because it was sitting on the trail where they had walked to fish. it was a good thing she saw it, a pygmy rattler would probably be fatal to a 3 yr old. but after they walked by, I let it go. I try not to kill any animal if I don't have a use for it, I love hunting and fishing, but I'd never kill an animal on purpose I didn't plan on using in some way.

[Ballpark Frank]

Most snakes I just leave alone but if I see a water moccasin I blast him.

I agree with you 100%. I have no problems with most snakes. The one exception is the Water Moccasin/Cottonmouth. I will kill every single one that I see, whether it is close to me or 100' downstream. I love to shore/bank fish and these &*%^#$@!!! are always around. I have have had too many close calls with them. Most snakes scurry away at the first hint of a human or make some kind of noise to warn. The first thing you see from the WM is the white mouth, and that could be too late. I have actually had them come straight at me from across a stream and in the lake. Those that do come across my path are greeted and subsequently killed by my own custom .38 Special shotshells that are blessed in the name of St. Patrick

[retiredbosn]

most anyone who has lived with the watermoccasin hates them.  I have seen them come up and sorta challenge you when you get near the water.  Most snakes run, but a moccasin will come after you.  I remember watching a show on Nat Geo lately where they were purposely trying to prod a wm into striking and the snake wouldn't from that one encounter the "snake man" declared all moccasins harmless.  Don't believe it for a second, those little bugers are nasty, aggressive and sometimes down right mean.

[TruflShufl]

Lots of people are afraid of snakes to some degree. I, however, have a true case of ophidiaphobia (sp?). I wake up at least once a week from nightmares about snakes. If I see one while fishing I have to leave that part of the lake because, as crazy as it seems, I just cant convince myself that the sneaky thing isnt just trying to get out of sight so that he can come up behind me and bite me! I have not been able to fish from shore for close to 20 years now! I cant even walk out of my house (in the city where I have never seen a snake) and walk on grass without at least haveing shoes on, and I'm nervous as hell doing that (boots are much easier on my mind). Dosnt matter if they are poisoness or not, they still scare me more than I could explain. Makes fishing very difficult, to the point that fishing in winter is much more fun than in nicer weather!

All of this is said to remind you guys that do like snakes that you should exercize caution when handeling them or showing them to others as some of us just truly cant handle it. For most of us with a real phobia often one traumatic experience is what truns a normal aversion into a phobia that haunts your whole life. That traumatic experience, from talking to others with the same problem I have, can be as simple as seeing someone holding one, so please, exercise caution and good judgement in your interactions with others.

I can't say I'm quite as bad as you but I refuse to hunt in the warmer months and I won't walk into the deep backwoods to fish. I avoid em at all costs. Doesn't matter if they're poisonous or aggressive or not, they creep me the heck out.

[fastcasterjo]

I dont like snakes and I tend to leave them alone but around my house snakes are always up to no good. I live on a farm and if a snake is within 200 feet of the chicken coop he might as well say his prayers. But if I see one out in the wild where it will do no harm to anything then I avoid and let it be. Sometimes though the deed needs to be done.  

[BassnMan Mike]

Everyone has weakness, Superman's is Kryptonite, mine is snakes! I plain dont like em and I'm a big guy, 6'3 275 with a 54 inch chest and 42 inch waist.

I once broke a co workers are because he was teasing me with a dead snake, yes he knew I didnt like snakes

[Micro]

Virginia is the northernmost that Cottonmouths occur in the US.  And my city has monsters.  One local reservoir has produced 72 inchers that were as big around as you forearm.  The trail around the lake even has signs.  But I've never had a problem with them.  I've walked up to them without knowing, stood next to them, and even accidentally squatted over one and never been bitten.  The only time I've ever seen one aggressive is when I've gotten between it and the water.  

[Micro]

Here's a baby I caught a few Octobers ago...

[Boett43]

I dont know why but snakes make me sick to my stomach lol  ;D. What kind of snakes are in Maryland??? haha

[BlakeMolone]

Thats an eastern cottonmouth rigt? There awsome snakes I just cant figure out why people have to kill ever snake they see even if there in the middle of nowhere and the snake isnt hurting anything! I enjoy herping( looking for reptiles and amphibians) as mutch or more as I do fishing and this post if making me sad lol :'(

[Sam]

Regarding snakes, I can remember those famous words of my uncle.

"Sam," he said, "a snake and a leaky condom have one thing in common.  You don't f*&% with either."

Words to live by.  

[Mrs. Matstone]

I have come across many snakes when I am out fishing and I find that if I leave them alone they leave me alone. Sometimes they come up right next to me when I am fishing. Most of the time I believe they are just soaking up the sun.

Here is a pic I took of one last summer that was my fishing buddy for a while.

This little cutie I saw the other day when I was out fishing.

[Tooth Dr]

The slender water snakes with the tapering tails are harmless.  The bad boy is the cotton mouth with the thick body, then a small tail.

While I was in college, our class went wading in the back-waters of a creek looking for Hell-Benders.  I forget the generic name (crytptobrancus?).   We came across a water snake (Natrix) laying on the bottom.  My professor, Jack S. Brown phd, picked the snake up and handed it to me.  I did not want the snake, but...

Dr T

[jdw174]

I work on a golf course on the shores of Kentucky Lake.  Around here, we're "blessed" with corn snakes, black racers, king snakes, ring snakes, garter snakes and a couple of various water snakes.  None of these are harmful and will do their best to get out of your way.  If I see one trying to get across the paved cart paths (on a warm day they can't grasp the slick asphalt to move very well), I'll stop and get it on it's way.  The King snakes are very welcome as they'll kill and eat Copperheads which we also have around.  We've even spotted a couple of big Cottonmouths near the lake.  These last two get dispatched with whatever we have available.  And did I mention the Black Widow and Brown Recluse spiders???????

[done]

IMO, if the snake gets out of my way, I am fine. As a avid fisher in the trout streams in NC, I loathe water moccasins. I have seen them go out of their way to come across a stream after a fisherman.

I will generally leave animals alone and do not go out of my way to kill something i am not hunting or fishing for but, when an animal shows aggression towards me, it gets it back. Got in a fight with a Canadian goose in Wilson creek in NC a couple years back. it waited till I was chest deep in water then came at my head. Had to beat it off with my fishing pole and net. There was an oldtimer in the shore laughing so hard he almost fell in.

[Micro]

Here's a typical adult Cottonmouth from my city of Newport News, Virginia. (This isn't me, its a fellow that participated in a the 2008 VA Herp Society's spring survey at Newport New Park). They do get bigger.

Here's a great guide to telling Cottonmouths from harmless waternsnakes...

http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/VHS/venomous-look-a-likes/cottonmouth-look-a-likes/cottonmouth.asp

Plus, one more picture I took of a juvenile Cottonmouth in Newport News, VA...

[Under the Radar]

For me there are 2 kinds of snakes.

A chicken snake and a Cobra.

If it doesn't have a chicken in it's mouth........

[1inStripes]

, when an animal shows aggression towards me, it gets it back. Got in a fight with a Canadian goose in Wilson creek in NC a couple years back. it waited till I was chest deep in water then came at my head. Had to beat it off with my fishing pole and net. There was an oldtimer in the shore laughing so hard he almost fell in.

I cant imagine no one not being able to keep from laughing about that.  Wilson sure does have some nice trout in it.

[BlakeMolone]

Awsome snakes Micro. Hopefully ill find my fisrt cottonmouth this year. Is all I find is copperheads No jk copperheads are cool to.