Nvatexan's encounter with a moccasin reminded me of a frightening event that took place several years ago. I was tubing up at Raybob with a buddy. We were fishing in the Buck Creek area. We had different ideas on where the fish were biting, so we decided to separate for awhile, then meet up at a designated time.

The details of this event are somewhat unclear, due to the state of my friend at its conclusion. Apparently, my buddy, who had gone east of the 377 bridge, was fishing a heavily timbered stretch of shoreline. The fish were fairly inactive, so he was very slowly working a jig in the thick stuff. The sun was not yet up, but the sky was brightening, and visibility was decent, if not good. As he slowly worked the jig, he got the strange sense that something had bumped the back of his Togiak. He dismissed the thought and slowly moved the jig again. Thump--now he felt something against the seat back. He was certain when he heard a soft brushing sound. Terrified, he very slowly looked over his shoulder. He could not see much, but he saw enough--a brownish, scaly tail hanging over the edge of the tube's back end.

Sweat began pouring profusely from my friend's face as his mind raced with how he could react. Not wanting to alarm the snake and being in no position to deal with it as he sat with his back to the snake, he decided to sit as still as possible--surely the snake would soon depart. The snake had other plans. As my friend sat motionless, the sun peeked over the trees, bathing the front of the tube with its warming rays. The snake, not content to be in the shady side, decided to move to a more advantageous position. Incredibly, the snake poked his head under the sweaty, but frozen left arm of my friend, and he slithered onto the black stripping apron on the front of the tube, where he curled into a contented position.

My friend was now beyond terrified. He dared not move, and even tried to breathe as softly as possible. His eyes burned from sweat, and yet he tried not to blink or look directly at the snake. His muscles began to ache as the minutes turned into what seemed like hours.

When our meeting time came and went, I imagined my partner must have gotten into the fish, so I went off to find him. After about 15 minutes, I saw the distinct yellow and black of his Togiak, and I headed in his direction. As I neared him, I called out, asking if he had caught any. I got no reply, and began to wonder if he had fallen asleep in his tube. As I got nearer, I became concerned, as he continued to give no response to my questions. About 20 yards off, I first noticed the unmistakable shape of a moccasin swimming towards the shore, away from my partner.

Now very worried, I quickly kicked in his direction, fearing he had been struck by the snake. I pulled up beside him and frantically asked, "Are you okay? Were you bit?" No response. I reached out and spun his tube towards me. His entire body was stiff, his eyes red and swollen. His legs were rigid in front of his tube, and his fins sticking out of the water. I reached down and grabbed a fin and began shaking, trying to bring him out of it. I pulled his leg...just like I'm pulling yours! Happy fishing, everyone!

That ain't right...

I shoulda known...

Thats was good!!! You got me.

-Chuckles-

That's Sorry story to tell a fellow tube fisherman

Even better than the first time he told it!

Shhhhh! It's a first issue!

Man that was good.

i thought with a good imagination that maybe the snake crawled into his shorts or something like that.

Man that was good. I hardly ever have the patience to read long posts, but this one got me sucked in. You just caught yourself a 200 lb human. I sure hope you are into catch and release:)

Funny thing was I was just at Buck creek last weekend with a group of guys tubing. Of course I was hooked. I sent to the group and was immediately banned from any more communications....lol.

thats funny right there I dont care who you are....

You got me!

My close encounter with a snake came in the evening as the sun was setting. I had worked down a rip rap bank and was making my way to shore when I spotted a snake...I just circled wide and went on to shore. I didn't like that I had got so close to the snake before seeing him.

LOL!! got me too!

Mavs

That was wrong. You got me. Good one.

Years ago I tossed my tube in a local pond before daybreak for early morning topwater action. This was my first time ever in this pond and I had never seen anyone else fish it. A fog had rolled in and the air was very still and thick. This was a fairly large pond so I had peddled about 100 yards from the only good put in/take out spot. I had caught one nice bass on a Pop-R and was just enjoying the serenity when I heard a very large crash, then splash! it was obvious that something had just come off the bank and it was just stating to get where I could barely see. Fact was, the fog was so thick I couldn't make out the shoreline any more, only had about 15' of visibility. I couldn't even tell what direction was what. First thing that flashed through my mind was ALLIGATOR! Good thing I was sitting in the water cause I pissed myself. I sat there like a stick for about 30 minutes, afraid to breath, straining my eyes trying to pick up what had just come off the bank. Finally the fog cleared enough for me to pick out a large wake between me and the bank. Turns out it was the biggest nutria I had ever seen. But talk about SCARED! My heart rate finally slowed enough for me to get back to fishing, though!

what about the time you came up on that alligator and..... ?
:):):)

Not cool, not cool at all.
I come from the land of no harmful water snakes and the one worry I have while tubing in TX is running into a ticked off water moccasin.
Now let's burn this into my memory-
moccasins swim with their body submerged and their head held up right...moccasins swim with their body submerged and their head held up right... moccasins swim with their body submerged and their head held up right...moccasins swim with their body submerged and their head held up right...

Jim,

Not sure if you made those comments as a joke or not. In the spirit of keeping less knowledgeable readers up to speed....since the Water Moccasin and CottonMouth are the same snake, remember this mantra..."COTTON FLOATS".

Water Moccasins swim distinctly above the water.

nvatexan will attest to that!

yessir! They float!

That bottom picture looks very familiar!

great story....I hate it when they are coming at you, then go under water

i am glad all we have in west tx is rattlers.

It's stories like that that give old farts like me heart attacks!! Good story, but I think I've change my mind about trying tube fishing.

You be bad.

Or whose been scared to death by a beaver splash right next to them. I've had that happen may times... Its even scares me when I know there's a beaver closeby, and anticipate the splash. Those things sure are annoying!


BTW, speaking of gators, would you floattube in a small lake if you KNOW it has gators (say, you just saw a 7ft gator, would you still put in?)

nope, but I get skeered by growling critters on the shoreline.

I'm looking to start tube fishing. Snakes are my only concern. Have either of you ever had an upclose encounter with a snake? If so, what did you do? I'm sure the chances are slim but i have seen snakes swimming along the coast of Lake Lewisville.
Thanks,
Ed

Boooooo, that ain't right. I just moved here from San Diego, and while reading that I decided that I will never tube again!!! I don't think we as Californians are built for this!

JZ

Two weeks ago I was fished a pond that is relatively unknown and is above a river in the north houston area. As I was working my way back in my tube I happened to glance to the right and about 20 yards away was about a 9 foot alligator. Needless to say, I paddled my way out of that pond, towing a little more weight than I brought in. I hope Texas doesn't start to have the same gator problems as Florida.

Man I really got into that one lol

You got me, because it's plausable. I have been in some nasty, snaky looking places, it's kinda why I tube, to get to the outta way places the boats have a hard time getting to. I've seen hundreds and hundreds of snakes and been amongst dozens at a time. Fortunetly, not one of them has been a cottonmouth , most have been blotched watersnakes, but I don't want them in my tube with me. It seems like most of them veiw a tube float as an irresistable basking spot until you wave at them to let you know you're a person. But the scariest thing I've incountered was a turtle. While fishing in a river, I noticed the water was exceptionally clear, and just happened to look down and see the largest snapper I'd ever see coming up after my foot. Having fed pet turtles, I recognized that look and immediately poked it the head with my rod, the water turned murky when I spooked it, and I lost sight of it. I went to clearer upstream water and never saw it again. Talk about pulling legs!!! True story, scared me half to death.