Careful where you step 2024

airborne_angler reply :

Went to the closest lake to where I live today,just like I do on alot of other days during the week. I was fishing a rocky dam with lots of Rip Rap . I wanted to walk to another spot on the dam and as I started out I heard a "sizzle" .I figured out what it was and got a bit scared. It was a Rattlesnake and I couldnt get a view of him. It could of came out of any crevice in the rocks and gotten me. I gingerly walked away but for the rest of the day was crossing the rocks like they were eggshells.

cajun1977. reply :

time for a boat ;D

bassdocktor reply :

Definitely got lucky with that one.

Wildbillb reply :

I would have learned to walk on water real quick.

CrazedL.IFisherman reply :

Not a fan of the snake, one good thing about long island fishing in ny, no poisonous snakes

cartoonist reply :

Been there had one try and climb in my boat!!

slappy reply :

i got bit by a black water snake while bank fishing i must have walked up on its nest. It was about 3 ft long it didnt hurt as much as it scared the hell out of me luckily they arent poisonous. I was the last person that snake ever bit

Other. reply :

How do you all fear snakes? They fear you more then you fear them. They just have the guts to protect there nest and fight people 100x there size. If a gaint were to try and kill you all of you would run like wussys. But anyways you should be carfull were you step. Esspecialy on hallow logs. I onced steped on a old rotten log and it broke and 2 copperheads flew out. Im lucky that I did not step on them or I would be a gonner.

Snakemover reply :

As you can probably guess from my name, I remove snakes from peoples houses and other places they're not supposed to be. Most snakes are not agressive. Snakes rely on camouflage to keep from being seeing by predators and thier prey. To them WE are potential predators. They figure that we can't see them so they use the rattles as an audible warning. It's their way of saying "I'm here, so be careful where you step." You can step right next to a snake and just step away and MOST times it won't even strike. I say most times because it all depends on the temperment of that particular snake. If a snake is scared or in a bad mood, it will strike. Also, snakes are more likely to strike at ANY movement when they're at a certain point of their shed. When their eye scales are opaque, they can't see and they get nervous. As long as you're careful and don't actually threaten them, you can mind your biz and the snake will mind its own. Just my $.02 from experience with lots of snakes.

Matt Fly reply :

Quote
Not a fan of the snake, one good thing about long island fishing in ny, no poisonous snakes

I never have thought about what states didn't have posinous critters. I assumed they would be every where. Being from the South, your taught to look at an early age. Any other states boast of such. Not worrying about snakes would be nice.

Hookem

matt

Valascus reply :

I normally don't worry too much about snakes. They are definately quite a few of 'em in the areas I fish, but I generally keep a good eye out, step softly, and when one is sighted, give it a wide berth. Usually not a problem. Last time i was out fishing I sighted probably at least 5 different snakes. Don't know what kind they were, didn't really care to get that close to check. Just minded my own business and continued feeshin'.

Flatfish reply :

I don't like Snakes, period, I probally hurt myself worse than the snake would hurt me. I was taught early in life to respect and identify them, still don't like them. There are no snakes in Canada and after a couple of trips there I figured out why, the Mosquitos ate them to.

Raul reply :

Yup, we us southern boyz sure have to learn where we step at a very early age: rattlesnakes, fire ants and scorpions are what we have to deal with. Not to mention those red wasps that carry more fire power than an Apache helicopter, those black bumble bees ( who needs B52 when you got those ? ), all our thorny vegetation like huizache, mesquite, catnail and cacti, that grass that cuts like a knife and to finish, cow patties.

Man you gotta love the South !

BassKing813 reply :

I was bank fishing one time and almost stepped on a moccasin. I was about five feet from him and he bolted out and headed for the water. I got real lucky. Usually moccasins are extremely irritable and bad tempered.

Bud reply :

A 44 Mag with birdshot will take care of any snake I run across.

Hale reply :

Your idea of snakes not being on the mind would change real quick when you trample anywhere around the water down here in Florida. Cottnmouths (mocassins) are everywhere and they dont play; aggresive, and territorial! I was bit when I was 8 and it was not fun. I watched my friend (on the same lake) get bit six times from one of these. It tagged his calf a couple times in seconds and he fell down, it then took a couple bites into his hand and arm. My friend passed out from shock and the snake was going nowhere (coiled up poised by his head). All I could do was stand there and cry/shake uncontrollably (I was 12). He ended up loosing his leg from the whole thing.

Ask any of the florida boys here what happens when a cottonmouth gets in or near the boat. You would get less of a reaction out of a fisherman if you threw a bucket of AIDS riddled blood on them.

Toddn76 reply :

I am from Michigan and here we don't have to worry too much about snakes! I have heard that we do have water mocosins around here although I have never seen one. Has anyone from Mi. ever seen one?

Pond Hopper reply :

Same here in Illinois/Iowa. Although there are some poisonous snakes they arent that serious and also not very common. I normally am bank fishing ponds and have never ran into anything other than gardner/bull/water snakes in ten years. Although if they were a threat I would have to agree with the .357 with birdshot, or whatever caliber it was.

Corey

fishingrulz reply :

Quote
If a gaint were to try and kill you all of you would run like wussys. But anyways you should be carfull were you step. Esspecialy on hallow logs. I onced steped on a old rotten log and it broke and 2 copperheads flew out. Im lucky that I did not step on them or I would be a gonner.

so your telling me you wouldn't run away? that makes no sense. humans have a natural instinct to survive so if a giant came and tried to kill us and running away is the only way to survive then so be it your instincs tell you to run. you would run to. we would be running because we wouldn't have anything to combat this "giant". same thing with snakes...people don't like them because you can't see them and all it takes is a split second to go bye bye.

Tucson reply :

As another AZ resident I can testify that the first time you hear one buzz you react RIGHT NOW without thinking - lemme outta here! Must be some kind of automatic reflex action.

BTW - what lake are you referring to? Doesn't sound like Roosevelt.

Minuteman reply :

Found a fantastic spot last summer at a "shore fishing only" place near me. I couldn't believe other anglers were too scared to walk down the steep bank to get there. As I'm being very careful not to slip and slide down the bank into the water, I found myself standing right on an underground wasp nest.

I'll bet the fishing is better there than I even thought. Got stung about 30x and had them up my shorts and down my shirt.

Now that I think about it, if you ever find a nice spot and want to keep others away just scream BEES( or RATTLER) at the top of your lungs and run out of there. Maybe the word will get around and you'll have it to yourself next time.

senko_77 reply :

ouch!! did you run away, or did u jump in the water or did they just think you had enough stings

Troutfisher reply :

Don't care who I offend, I hate snakes.

Whopper-Stopper reply :

I occasionally fly fish a small creek for bass and it is loaded with snakes. None of them are venemous. They are actually called northern water snakes. A few years back I got bit by one and it got infected really bad. So when I go fish that creek I usually carry my .22 on my shoulder. I make sure the first round is bird shot so I don't shoot myself in the foot if one popped up between my legs while wading. Ouch! :'(

Snakes don't really protect their nests.

Troutfisher reply :

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A few years back I got bit by one and it got infected really bad. So when I go fish that creek I usually carry my .22 on my shoulder..

Amen brother.

tennsopher reply :

I carry a snake slayer made by Bond arms.It shoots 410. shotgun shells and 45. long colt.It is a derringer made in Texas.Like the man said,here in Florida,we have some interesting critters.There have been two bad gator attacks this year,one I know of causing a fatality.They can get nasty during mating season and several are larger than the boat I fish from.Like has been said,be aware of your environment and learn some about the critters that inhabit it.

Sam reply :

I got close to the bank on the Pamunkey River in my bass boat this past Saturday and heard something falling from a tree branch into the bushes in the water. I did not hang around to figure out what it was.

All wild animals will do their best to avoid humans, including fish. This situation changes when the animal 1) has young to protect; 2) feels threatned; or 3) is "attacked" (stepped on) by humans.

This is true for snakes as they are not sociable animals and do not want to have anything to do with humans.

However, it is true that every once in a while a human will encounter a snake and the animal will do what its instinct tells it to do: flee or fight.

I think I remember hearing that more people are struck by lightning in the USA then are bitten by snakes.

All I can add is those famous words my uncle told me when I was growing up in Louisiana, "Son, a snake and a leaky rubber have one thing in common. You don't f--- with either."

Good advice!

Hale reply :

tennsopher:

The gators are getting out of hand arent they? Im glad they just expanded the season and doubled the tag limit on them. There has been 3 fatalities in the last 6 months.

Koikus reply :

I learned from a very painful experience to be careful where you put your hands as well! About twenty years ago, my son and I were fishing my private lake. It was dusk and we were getting ready to leave the lake. I reached down to the water to pick up our stringer of catfish and crappie when all of a sudden-WHAM! There was a Copperhead at water level checking out our fish obviously. I didn't know for sure what type of viper had hit me, so I chased after it after he hit me and could see the patterns/markings. I drove my son and I to the hospital about 25 miles away. I got there right before I started getting violently ill. It's a myth that certain pit vipers like Rattlesnakes and Copperheads don't swim in the water. Far as I know, almost ALL snakes like a dip now and then.

Poor Richard reply :

Snakes alive! In response to Matt Fly and Toddn 76:

Other snakeless places: there aren't supposed to be any poisonous snakes in Washington State WEST OF THE CASCADES. However, EAST of the mountains are some of the meanest rattlers you'll ever see.

As for Michigan: we absolutely have only one poisonous snake, the little woods rattler called a massasauga. It is rare and very shy. I once saw a fellow on television who had been bitten over a hundred times. They filmed him trying to get one to bite him--it took him quite a while before succeeding, then afterwards he said he just felt a little sick. Well, some people stick their fingers in the mouths of toothy fishes, too.

Now here is the big message: folks up here think we have moccasins. We do not! The farthest north they get is Cairo Illinois. When someone yells moccasin in Michigan, it is invariably just our little natrix, the common northern water snake. Sometimes it is the Kirtland water snake, which is endangered. I have been assured by a friend that he has seen a copperhead; if so, it was somebody's pet.

I lived a long time in Pensacola, where very serious snakes live even on the university campus and in neighborhood holding ponds. Now here is the big trouble: You just NEVER KNOW. In one neighborhood, a man called the sheriff and said, "You'll probably think I am crazy, but I just saw a cobra." He was not crazy. This seven footer had gotten away from a collector, who was given a stern warning by the judge. Two weeks later a man called in and said, "My dog is out in the cul-de-sac hassling with a boa constrictor." By now, of course, everyone was clued in. This was an eight-footer and put an end to the collector's hobby once and for all. Then, of course, there is South Florida . . . .

I admit I would shoot a cottonmouth first and chat with him later. But the rest of the snakes should be left alone: they are useful, fascinating, and important in the big sense that the more wildlife we kill off, the weaker we become as a species. :'(

------------------------

"Life is hell, nature is a meatgrinder, we are a mean and pitiful species, and God is dead. I couldn't be happier; this is my kind of place," says Poor Richard's grumpy alter ego. Poor guy needs to go bass fishing, and soon!

Keithscatch reply :

Man that would suck bad if a Mocassin got in the boat. What would you do if it hid down under the cockpit? Wow, what a fiasco that would be. Guns don't work when you are in a boat with a snake in the boat haha.

Never had that experience and I hope I never do. But I have seen mocassins and they are dangerous and arrogant little snakes. To me they are better off dead then alive.

anglerintraining reply :

Quote
Your idea of snakes not being on the mind would change real quick when you trample anywhere around the water down here in Florida. Cottnmouths (mocassins) are everywhere and they dont play; aggresive, and territorial! I was bit when I was 8 and it was not fun. I watched my friend (on the same lake) get bit six times from one of these. It tagged his calf a couple times in seconds and he fell down, it then took a couple bites into his hand and arm. My friend passed out from shock and the snake was going nowhere (coiled up poised by his head). All I could do was stand there and cry/shake uncontrollably (I was 12). He ended up loosing his leg from the whole thing.
Ask any of the florida boys here what happens when a cottonmouth gets in or near the boat. You would get less of a reaction out of a fisherman if you threw a bucket of AIDS riddled blood on them.

Between that and the alligators, I have definitely scratched FLORIDA off my lists of places to ever live!

Matt Fly reply :

I see more spider bites at my hospital. So if the snakes, scorpions, bees, don't get ya, the spider is next in line.

Then comes the fire ants, they may not kill you, but can make you sick enough if bitten enough times.

We see lots of toddlers who get swarmed by fire ants. No excuse for having an toddler playing in areas without supervision and fire ants.

tennsopher reply :

Hale,

Have you ever been to lake Jessup? You couldnt pay me to night fish that lake.If you cross the 417 bridge when the waters calm its easy to spot a dozen on a hot day.

Poor Richard reply :

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the REALLY dangerous animals we all will meet no matter where we go. Besides bees and wasps, mentioned above (and if you are allergic, hope you've got your antidote with you), I would remind us of these three: least of the three, but way ahead of most snakes, is the Brown Recluse Spider. I've seen a few people crippled up by one of these nasty ladies, and have heard about many more. Its bite kills a big wad of flesh, and if that wad is in a main muscle, you are in trouble. You don't want one down your pants. Second is the mosquito, of which we have at least nineteen species in Michigan, one for each two weeks spanning early spring, summer, and late fall. A few subtropical diseases are showing up here, and we all know about bird flu.

But third and most obvious: "We have met the enemy and he is us," as Pogo so famously said. So watch your backcast and keep your head down. Knew a fellow once got a 4-ounce cobia jig up his nose on the caster's upswing. There, now you all get to keep that image for the rest of your life, too.

But these, of course, are the least of our dangerous ways. Tread lightly, sisters and brothers; worship your Mother Earth.

Oh, yes: watch out for the ever-present vampire bass. You thought they said "vampire bats," but you misheard. It is "vampire bass." The infection rate among competition bass fishermen is a closely guarded secret. But next time you are out there, be sure to watch to see who does and does not throw a reflection in the water.

basskickinsooner reply :

here in oklahoma we got some pretty bad moccasins i always see em but usually u drop a jig by there head and they leave ya alone but once i went with my brother in law doing a little bobber fishin in a little farm pond there a bunch of trees at this place so there were a lotta snakes specially moccasins in the water but we were just fishing on the bank an here comes a moccasin after his bobber it just kinda curled around it it wasnt a real big moccasin all ov a sudden i here a loud crack and his bobber aint there any more and neither is that snake i had yet to be informed that he brought his colt

stern reply :

In Mass. the only poisonous snakes i know of are copperheads

Hale reply :

tennspoher. Your right theres not enough money to go out there at night on the water. We used to sit on that bridge and hit em with the spotlight just to see all the red glowing eyes. Its definitely erie.

Enough with the spiders :'(

Kana reply :

this thread brings back lots of not so fond memories of fishing last summer. when i lived in Osaka japan (now in tokyo) the river i went to often had a few snakes, and not so little. average size was about 6 feet, not posionous i was told but thats still keeps you on your toes. another member that lives here in japan warned me of the poisionous snakes and sent me some pics, i appreciatted that! i dont like snakes but being from louisiana ive seen a few different nasty snakes and gators are far worse!

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Careful where you step 2024

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