I've seen several people post about the snake biting you threw the boot. If it does happen to be a cottonmouth they have really small mouths to begin wth and can only bite you in places with loose skin are thin areas like between your fingers and toes or on the tips of those areas. just leave them alone and they will pass.

-James

I do believe you are confusing the cottonmouth with a coral snake. Almost all of the cottonmouths I have seen or killed have had larger heads with decent sized fangs.

Coral snakes have small heads that typically need an area of to chew on or bite that is small for them to inject their venom.
Seriously thought I have only seen 2 coral snakes in the wild in all my years of working cattle and spending time outdoors. Most of the time people confuse a banded king snake with a coral snake.

Had a water snake try to climb up my troll motor pole on Sun. afternoon. Had to be 5 feet long. Don't know what kind of snake it was, but it caught me off guard until his head popped onto the deck. I don't quite recall the noise I made as I swatted it with my pole, but I can assure you if any of my friends heard me make that noise, I would hear about it daily for ten years.

Very true. They do look nasty though. Probably why people mistake them.

I have seen a man hold a coral snake in his bare hands. He said they very docile and generally have bite you on the finger or the webbing between them.

I'm not certain of this but I beleive most copperhead and cottonmouth bites happen on the arms, hands and feet. Probably the same with the smaller rattle snake species as well. I'm not saying they can't bite you on the leg but I think it is pretty difficult to get their smaller mouths open far enough.

Diamondbacks and timbers can bite you where ever they can reach.

Watch where you step and don't mess with them when you do come across them. Pay speacial attention when crossing over top of fallen logs and try to avoid walking in lots of leaves. Unless you are moving very slowly you more than likely aren't going to see a copperhead in leaves.

I'm more worried about black widows and brown recluses than I ever have been on snakes. They are way sneekier and that I don't like.

Cotton mouth's are not very common. they are usualy no longer than 3' long. Color is almost black dark grey to black. 4 ways to tell if it's a poisonous, but you may not want to get that close. The shape of the head some people call it a triangle shaped head that's not realy accurate lots of snakes have a triangle shaped head that are not poisonous, if it is poisnous it will have a head that lookes like most pitvipers, you can look at the eyes, if they are round it is not poisonous, if the eyes are egg shaped it is. You can look at the tail if it is blunt or rounded at the end not pointed it is poisonous but non poisonous snakes somtimes get there tail chopped off making it look poisonous. Last you can look in it's mouth if it has fangs it is poisonous. As far as it being agressive. What makes it and copper heads so dangerous is they coil up seldom run most of the time they would not strike you unless you get way to close or step on them. Often a Cotton mouth will coil up placing it's head in the center of the coil ready to strike the inside of it's mouth is cotton white. Treat snakes like most wild animals leave them alone and they will leave you alone snakes play an important part in the Ecosystem don't kill them to just kill them. I am amazed at how many people just kill them, I have been called many times to identify a snake that someone has killed to find out it was a kingsnake which actualy eats poisonous snakes.

Does anyone know if snakes in general, can bite while under water or do they need to surface for this?

a snake can strike underwater, but you most likely would not come across a poisonous snake under the water. But sure if you pinned one up under the water step on it or say you were noodling under a tree and pinned one it could strike but would be about as much of a chance as getting hit by lighting.

I've been chased by cottonmouths on a couple of occasions, although both times the snakes were provoked (my younger days)
1st time a friend and I were throwing rocks at a couple of cottonmouths. They came out of the water and chased us up the bank. We sought refuge in the back of the pickup.
2nd time, dad and I were in a jon boat on a tank. I started taking pop shots at one with a .22. I never did hit it, just made it mad. It tried to get in the boat with us until dad beat it to death with the oar.

Cottonmouths can certainly bite you on the leg or anywhere else. Although a mature cottonmouth is typically around 3 ft long, (although they can be longer) that is not to imply they have a small mouth. They do not have to be coiled up to strike you either. Also cottonmouths bite and hold on unlike most snakes that just strike and let go.

Use to see a lot of them in South GA where I grew up. Lot of snakes in those swamps. Glad we do not have many to contend with here. They are some kind of ugly things................ Even dead which is the only way I want to see them.

...except that the largest recorded Agkistrodon (Cottonmouth) was 74" long and they can be a brown on brown similar to a Copperhead.

in response to has anyone ever had one come in the boat. I remember I was fishing on Calavaras Lake with my dad when I was a kid and this was back when the fishing and the lake was worth a dang. He used to carry a BB gun on the boat for popping snakes out of trees. When the fish weren't biting it was fun. Plus it tought me how to shoot with no one else around. Anyways; we pulled into a cove and we went under this tree where he saw one and he took a shot at it. He hit it and it fell to the water. The next thing that happened still gives me nightmares. That whole tree came ALIVE. I have never seen so many frickin snakes. They all started falling from the tree and on the deck of the boat. We looked like indians doing some kind of war dance on boat. Still don't like snakes to this day!