Sna.. Sna... Sna.. Snakes!!!!!!!!

[stevomac59]

I just noticed that there are a bunch of water moccasins out there on the water, HUGE ONES! Be careful out there y'all! What would happen if they were to jump into the boat! OH NO!


-stevo

[BigBassin144]

I was dissapointed a bit with my trip to Alabama cause I never got to see a snake. The great fishing made up for it though.

BB

[Lancer6]

Stevo,

Good news! The vast majority of the snakes you're seeing are non-venomous (though crabby) common water snakes. Please don't hurt them.
Why not do an internet search, perhaps "Water snakes of Texas"? You'll learn a lot and both you and the snakes will be the better for it. You'll be able to differentiate between the venomous and non-venomous species with relative ease.
The common water snakes are very curious and will approach, even attempt to board, your boat. While this can startle the porridge outta yew, there's no need to panic or harm the critter. Simply poke him over the side with a paddle, net, or your partner. If a real Cottonmouth comes aboard, it's time to become VERY careful and more aggressive. Still, there's no sense in killing even a Cottonmouth unless it's a "Him or me" thing.
Remember...God put them there for a reason. We can co-exist with them in total peace and harmony.


L6

[doc]

The smell alone usually gives a cottonmouth away

[hoytguy]

a couple years ago we were building a cabin next to a river and we would pack our own lunch. ab out ten minutes before lunch I went down to the river and found a foot long water snake while my cousin was putting tools away I slipped the snake into his lunch bucket. let me tell ya what when he reached for his sandwhinch I never laughed so hard. He screamed like a little girl!!!

[bamabassman]

well now bb.. didn't know you wanted to see dem slithering critters. they really don't hang out where we were too much. gotts go to the little creeks and some houses with creeks for them things. seems like i see em everywhere but at the river, hahahahaha. killed 3 last couple of weeks ago while at work. 2 were about 3 feet, one was a monster..4.5 feet and big around as my calf. at least he looked like it at 12"away from my foot. jumped about 30 feet, haha. and yea... he died a looong and painful death. caused me to lose another black wisker to grey gods. so he had to die.

and doc, that smell is usually your undershorts after seeing one real close. hahahaha.

[BigBassin144]

My dad wouldn't go out with me in the woods. His cousin would have let us borrow the 28 gauge.

BB

[pignjig]

Come on, guys. Seriously, how many of you big ol' bruisers are really afraid of snakes? The Big Guy in the Sky thought enough of them to put them here, so to speak. I'm just curious, not judging at all, but why not just "guide" them away like L6 wrote? My uncle had a terrible fear of snakes and would go on foot and out of his way to kill one. I guess I'm really very lucky that I don't fear them. Again, just curious.

-Pig

[WTL]

I told the Ohio contigent the other day that I took a shotgun with me to G'ville in case of snakes. At one point while fishing the elk river (not G'ville but on the way up) I had a small green snake fall into my boat and wander around the deck. I thought about the gun, but this thing was just cute so I let it find its way out. Besides, I didnt exactly want to blast a hole in my boat. Just the foot.

[pignjig]

When I was just a little larvae I caught a little green snake in a mayonnaise jar and took it to my room to play with. Like all crumbsnatchers, I soon lost interest and went back outside to play. After awhile, I remembered the snake and went back to play with it again but the snake was gone. I looked for it awhile but, again, lost interest. Later that night I heard a horrible scream and all kinds of racket coming from my parents room, so I ran in there as fast as I could go. My mom was up on the dresser screaming at my sister and me to stay away and call my dad because there was a huge snake in the room. I remember my dad came running up the stairs with a can of Schlitz and a golf shoe. We never saw the snake again and I never have told them where it came from.

[Lancer6]

To the "The only good snake is a dead snake" crowd:

The next time you are preparing for some outdoor fun take a moment to measure the diameter of each yer nuts. A calibrated calipers will serve nicely.
Then, if you've killed a snake during your excursion, repeat the measuring immediately upon returning home.
Are they any bigger now? No? Well, ain't THAT a shame?

L6

[bamabassman]

actually i really aren't scared of snakes....respect em, but not scared. i used to go looking for them eastern diamond backs down in south bamy. got a belt and wallet from one i found. now i want a couple of copper heads. they make beautiful hat bands for my stetson. oh yea pignjig...YEARS ago, me and my brother were playing with a green snake. making it swim back and forth across a mud puddle. it was fun till mom caught us, lol. boy what a whupping we got. hahaha. she stil talks about it sometimes. man...come to think of it we got in a lot of trouble over snkes and rats with mom. but one thing i truly am scared of is bees. yeller jackets swarmed me ....like 5 times as a kid i see one bee now, and i'll tear up the house or car trying to kill it, lmao. makes the wife just want to kill me, hahahahahaha.

[bothomas]

I'm with you on the yellow jackets bama. I got swarmed 2 times when I was a kid. Took over 30 stings both times. Yellow Jackets die a horrible death for my pleasure when they come around................................. Bastards...I hate those things.

[MrPhotographer06]

i'm not alergic to them.. but my dad has developed a deadly allergy to them so i wont be too brave.. but we killed a black snake behind the snake.. probally was eating rodents out of our big garden.. but i'm not a fan of snakes too much

[flfireman]

Afraid, yeah! Not afraid to say it. Do I kill them needlessly? No. Yes, I have seen some very large moccasins. Do I attempt to keep them away from the boat yes. Usually I just turn the trolling motor up a notch and move on. Have I whacked a few? Yes. I unfortunately do go threw some tight areas and having a moccasin at eye level is a bit disturbing. Sorry reaction time is everything at this point. Do my nuts get bigger? God I hope not, I already have enough trouble walking.

[bamabassman]

hahahahahahaha flfireman. ifn you're like me when i get eye to eye with a cottonmouth..everything shrinks. like i said, i ain't scared..just shocked is what i should have said. i, too, have whacked a few snakes in da water. that is what i meant by respecting them. but i have gone looking for them rattlers, and copperheads. cottonmouths aren't good hides. black snakes i leave alone. as well as corn and rat snakes. they eat the bad snakes as well as other rodents.

[pignjig]

Well, Bama and flfireman, that's some funny stuff! I can relate to being nose to nose with the venomous slitherers. Rattlesnakes and copperheads only as we don't have many (any?) cottonmouths in this part of Virginia. The shrinkage is...considerable at that moment, given the possible outcome. But, like you all, I never thought to kill them just for the sake of killing. As a HVAC technician, I ran into all kinds of critters under houses, in attics, etc. The worst, as some other guys have already commented, are the wasps, bees and hornets. Ain't nothing like being in a 120 degree attic and bumping into a wasp nest the size of a pineapple...

-Pig

[Lancer6]

Originally Posted by bothomas

I'm with you on the yellow jackets bama. I got swarmed 2 times when I was a kid. Took over 30 stings both times. Yellow Jackets die a horrible death for my pleasure when they come around................................. Bastards...I hate those things.

DITTO! (For the Loozianna crowd...DITTEAU!)

L6

[MississippiBoy]

Originally Posted by Lancer6

DITTO! (For the Loozianna crowd...DITTEAUX!)

L6

Get it right, Lancer...

[lowrider]

spiders

nuff said.

[bamabassman]

oh yea....spiders too. got bit by a brown recluse once. looked like a cancer hole in my leg. hurt like he--!!!!!

[stevomac59]

I hate snakes, well moccasins. I have had a bad experience with them. They chased me while I was trolling along a grass bed. scared the living POOP out of me. I tried to leave it alone, but it DIDN'T leave ME alone! As for bees and jackets, I hate them to, nothing hurts more than taking a swim and stepping on one of them on the way to the restroom! OUCH! (L6, notice the Punctuation...lol!!!!!!!!!!) Spiders are not that bad, although I do not LIKE them, I just IGNORE them... Although those chase as well.

-stevo

[WTL]

The problem with spiders is they live where you live, indoors. I lived in a house infested with recluses, and while I'm not sure I woke up a few times with weird necrotic bites. Snakes dont have a tendency to crawl in your bed while you sleep.

[stevomac59]

True, although those spiders tend to stay away from human activity, that's why they create webs where human activity is not available. However, curious spiders tend to crawl up your leg, and serve itself with a taste of WTL. LOL


-stevo

[bothomas]

P&J, didn't know you were an A/C man. Same here. We know all about crawling under houses and the red wasps that for whatever reason absolutely love 150 degree attics! As well as disconnects and inside of A/C panels. Any tech carries at least 2 cans of wasps spray all summer long. The wasps don't bother me as much though. They're like slow helicopters,,,,,yellow jackets,,,,,,,, they're like fricken migs!!!