I foul hooked a water snake

Red touch black friend to jack, red touch yellow kill a fellow. I'd lean to milk snake also, just because of the distinct banding.

Here is my son's pet indigo snake. He lets it crawl around the yard for a bit of exercise. It helps it poop and will hasten its shedding. If you zoom in on the eye you can see it is opaque. When it sheds it will be clear. Their colors are a striking purple/black with rusty orange belly when freshly shed
 

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Honestly cannot stand any kind of snake....ive been all over south america and central america , as well as united states ....i dislike them. Good ,bad or harmless do not like ...lol. Spent some time in florida and snakes can take away the relaxation of fishing fast. In florida they are all Over , many are venomous from cotton mouths,corals, diamond backs and pygmy rattlers ......ugh.
David
 
Airborne said:
Honestly cannot stand any kind of snake....
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I'm with you. Hate them, no what kind or size. Give me the heebee geebees. I'd probably have a coronary on the spot if I foul hook one. I'd at least be out a fly line cause 9' is too close for it to get to me, I'm cutting the line as soon as I know what's on the other end.
 
Ticks and biting insects like mosquitoes, black flies, etc. bother me a lot more than any kind of snake, but I do know that many people just flat out don't like snakes.
 
I don't mind snakes. I actually think they're quite pretty most of the time. It's the one's that show up under foot unexpectedly that give me some concern. I get a bit spooked when walking through the thick ferns up north, because I've almost stepped on two different rattlers. They DO NOT always rattle!
 
Canoetripper said:
Ticks and biting insects like mosquitoes, black flies, etc. bother me a lot more than any kind of snake,
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What he said, especially ticks. I'm not exactly fond of spiders, either. I've always had a problem with wasps, hornets, and various bees. Yea I know. Strange that I am an amateur beekeeper. I figured it would help me get over my fear of bees. It has helped some, but I still hate the wasps, and what's up with those crazy carpenter bees. Only the males act aggressive and want to get in your face. They bug me even though I know the males can't sting.

Snakes don't really bother me, but I'll admit that the rush I get from sighting a large snake is probably based on fear. I respect them and don't mess with them. I like seeing them.
 
Yeah ticks mosquitoes and gnats bother me much more than snakes. Ticks especially. I freak when one is on me.

Here's a personal bit of info I have a phobia of grasshoppers. And this coming from a biology/Chem major in college. We had to dissect one and back then they were preserved them in formaldehyde. Got sick as a dog huffing that stuff in class and hated the little P&!X ever since.
 
On the Missouri we often see rattlesnakes. Often swimming across the river. Last year one tried to slither up into a raft with four teenage girls in it. Another time when I was floating about 15' from shore a large rattlesnake, about 6' long, was also swimming downriver about 10' to my left. I see them slithering across the hot macadam roads during the heat of the day or near evening. I've accidentally run over them near dark. One must be very careful if you need to pull to shore to answer a nature's call. I almost stepped on one two years ago doing just that. At least one guy who wade fishes a lot wears snake chaps over his waders. Seems every year there have been more and more sightings and unfortunately at least two strikes on fishermen that I am aware of.
 

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JGR said:
Yes. There are a number of color phases:

Virginia Herpetological Society

Native Reptiles and Amphibians of Virginia
www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com
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You are right that there are several color phases for Watersnakes. But Eastern Milk Snakes also have multiple color phases/variations. The two species can look very similar. But I still think it is an eastern milk snake and here is why.

First off, I've only seen a few milk snakes in my days. Most were under logs or rocks. One was half way down a gopher hole. U kept him as a pet for awhile before turning him lose. They are very docile abd you don't see them often. On the other hand, I've probably seen dozens if not hundreds of watersnakes. I also used to hunt them when I was a foolish kid.

The snake in the picture looks to be fairly large, and I have never seen a large watersnake in PA that was that brightly colored. The young ones are often bright colored like that in the picture, but the large ones tend to be darker. Other links on the innertubes will confirm this. BTW, baby rat snakes are also bright like that.

link
link
link

In my experience, watersnakes also tend to be proportionately thicker, while milk snakes are a slender constrictor. Milk snakes also have a smaller, more blunt head, barely wider than the neck. I expanded the picture, and that snake appears to have small head. The markings on and just behind the head also tell me that it is likely an eastern milk snake.

And finally, the markings on the back half of a watersnake tend to be more rectangular than those on the snake in the picture. Yes, I learned that from the link, but all it did was make me more sure that it is a milk snake.

I did compare the two before posting earlier, but I looked into it more after your post and I still think it's a milk snake. But as I said, I'm not an expert, so I could be wrong.
 
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Yep. Milk snake for sure. One of the more beautiful snakes in PA. Always cherished. Much friendlier than a water snake.
 
I'm not sure if this will post correctly, but these are a few photos from our Penns trip. The 4 snakes were actually an earlier photo from under my friends deck. We saw a number around the deck. I was actually starting to get a bit more comfortable with them. I have to say, we've seen very few water snakes around Penns the last number of years. The black snakes were in a bin in the shed but we saw the one laying out for long periods of time.

photos.google.com

Penns Creek

5 new items · Album by Steve Habowski
photos.google.com photos.google.com
 
Last weekend on Penns I saw at least 7 water snakes, and 1 rattler. No shortage of water snakes. The toads were down along the creek mating and you always see more snakes at those times.

I've seen plenty of black snakes there over the years, including some truly large ones.
 
I have a whopper of a shed black snake skin hanging on my garage. I've never actually measured ity but it is at least 6' long. I'll take a picture of it and post it.
 
I saw a guy hook quite a large snake across the creek from me at Poe Paddy several years ago. Everyone was posted up waiting for the Golden Hour. I think the gentleman was dapping a dry fly on the surface and he got a take he'll never forget. I was glad to be on my side of the creek.
 
FarmerDave said:
You are right that there are several color phases for Watersnakes. But Eastern Milk Snakes also have multiple color phases/variations. The two species can look very similar. But I still think it is an eastern milk snake and here is why.

First off, I've only seen a few milk snakes in my days. Most were under logs or rocks. One was half way down a gopher hole. U kept him as a pet for awhile before turning him lose. They are very docile abd you don't see them often. On the other hand, I've probably seen dozens if not hundreds of watersnakes. I also used to hunt them when I was a foolish kid.

The snake in the picture looks to be fairly large, and I have never seen a large watersnake in PA that was that brightly colored. The young ones are often bright colored like that in the picture, but the large ones tend to be darker. Other links on the innertubes will confirm this. BTW, baby rat snakes are also bright like that.

link
link
link

In my experience, watersnakes also tend to be proportionately thicker, while milk snakes are a slender constrictor. Milk snakes also have a smaller, more blunt head, barely wider than the neck. I expanded the picture, and that snake appears to have small head. The markings on and just behind the head also tell me that it is likely an eastern milk snake.

And finally, the markings on the back half of a watersnake tend to be more rectangular than those on the snake in the picture. Yes, I learned that from the link, but all it did was make me more sure that it is a milk snake.

I did compare the two before posting earlier, but I looked into it more after your post and I still think it's a milk snake. But as I said, I'm not an expert, so I could be wrong.
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You've convinced me Dave...
 
Yesterday a couple of five-foot plus black snakes decided to have a tryst above my driveway. Never saw this before. Get a room you two.
 

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