Interesting thing we saw happen boating.

[96Pirate]

So we were in the middle of our launch routine and I had just dipped the boat and was in the water getting the strap unhooked when my wife yelled for me to get out of the water. When I got on the dock and ran to the stern there was a 6' long either Cottonmouth or Brown Water snake. Not really sure. It had already captured a fish that it was holding on to. As we watched it swam to the stern of my boat and coiled itself around one of the pumps tight up against the hull. I went back to the truck and finished launching and parking the truck and when I got back we think it was gone. Really hard to see. I was hoping it did not crawl up the exhaust outlet.

Unfortunately all our gear was in the boat so we could not snap a picture. Really pissed I did not have my phone with me at that point.

Anyone else see this happen before?

 

[Julian]

Not by the boat.....we were walking down the dock to our boat and there was a Copperhead trying to eat a small catfish....it was trying to get it out of the water, and the fish was obviously doing its best for that to not happen! We watched for a while and then went boating as the battle seemed to be a stalemate.

 

[haknslash]

Let it crawl up into the exhaust....and then cook that sucker at WOT for about 5 mins! J/K

There was a member on here (I think it was this forum) that beached his boat and it took days to get back to it and when he did there was a snake coiled up by the pump. There are two things in this world I hate and that's spiders and snakes. Both of them are going to die a painful death if I can help it. Well, expect for grand daddy long legs

 

[mraz72]

another + for my area (rochester). We don't have poisonous snakes swimming around, yuck. Yeah our summer is 10 weeks long, but we live through it!

 

[Gym]

So we were in the middle of our launch routine and I had just dipped the boat and was in the water getting the strap unhooked when my wife yelled for me to get out of the water. When I got on the dock and ran to the stern there was a 6' long either Cottonmouth or Brown Water snake. Not really sure. It had already captured a fish that it was holding on to. As we watched it swam to the stern of my boat and coiled itself around one of the pumps tight up against the hull. I went back to the truck and finished launching and parking the truck and when I got back we think it was gone. Really hard to see. I was hoping it did not crawl up the exhaust outlet.

Unfortunately all our gear was in the boat so we could not snap a picture. Really pissed I did not have my phone with me at that point.

Anyone else see this happen before?

You're lucky, my wife wouldn't have warned me.

 

[Speedling]

Spiders at my house get a death sentence.
You are hereby guilty of being a spider in my house and sentenced to death!

Snakes just die to the lawnmower.

 

[RightStuff]

 

[justason]

When I'm king...I'll make killing snakes illegal. Love 'em ! kill all the spiders you want

Where were you boating @96Pirate ? six feet is a formidable aquatic opponent !

NC water moccasins are wide ranging but more down-east than the central area. they are DARK drown typically with the signature white mouth. The brown water snakes (most common) looks a lot like a copperhead, but the pattern breaks on the sides whereas the copperheads pattern flows all around the snake consistently. The banded water snake can be dark like a moccasin....they're trickier to tell apart when you're trying to run on water !!

I don't believe copper heads swim by choice.
then there's the round eyes vs slotted and head shape etc etc...

bookmark this: http://www.bio.davidson.edu/projects/herpcons/herps_of_NC/snakes/snakes.html
download this: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snakes-bible/id446084938?mt=8

brown water snake:

copper head

moccosin habitat

moccasin

banded water snake

We have an outdoor shower at our lake....The snakes seem to LOVE hanging in the lattice ceiling......chicks DON'T dig it !!

one last "fun fact" to nerd it up more: NC is the only state in the USA home to all 5 flavors of venomous snakes the USA has to offer (I believe)....you're welcome

O wait..one more fun fact: Copperhead babies (yellow tail) are considered more dangerous that an adult...an adult will dry strike or throttle the venom based on threat level. A baby doesn't know how to do that and will give ya a full juicing !

-end transmission-

 

[Scuba_ref]

Lovely!

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I traipse through mangroves all the time , spiders everywhere, we use a stick in front of us to knock down the webs. I located two big killer bee hives that we stay away from. I run across snakes all the time but on one occasion My girlfriend and I were both leaning under a mangrove tree along the waters edge to pick up a fishing lure, when we noticed a large snake just a few inches away from it , the snake was staring at us so I told her to turn her head when I turned mine and when we look back the snake will be gone. And it was never stare down a snake if you leave them alone they usually leave you alone. I walked past a huge cotton mouth once while camping on a mangrove island, I looked at it and it looked at me as we both continued in opposite directions neither one of us made any aggressive moves toward the other. I also use a metal cane that makes a noise when I hit the ground with it as I walk so the snakes don't get surprised by me plowing through the mangroves .

 

[tdogg]

We had what I think was Prairie rattler in our camp last trip to Lake Powell. It was a first time for us and I've been going to that lake for over 20 yrs. He was about 4 feet long and had very subdued markings. The only definite marking was a single black band right before the rattlers on the tail. I need to download the pictures of him off the camera so I can share.

We were thankful that the dog's or kids didn't find him unexpectedly. He was about 15ft from the boat and our kids when my daughter noticed him on shore.

We let him go his way and I kept tabs on him as we were in the middle of packing up camp. A little unnerving but kind of cool to see up close.

Cheers,
Toby

 

[bronze_10]

I traipse through mangroves all the time , spiders everywhere, we use a stick in front of us to knock down the webs. I located two big killer bee hives that we stay away from. I run across snakes all the time but on one occasion My girlfriend and I were both leaning under a mangrove tree along the waters edge to pick up a fishing lure, when we noticed a large snake just a few inches away from it , the snake was staring at us so I told her to turn her head when I turned mine and when we look back the snake will be gone. And it was never stare down a snake if you leave them alone they usually leave you alone. I walked past a huge cotton mouth once while camping on a mangrove island, I looked at it and it looked at me as we both continued in opposite directions neither one of us made any aggressive moves toward the other. I also use a metal cane that makes a noise when I hit the ground with it as I walk so the snakes don't get surprised by me plowing through the mangroves .

Did you and that cotton mouth give each other the customary head nob as u walked by?

 

[AZDANSX230HO]

Let it crawl up into the exhaust....and then cook that sucker at WOT for about 5 mins! J/K

There was a member on here (I think it was this forum) that beached his boat and it took days to get back to it and when he did there was a snake coiled up by the pump. There are two things in this world I hate and that's spiders and snakes. Both of them are going to die a painful death if I can help it. Well, expect for grand daddy long legs

I am with you, hate spiders and snakes!!!

 

[robert843]

@justason I think South Carolina shares that snake distinction with NC also if I remember correctly every poisonous spider in the US can be found in our states as well. Welcome to the South right. I see snakes almost every trip here locally and see gators every second or third trip out so it's always interesting.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

This killer bee hive is actually about 3.5 feet tall and 1.5 feet wide conservatively, I took the picture from a very safe distance with no zoom on the camera I was walking through some mangroves as usual , my girlfriend was following me, I stopped told her to get away as fast and quietly as possible and then said but you have to see this , she looked at me like what the hell do you want me to do ??? get away or look at something ??? being a tough girl she decided to see what I was so concerned about then we both took off in a big way. If you ever get in a situation with killer bees they are actually wimpy and small looking , it is the numbers that kill you and the fact that they never let up. So run into the wind as far as you can because they do not have the wing strength to fly very well with a head wind.

 

[007]

This thread made me remember a photo I saw awhile back. I think this boat was on Lake Texoma...

If it were mine it would have a for sale sign on it!

 

[96Pirate]

When I'm king...I'll make killing snakes illegal. Love 'em ! kill all the spiders you want

Where were you boating @96Pirate ? six feet is a formidable aquatic opponent !

NC water moccasins are wide ranging but more down-east than the central area. they are DARK drown typically with the signature white mouth. The brown water snakes (most common) looks a lot like a copperhead, but the pattern breaks on the sides whereas the copperheads pattern flows all around the snake consistently. The banded water snake can be dark like a moccasin....they're trickier to tell apart when you're trying to run on water !!

I don't believe copper heads swim by choice.
then there's the round eyes vs slotted and head shape etc etc...

bookmark this: http://www.bio.davidson.edu/projects/herpcons/herps_of_NC/snakes/snakes.html
download this: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snakes-bible/id446084938?mt=8

brown water snake:

copper head

moccosin habitat

moccasin

banded water snake

We have an outdoor shower at our lake....The snakes seem to LOVE hanging in the lattice ceiling......chicks DON'T dig it !!

one last "fun fact" to nerd it up more: NC is the only state in the USA home to all 5 flavors of venomous snakes the USA has to offer (I believe)....you're welcome

O wait..one more fun fact: Copperhead babies (yellow tail) are considered more dangerous that an adult...an adult will dry strike or throttle the venom based on threat level. A baby doesn't know how to do that and will give ya a full juicing !

-end transmission-

Falls Lake at the 50 ramp. About 1:30 on Sat. Honestly I thought all Cottonmouths (water moccasins) were all black with faded patterns but a little research shows they are not. My wife said she thought it was one and I said no, can't be. I do think it was a brown water snake but not completely sure. Never got a good look at the head as he was moving pretty good and away from us. Came from under the dock. It had a yellow/tan pattern on it with almost like a straight stripe down the back, like your 1st pic.

I knew they were probably around but never saw one before and that close to everyone. I have no idea where it went though I was trying to not be the idiot holding up any of the ramps.

On a side note I have only once had to clean something from the pumps before. On Sat I had to do it twice. Lots of twigs in the water. Even saw a good size log floating.

 

[96Pirate]

You're lucky, my wife wouldn't have warned me.

Must have been because I reduced our life insurance. She has no reason to get rid of me now. Well that might not be the full truth.

 

[96Pirate]

Not by the boat.....we were walking down the dock to our boat and there was a Copperhead trying to eat a small catfish....it was trying to get it out of the water, and the fish was obviously doing its best for that to not happen! We watched for a while and then went boating as the battle seemed to be a stalemate.

I didn't think Copperheads got that close to the water. I was at a girl scout event with my daughter once in the fall and not a foot off a trail was a coiled up Copperhead. Scary to think a bunch of kids walked right by it.

 

[96Pirate]

View attachment 43831 I traipse through mangroves all the time , spiders everywhere, we use a stick in front of us to knock down the webs. I located two big killer bee hives that we stay away from. I run across snakes all the time but on one occasion My girlfriend and I were both leaning under a mangrove tree along the waters edge to pick up a fishing lure, when we noticed a large snake just a few inches away from it , the snake was staring at us so I told her to turn her head when I turned mine and when we look back the snake will be gone. And it was never stare down a snake if you leave them alone they usually leave you alone. I walked past a huge cotton mouth once while camping on a mangrove island, I looked at it and it looked at me as we both continued in opposite directions neither one of us made any aggressive moves toward the other. I also use a metal cane that makes a noise when I hit the ground with it as I walk so the snakes don't get surprised by me plowing through the mangroves .

Now go do that like on Naked & Afraid. Just please don't take any pics.