I want to hear people's stories about their confrontations with snakes, whether they were poisonous or not. I'm not talking about you walking around the back of the truck on top of your buddy taking a whiz. Let's keep these stories in the wild, not something that happened to you in biology class :p :p :p I'll post later on this.

Hmmm, snook stories. Yeah, seeing how I lived in Walla Walla, I got a few rattle snook stories for you.

Was fly fishing on the lower Wally Wally for anything that would bite a fly. I had just moved down stream a bit, and was standing on the edge of the river when I felt something tapping against my rubber Hodgeman wader. Looking down, I noticed a cute little 6" rattler striking at my boot! How cute. Stomp! Nowadays, I wouldn't have killed that poor little snook.

The next rattler story came a few years later when I was up on the Snook River fishing for carp above one of the Dams. Yes, carp. Was using a bow and arrow. Actually, we could have cared less about the carp and more to the point that it was just damn fun to shoot arrows at fish. Most of the river bank was nothing more than huge boulders. As I was walking down and across these huge boulders to get to the river, I stepped down on to a boulder and immediately heard something growl and hiss at me. At first, I figured it was a rat. It really did sound like an animal and not a snook. As I looked down, I damn near pissed my pants as I realized that I had just stepped within inches of a 6' long rattler that was completely laid out and sunning itself! Naturally, I froze solid and I swear that every hair on my body stood straight up in fear!!! Fortunately, the snook never did coil up and strike. After what seemed like an eternity (more like a few seconds), the big old snook slowly slid away in the rocks. Oh, did I mention that I was wearing tennis shoes with no socks? In any case, I think I set the US Olympic Record in the "Getting the hell off the rocks" event.

Less interesting stories include killing the copperhead snooks in Missouri back when I was a kid on vacation. Every morning, I'd have to get up and kill the copperheads that were eating the dog food out of the dog dish. Won't even talk about the day I brought home to Grandma a Folgers can full of garter snooks. That didn't go over so well, seeing how Grandma was deathly afraid of all snooks.

Parker
The Snook Hunter

Back in Kentucky and Indiana we had these creatures called water moccasins which were some sort of horrible poisionous snake supposedly. When the waters all warmed up in the summer they would hatch in the rivers and lakes. Used to hear about people stepping on "nests" in the water and thinking they were completely entangled in barbed wire. Seems like once a summer you would read about some poor water skier or fisherman falling into a big nest and ending up floating down the river.

The first run-in I had with a snake was when I went to buy my first truck. Damned thing had me hypnotized, so much so that I never really looked at what I was signing!!!! At least we can learn from our mistakes.

Second run-in with a snake was on an October muzzleloader hunt for mule deer above Vantage. I had seen about 15 or so mulies moving down to the river from about a mile away and decided to follow them down.

I parked my "second" truck (no snakes directly involved) and started cutting over the series of ridges between me and the deer. The deer had gone down one of the many gullies in the lower part of the gorge, so I decided to run/trot part of the way to close the distance a little quicker. About halfway there I came to a small boulder field and started making my way across. Two steps into the boulders I felt a slap on my pantleg and heard this loud buzzing sound. I looked down to see a 3 foot rattler trying to get back into a striking position. Those two steps in became one long leap out. After I backed up and checked the ground around me, I looked across the boulder field and saw a fair amount of movement. There were at least 50 rat sized animals moving all around this field. They turned out to be what some folks call "greydiggers". I looked a little closer and also saw 5 rattlers in this boulder field that was about a 200' long and 50' wide. I checked my leg, no bite!

I found a way aound the boulders, and only walked in open terrain on my way down to the mule deer. I got within 50 yards and there were no legal bucks, only 2 points and spikes. It was a 3 point or better unit.

I spent the next three days above the 2500 foot level, saw two legal bucks but couldn't get close, shot my limit of grouse each day, and didn't see another snake.

I still go back for the grouse and deer up high, but I won't go down there again without snow on the ground.

Andy

This logic is the same kind that is employed by hunters who every year kill dozens and dozens of road signs.

"I didn't want to eat the sign or nuthin, it wuz just damn fun to shoot at it"

lmao lmao lmao lmao heeee larious Fobb.

P.E.T.R.S.

People for the ethical treatment of road signs. :p :p :p

Bruce, those "nests" very well exist. It usually comes about when a couple of females come into heat. Then all the swinging **** male snakes come a slitherin'. I may post a story or two about those nests tomorrow when I post confrontational snake material.

Did you know that if you take these little gardener snakes we have around here by the tail and snap them like a whip you will knock their heads clean off? Rates right up there with pulling the legs off of flys and torching kitties with magnifying glasses .

Other PETA posts,

People eatin' tasty animals
(sheep don't count!)

People entertained (by) talented animals

I thought PETA was " Painful Enemas To All"

After all, thats all they accomplish.

I was cleaning up old rotted fire wood and there were just tons of garter snakes around so I picked them up and put them in a grocery bag. I have a hunting buddy that is deathly afaid of snakes. so I pick him up for a afternoon of scouting for deer. I ask for a beer in the grocery bag he reached into the bag and you should have seen it scairt the beejezsus out of him. Well I forgot the binoks so we went back to my house to get them. As we walk out of the house there sitting on the porch is a grocery bag neatly had the top folded just like before. He had on sandles so he reared back and gave it a vicious kick. Well it wasn't snakes I laughed so hard I was crying as he was shaking the Dog poop off of his foot. My daughter had just cleaned the kennels and set it out be disposed of. I still get a hard time about that one.

I have been around snakes since I was a kid, as my Dad was a herpetologist for a while. He caught the 20 foot Anaconda in the movie Robinson Carusoe.

When I lived in Lyle Washington, and was commuting to the Martin Marietta smelting plant for work at nights, I would always come across rattle snakes laying on the asphalt at night. After seeing this a few times, I decided to start catching a few and brought them home to let go by the Klickitat river.

My jeep broke down and I had to use my Moms' Honda Civic to go to work one night. I loaded up my snake stick and pillow case and headed to work. Needless to say, it was a bumper night for rattlers, and managed to get 6 of them squeezed in to a knotted Pillow case. Went to bed, and was abruptly woken up by my mother beating me in the head with a broom. She evidently didn't take to kindly to moving the pillow case in the back seat of her car, and hearing 6 rattle snakes go apesh!t in the pillow case. I had to get a ride to work from my neighbor until my jeep was repaired. Gotta love Moms'.

Hey now, as God as my witness, I've never shot a road sign!

Honestly, I don't think we ever hit a carp. I just said we shot "at" the carp. It's not like we're talking about The Redneck and the Dukes of Hazard here with some fancy compound bow and shooting sticks of dynomite at the carp! More like some old $5 re-curve bow and some wooden arrows.

Ah, youth. Ah, The Dukes of Harard. Did you realize that the reason they were using compound bows and sticks of Dyn-O-Mite was because they were on parole for firearms violations! Too damn funny!

Parker

In my best Homer Simpson:

Mmm Daaaisy Duuuke, ARRGLRGLRGL!

Hey Parker, you are very lucky that the baby rattler did not get penetration, they are the worst because they have no contol over their venom doses yet! You get ALL that they got!

MB

[ 06-20-2001: Message edited by: MasterBaiter ]

Howdy.

Fishing at Rocky Ford Creek is always good for seeing a rattler or two. Back in my college days I was tromping along the bank where the lower hatchery runway was, and pretty much the only moving water around there. As I watched the river and not my feet as I walked through the rocks, I stepped right on a four footer. I was actually standing on it, about eight inches from its head.

The snake wrapped its body around my boot up my calf and bit my boot about a dozen times until I could whack it with a softball sized rock that I leaned over and retreived from the ground. Somehow I managed it without breaking my ankle, only took one throw.

Not being one to waste wildlife, I deep fried it that night on my camp stove.

Tastes like chicken.

I also have a snakeskin band on my cowboy hat.

I have some relatives in Missouri and we used my uncle's .45 to shoot water moccasins in the creek on their ranch. I personally didn't have a problem with the snakes, but they would bite the occasional cow that would go down to water at the creek. That seemed to be pretty much standard practice around there.

I was fishing in a canoe there, as well, and I saw a couple of snakes actually drop out of trees and swim up to the boat. The guy at the sport shop where I bought my license said that if I planned on fishing the river that I shouldn't land the canoe except where there was a clear beach with no trees. He said they'd drop right in the boat if you floated under them.

I fished right down the middle of the river!

Fish on...

Todd.

My great aunt and uncle lived in Central Washington out Okanogan/Omak way, and there was always a surplus of diamond backs.

I don't have any specific stories about them other than whenever one would slither down the cement steps to the summer living area Viola would either blast them with her pistol or whack them with whatever she had around. For a momento she would keep the rattler on back and I kid you NOT she had a box that was 4"x4"x3" FULL of tails.

Me being a city boy the mere thought of a rattler scared the crap outta me. Never saw one (alive) but had my share of experiences with the local racers flying out of the lawn mower in red strips and chunks.

fobbman, that Okanogan/Omak region is SNAKEY! Most of my in-laws live between Malott and Omak. I only visit once or twice a year, but have had so many close encounters with rattlers that I'm thinking of changing my username to danceswithsnakes. I've straddled one, stopped just short of stepping on one, and walked past one twice before noticing it beside the trail. At Rat Lake, I was fishing off a rockslide, when I heard rustling around me. It stopped, and I went up to the truck to get my lunch. When I returned, a rattler was enjoying the sunshine on the rock beside my tacklebox. I tossed some rocks at the snake and got the whole rockslide a buzzin' and a rattlin'. That was when I started dancing with snakes

Sheep. Don't say sheep. Osprey might be around.

Having grown up on the Eastside of Lake Washington, I don't have many snake stories, but as a kid on Rose Hill we would catch Garter Snakes. If you snap them like a towel their little heads will pop right off. We found this very entertaining. I have never had an opportunity to try this on anything larger, but look forward to the opportunity!

About eight years ago I was Fort Leonard Wood, Misouri, attending the combat engineer advanced course. Every day when class was over found me on one of the local rivers or creeks, fishing for some of the huge brown trout that can be found there. One sunny afternoon I was fishing on Roubidoux creek, a well known hangout for slab brownies, when I noticed a fence post move, about a foot from my left arm. Now I'm a dumb ol' country boy, but even I know that fence posts ain't 'posed to move. Was about a 3 foot copperhead wrapped around the post, and he didn't want to share his post with me! Well, the better idea bulb popped on, and I stepped exactly 9 feet away, bit my leader off, and tied a noose in the end. Yep, I lassoed me that copperhead, and that sucker went ab-so-lutely nuts! So now, I've got a 3 foot long, poison snake on a 6x tippet, and a 5 weight....so I'm thinking to myself...self, whatinthehell are you gonna do now? Well, I did what any good redneck flyfisher would have done in my predicament...I double hauled his ass across the river! I put the breaks on the cast about halfway across, noose tightens, head pops off, and I'm back to trout fishing. I really should have warned the guy in the next pool down the river, he damn near had a hernia when Jake floated down by him.
Greg
US Army Pro Staff
Official Judge, Snake Tossing Event, Redneck Olympics (Hey, Watch This!)

......."that big ol' snake looks dead to me"..."naw,maybe it's just alseep"...."I've always wanted one of them rattles"..."maybe we should poke it with a stick first ?"..."naw,just grab it by the tail"...................