Man I hate snakes

[Bolt action]

Took family out camping over the weekend. Nice little private campground not far from home. They have a stocked, catch and release pond, so i thought it would be fun to take my youngest son fishing for bluegills and sunnies. I was telling one in when a snake jumped out of the water and latched onto the fish! It was probably 24 - 30 inches long and wouldn't let go. I've never seen anything like that before. Needless to say, no more swimming in that pond for us..

[Lawdwaz]

Like I said earlier about sushi and free boats, thanks but no thanks.    
 

BTW that looks like pit viper.    (To me anyway)

Edited August 1, 2022 by Lawdwaz

[Nytracker]

Uh-huh  machete  time .

[doebuck1234]

53 minutes ago, Nytracker said:

Uh-huh  machete  time .

X2,send it!

[Bolt action]

My buddy was adamant it was a water moccasin.. saw a few more smaller ones in the same area. After googling it I think it was a northern water snake. Not venomous, but aggressive and will bite people.

[Cory]

Definitely a water snake! Non venomous but surely aggressive.

[LET EM GROW]

Yea I hate snakes too especially these water snakes.. Theyre aggressive and have kept me from swimming in several natural water sources lol. Nothing more eerie feeling than swimming and seeing one directly over your head on the sunning bank.. or swim between your legs. Nope nope nope lol 

[Daveboone]

Common black watersnake. Harmless non poisonous, but are aggressive. And they get big! Pretty common to find a few of them sunning near each other on broken rock shoreline.

[mowin]

I smile every time my mower blades finds one.  

Have one pond I will not weed wack around once it warms up during the spring. Few times the dam things were coming after the mower.  Those snakes are big and do not like me at all.  Told the client he couldn't pay me enough to walk around that pond. 

[Jeremy K]

Nope

[Five Seasons]

10 hours ago, Bolt action said:

My buddy was adamant it was a water moccasin.. saw a few more smaller ones in the same area. After googling it I think it was a northern water snake. Not venomous, but aggressive and will bite people.

not up north. When I lived in MS I had a legit one cross the path in front of me on why way to a stand I had near a pond. Guys at work said I was lucky as they're some of the nastiest and most aggressive of the poisonous snakes. Said if you run it only encourages them to chase you down.

F the south, I'll take the winter and no poisonous creatures thank you.

[Paula]

That's crazy that it did that!

[Nomad]

Great pic !

if it makes you feel any better I used to hunt rattlers  in the deserts of Arizona.

Pvc pipe with coat hanger taped to the end in a V shape . 

Edited August 1, 2022 by Nomad

[grampy]

That is a northern water snake. Non venomous. But can get a bit aggressive.

I lived down south for a number of years in my early days. Came in contact with venomous snakes fairly often. never had one 'chase' me. A Cottonmouth, like any snake is more afraid of you. And will defend itself if provoked. Left alone, they are happy to just have you be on your way.

[Bolt action]

@Nomad that's a handy tool. I was thinking PVC with a rope through it that has a loop at the end. That way you could tighten the loop by pulling the rope. 

[Five Seasons]

3 minutes ago, grampy said:

That is a northern water snake. Non venomous. But can get a bit aggressive.

I lived down south for a number of years in my early days. Came in contact with venomous snakes fairly often. never had one 'chase' me. A Cottonmouth, like any snake is more afraid of you. And will defend itself if provoked. Left alone, they are happy to just have you be on your way.

well some life long southern boys in different groups and different settings told me different. Basically just don't scare them and startle them and you'll be fine. Not very different than advice given for any predator or animal you don't want to bite you. 

[grampy]

3 minutes ago, Belo said:

well some life long southern boys in different groups and different settings told me different. Basically just don't scare them and startle them and you'll be fine. Not very different than advice given for any predator or animal you don't want to bite you. 

I heard the same from some of the wildeyed southern boys I hung out with. Along with family that has lived there their whole lives too. Also heard they won't bother ya if ya just leave em alone. In my own many experiences, never did have one chase me. 

[BizCT]

Cool video this morning of a rattler in Dover (Dutchess County) on instagram

[turkeyfeathers]

3 sightings of rattlers in Letchworth by hikers recently

[Merlot]

16 hours ago, Bolt action said:

Took family out camping over the weekend. Nice little private campground not far from home. They have a stocked, catch and release pond, so i thought it would be fun to take my youngest son fishing for bluegills and sunnies. I was telling one in when a snake jumped out of the water and latched onto the fish! It was probably 24 - 30 inches long and wouldn't let go. I've never seen anything like that before. Needless to say, no more swimming in that pond for us..

Crikey...Where's the Crocodile hunter when you need him...Oh wait..never mind.

[cynthiafu]

5 hours ago, Belo said:

not up north. When I lived in MS I had a legit one cross the path in front of me on why way to a stand I had near a pond. Guys at work said I was lucky as they're some of the nastiest and most aggressive of the poisonous snakes. Said if you run it only encourages them to chase you down.

F the south, I'll take the winter and no poisonous creatures thank you.

We have 2 in New York.  Copper head and timber rattler

[grampy]

25 minutes ago, cynthiafu said:

We have 2 in New York.  Copper head and timber rattler

Actually three Cynthia. Along with the Copperhead and Timber Rattlesnake, we also have the Massasauga Rattlesnake. The Massasauga only lives in two small area of NY. Both are wetlands. One is NE of Syracuse. The other is a bit West of Rochester.

[Five Seasons]

57 minutes ago, cynthiafu said:

We have 2 in New York.  Copper head and timber rattler

very rare though. In just 3 years in MS I encountered 3 or 4 cottonmouths. 

[Nomad]

5 hours ago, Bolt action said:

@Nomad that's a handy tool. I was thinking PVC with a rope through it that has a loop at the end. That way you could tighten the loop by pulling the rope. 

We did that too, I don’t really recommend the bent coat hanger way . We had a short piece of pvc attached to the end of the longer piece , the cord went through both , it was tied off at the end of the short piece ( washer )  then up,through the long piece where you’d pull,it . It’s easier to keep the loop free and open that way .

Once caught we’d head shoot it with .22 bird shot, we’d also cover the guy working  the pvc as those snakes were not happy, and .22 bird shot to my foot was preferable to a .22 solid .

 

[cynthiafu]

18 hours ago, grampy said:

Actually three Cynthia. Along with the Copperhead and Timber Rattlesnake, we also have the Massasauga Rattlesnake. The Massasauga only lives in two small area of NY. Both are wetlands. One is NE of Syracuse. The other is a bit West of Rochester.

Never heard of that one . I have seen 3 copperheads  in all my years of hiking and hunting  and I have only seen 2 timbers and they were up at lake placid .