When I was 19, I did construction/landscaping for a summer in Dallas.

We were working at a huge house on Turtle Creek in Highland Park. This cabellero named Pancho saw a water moccasin curled up along the bank and quicly took the shoe lace out of his work boots.

He then fashioned a noose out of it and I'll be danged if he didn't slip it around that snake's head and catch him. He then dispatched the nasty thing and skinned it. Took the meat home and ate it.

All happened in like 5 minutes...I think I was in a trancelike state as I couldn't believe what I was watching.

I was minding my own business in 2005 when I reached up on a shelf in my garage to grab a bag of dog food one evening and was bitten by a copperhead so I'll happily play the part of an ignorant fool when I see a snake from here on out. I don't like them and I have every right not to like them.

Cotton Mouths emit a foul musky odor used as a defense mechanism. Also look at tail region sort of " stumps ", not long and skinny

That is nothing more that a Python Rattler Pit Viper that eats minnows.

how long was the recovery on that bite? I had a friend that was bit on the hand by a copperhead, and had total arm reconstruction surgery. They almost had to amputate her arm. Very bad bite!

Normally I just ignore the snake, but in this case if that guy was trying to crawl up in my boat I would have given him a couple of warning shots then smacked the heck out of him for the pic of the snake that was messing with me.

Come join us in the bass post and sign up for the cottonmouth tourney! Read the post and let me know, Lance

rodney carrington on snake hunting.. i'll take his side on this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12VpX5MNCCs

1:14-1:48 (first part's pretty good too)

Holy crud!

I think if that snake would have came in the boat with me.... he would have owned a new bass rig

A good reason I do not have a gun in boats. I would be balancing on top of outboard cowling screaming like a 5y/o girl and in the process of emptying EVERY round of ammo into snake and through the bottom of the boat.

There are some monster snakes at Fork!!!!!!

I'd love to run across a rat snake that big. Way, way cool. Especially one that comes to me and I don't have to untangle it out of a brush pile, etc.

Yes, they are just two names for the same snake.

I agree - I don't understand a) why the fear factor and b) why kill them - I have pulled many snakes out of my boat usually with some smirming sissy on top of the cawling.

Leave them alone - they're part of the experiance.