03-08-2023, 06:42 PM
Frogs, gators, and snakes. I don't have anywhere near the experience that Tube Dude does. I started fishing as a young boy in central California, then in and around southern California, Arizona, and Nevada. Gigged lots of frogs in the marsh areas at the edges of the Sacramento river. Came across a few snakes (mostly rattlers) fortunately at a distance and avoided them. Dad taught me basic recognition and preventative actions to avoid getting bit. But it wasn't till I entered the Air Force and was stationed at my first duty assignment in central Georgia that I had to learn about gators and Cotton Mouths (water moccasins).
My first supervisor at Robins AFB (SSgt. George Pierce) had just bought a brand new Ranger Bass boat, and invited me to go fishing with him. I don't remember what body of water we were at, but it had lots of cypress stumps just below the water level and sticking up above the water a foot or so. Along the banks of the water were lots of tress that hung over the water, providing shaded water that was yielding some good size large mouth bass, and big Catfish off the bottom.
In several places, my boss, since he was at the bow of the boat controlling the bow mount trolling motor, would slowly edge the boat under tree branches that were just barely above our heads when standing. We had been doing that for an hour or so and had caught and released several nice bass, and had a live well half full of nice channel cats we planned to take to his place for a fish fry. At one particularly low hanging tree branch, he had to lift the branch to get the boat under it. He warned me he was letting go of the branch so it wouldn't slap me (I was on the stern casting deck) and as that branch swung back over the center of the boat, something about 2 feet long, dark almost black, and about 2 inches in diameter, fell out of it. I initially thought it was a dead branch and was going to move it out of the boat. As I got ready to reach for it I saw it move, realized it was a snake, but didn't know what kind. I yelled out to George, "Hey George, there's a snake just fell in the boat" He turned around, saw the snake, picked up one of his spare rods, stuck it under the snakes belly and flipped it back off into the water.
We finished our fishing day and on our way to his home, I got an education about cotton mouths. I had grown up knowing that most snakes, even western diamond backs and other venomous and non venomous snakes for the most part would avoid contact with humans, but had never encountered a water moccasin and had never been educated about them.
I learned that day from my boss, an older guy from Alabama, that UNLIKE rattlers, moccasins are aggressive and will attack towards things that get within their range, and they don't have rattles, so they can't warn.
I spent 16 years during and after my military career living and fishing in Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama. I saw and avoided numerous moccasins in those years. And killed a couple that had made it up from the creek into my back yard. Had a coworker and friend in Georgia bitten by one. Fortunately he was close to an emergency medical center and was able to quickly get anti-venom.
My first supervisor at Robins AFB (SSgt. George Pierce) had just bought a brand new Ranger Bass boat, and invited me to go fishing with him. I don't remember what body of water we were at, but it had lots of cypress stumps just below the water level and sticking up above the water a foot or so. Along the banks of the water were lots of tress that hung over the water, providing shaded water that was yielding some good size large mouth bass, and big Catfish off the bottom.
In several places, my boss, since he was at the bow of the boat controlling the bow mount trolling motor, would slowly edge the boat under tree branches that were just barely above our heads when standing. We had been doing that for an hour or so and had caught and released several nice bass, and had a live well half full of nice channel cats we planned to take to his place for a fish fry. At one particularly low hanging tree branch, he had to lift the branch to get the boat under it. He warned me he was letting go of the branch so it wouldn't slap me (I was on the stern casting deck) and as that branch swung back over the center of the boat, something about 2 feet long, dark almost black, and about 2 inches in diameter, fell out of it. I initially thought it was a dead branch and was going to move it out of the boat. As I got ready to reach for it I saw it move, realized it was a snake, but didn't know what kind. I yelled out to George, "Hey George, there's a snake just fell in the boat" He turned around, saw the snake, picked up one of his spare rods, stuck it under the snakes belly and flipped it back off into the water.
We finished our fishing day and on our way to his home, I got an education about cotton mouths. I had grown up knowing that most snakes, even western diamond backs and other venomous and non venomous snakes for the most part would avoid contact with humans, but had never encountered a water moccasin and had never been educated about them.
I learned that day from my boss, an older guy from Alabama, that UNLIKE rattlers, moccasins are aggressive and will attack towards things that get within their range, and they don't have rattles, so they can't warn.
I spent 16 years during and after my military career living and fishing in Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama. I saw and avoided numerous moccasins in those years. And killed a couple that had made it up from the creek into my back yard. Had a coworker and friend in Georgia bitten by one. Fortunately he was close to an emergency medical center and was able to quickly get anti-venom.
"OCD = Obsessive Catfish Disorder "
Or so it says on my license plate holder
Or so it says on my license plate holder