That's what he eats. Fish, not humans.

Sounds like I maybe hit a nerve, I guess I should have said "Hmmm, maybe so, but the catfish might have a difference of opinion."

I recall one Jimmy Houston fishing episode where he said his cameraman had been all over the world with him in tough conditions, never showed any fear at all even with lightning strikes close by. Then, a snake got on board one day and the video goes all nuts as he spins around and got real close to jumping out of the boat. It was so funny to see him go sort of nuts. But, he was THAT afraid of snakes.

Well, water moccasins are usually nocturnal feeders. You could hardly make one bite you. And, they are typically not very long, actually stubby and blunt tailed. What we mainly see around here are Diamondback water snakes and blotched water snakes and a few others. These are often well over 6 feet in length, stink to high heavens and are super aggressive.

And, what looks like a water moccasin getting ready to strike where it cocks its head and flares open its mouth is really a defensive mechanism. One biologist publishes YouTube videos on various reptiles found here in Texas and he'll nudge them with his boot and says he can never get them to strike. Quite passive as water snakes go but they have a bad reputation.

I don't think snakes are attracted to boats and kayaks either, just like Todd and others have mentioned, and certainly not to colors. I think what they see, bad vision and all, is something that looks like a structure they can climb up on mid swim across a wide cove. Or, they hear some commotion in the water, sound and vibrations, and that may be a trigger for them to swim toward it.

For other reasons, I carry an Attack Hand Paddle but it would be an excellent tool to discourage a confused snake.

Snakes don't like people, avoid us at all odds when they can.

Do be careful gliding under trees especially on rivers where they often overhang the water just lazily draped over a branch. Snakes likely like this because they can drop into the water very quickly to protect themselves. Snakes often climb up to sun themselves or even get out of the sun or just take a nap.

I used to catch baby water snakes bare handed, got bitten repeatedly one day handling my latest catch. My mother made me go to the doctor and he sort of chewed me out, said that while these were not venomous, that non-venomous snakes ate vermin and other things and could carry nasty germs in their mouths that would be bad for a human to come in contact with.

I ended up getting a shot that day of some sort . . . a decade later, in 1974, I had a degree in Biology with an emphasis in Environmental Sciences.

Attracted to snakes, away from snakes, then back to snakes. Go figure.

Brad

I'm chill!