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The snake question.
Reply With QuoteMan I wish I was as cool as the dudes on Discovery Channel when it comes to handling snakes, especially the venemous ones.
I still cringe at the sight of a snake. However it's the snake that you DON"T SEE that is most dangerous. Most snakes native to North American will not want to seek you out. We are way too big for them to see us as a food source. They see us as a predator if anything and they will defend themselves. Snake should be more afraid of us than we are of them.
I could tell you lots of good stories about my snake hunting adventures. Times when I was fishing all night long and had my fishing buddies dad blow a water snake up with his 12 gauge shotgun. Somehow the blast of a 12 guage shoulds a lot louder at 2am and in the dark of the night.
Just this last summer I saw a small water snake crossing the lake I was fishing. He appeared to be heading for my boat. I moved the boat to avoid him. Of course I was between the snake and the other shoreline where he was going and as I moved out of his way he swam past my boat and on toward the other shoreline.
When fishing on KY lake as a young boy I was told stories about cotton mouth's swimming into the fish cages and scaring the boat dock owner's wife. I never saw one of those snakes and maybe they just told us that to keep us out of the floating fish cages that were tied next to the dock. It worked. LOL
I have seen shows about snakes on the discovery channel where guys would step on cottonmouths on purpose to get them to bite. Some of those cottonmouths would only bite as a very last resort. Not all cottonmouths are like that and some may bite faster than the one shown on tv. But most snakes want to get away.
About the only time I would be worried is when or if I were wading in heavy brush in shallow water. I can remember warm spring days when I took the boat out in Cypress Bay by myself. This was back in the early 1960's when KY lake still had lots and lots of buck brush. I can remember seeing snakes hanging in the buckbrush. Today you read about Walley Marshal wading along the shallows plucking big slabs out from the buckbrush in 2ft of water. Now that is where the snakes would be most likey found. You see they like to eat fish also. I would not want to wade along and find a big snake hanging in the buckbrush at eye level only a few feet away. That would be something that I would want to avoid.
Now I see snakes around the edge of the lake that I fish all summer long. As long as you don't bother them they normally won't bother you.
If you do get bit by a snake seek medical help ASAP. Today they have antivenom that can reverse the effects of snake venon.
Have I ever shot a snake or beat a snake to death? Sure in the past. But today I leave them alone and enjoy them as part of nature.
Snakes help keep the population of rodents down. As long as they don't come into my house I leave them alone and let them do their thing.
The last snake I found in my back yard I carried over to the nearest brush pile where he would be safe from attack. He was blind in one eye. It was a big long black snake (non-poisonous) King snake. I am sure that he will find any rats that could be around the yard. He may even eat a bird or two or another smaller snake.
When fishing at night bring plenty of light so that you can see what is going on around you.
I wonder if the snakes are attracted to the light? I hope not. I would think that the sight of humans would scare them off.
Originally Posted by jcass
