Printable View
I'm planning going down full moon in may.Everyone talks about the snakes being very bad.I guess im asking what are the odds of a cottonmouth falling in my boat?I have no idea what I would do if this actually happened but I guarantee it would be messy!
odds are very slim, cotton mouthsdont hang in trees. they stay in water and low cover,
No they are not that bad. You will likely see some water snakes, mostly sunning themselves in the trees. If you get hung up just look the tree over pretty good before going in there after it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slipped Cork
Chris
A friend of mine is a game warden on Reelfoot. He told me he had seen less than 5 cottonmouths the entire 4 to 5 years that he worked the lake.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slipped Cork
I Agree With The Other Guys, We Have Gone To Reelfoot For Six Years And Snakes Have Never Been A Problem,
John Brower
That can`t be good for the boat? What ever you do, do not shoot one while still in the boat!Quote:
Originally Posted by Slipped Cork
I can verify that! I learned that lesson on the Northwest River located on the Virginia/North Carolina line back in 1969.Quote:
Originally Posted by crappielimits
Tell that to the cottonmouths here then... apparently they don't know better.Quote:
Originally Posted by john h
Reelfoot cottomouths these days are rare indeed. The first time I was there was in the late 1960s. There were cottonmouths all over. They are easy to tell from the water snakes. When they open their mouth it is pure bright white.
I'm supprised to hear they don't climb trees. A lot of the ones we seen were 5 to 10' off the water on leaning dead trees.
If you go to Reelfoot, prepare yourself to relax and enjoy the beauty. forget those snakes , you'll worry yourself to death.
Down on the main lake, I'm not sure they could stand the common winds anyway:eek:.
Thank's for the reply guy's.Some people make thing's alot more drastic than they really are.I'm headed to the foot in may!
This thread is old, and its too late now, BUT
I live at Reelfoot Lake, and while snakes dont bother me too much, there are alot of them here.
There are alot of cottonmouths here. And yes they do hang in the trees. Usually in May and June I see one EVERY time I go fishing. There was a dead one on the ramp last weekend, not to mention that I was motoring through a ditch about an hour after I got on the water the same day and there was a big one right in the middle of the ditch. I saw him at the last second and he actually coiled up in the water and struck at the boat. A couple weeks before that we were fishing at night and when i got out of the boat at the ramp there were two small ones on the ramp. Again, I see one pretty much every time I go fishing.
That being said, Im not one of those who freaks out about it like alot of other people do here, but it is widely known here locally that cottonmouths are a common appearance here. If you keep your eyes open you generally dont have to worry about one coming in on you!
sounds like they need the Benjamin snake thinner put on em for awhile!
Reelfoot is my home lake also there are a few snakes but most of them are water snakes often confused with the cottonmouth! There are still a few of the cold jaws around but there more scared of you of you are of them!
I must say that I have seen more than one Cottonmouth in a tree on the river. Scared the crap outa me the first time I saw one slide out of a limb right next to the boat. They'll make ya hurt yourself. :eek:
Bluegill
Yep, I agree with WTN Crappie on this. I don't live at Reelfoot, but I hunt and fish a whole lot in West TN along the Hatchie and Forked Deer River bottoms. You are pretty much guaranteed to see at least one congo every time you go out. You don't have to worry much about them coming to you - unless you are our there in the spring, particularly May. If you get one in the water that raises his head and looks at you, colloquially referred to as "periscoping", then you better get the paddle, shotgun, stick, or other means of defense ready :D:D.Quote:
Originally Posted by WestTennCrappie
Quote:
Originally Posted by OsoFishy
Lance jumps in to rebut me on this one. They should know as they fish in the time of year that I mentioned alot.
Agreed there are alot more water snakes out there, and maybe its just me that attracts them suckers but I see one about every time i go in the late spring. I see about twice the water snakes out there though. Either way, snakes are scary!
I live about an hour away from reelfoot and I hunt down there almost every weekend when its squirrel season.The wife asked me to carry her down there and take the pontoon ride last september.We seen 35 cotton mouths and......one........water snake.The guide said we might see one or two the whole trip.......lol...........after we got off the pontoon he said he had never seen that many.........I said ...............BULL
35, wow
I have never seen more than a few on each trip. But I see them alot. I see alot of water snakes too. bout 3-1
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slipped Cork
i have seen a few snakes but i dont know what kind. i have only been on foot about 20 times and can say i have seen atleast 3 minimum . i have fished at the spillway from shore and i seen one there to. i would bring a machete if i was going here any tree's. up in wisconsin i had a 6foot watersnake of some kind try to hitch a ride with me and he wouldnt take no for a answer ! not a fun day.
:eek:
My dad always said he was sceered of 5 kinds of snakes.....big'uns, littl'uns, live'uns, dead'uns, and anything that looks like a snake!
Born and raised with a house on the Foot there are a ton of snakes at Reelfoot But most of the lake is swamp and they prefer the swampy areas yes you will see some but they are more scared of you than you are of them. Dont worry with the little guys just get out there and slay them fish.
I can assure you that cottonmouths hang in trees. Couple years ago I ran right into one at eye level in the trees. SCARY situation. Once this happens to you, then you will understand when I say this. Pay very close attention and you will see them. Seems that they like the low lying limbs on the sunny side. Rarely have I seen them in the shade unless on a cloudy day.
Has he ever left the house?Quote:
Originally Posted by crappiecrazy
When close up you can tell the difference. And believe me, ive seen more than 4 or 5. Maybe I am fishing too close to their stomping grounds.Quote:
Originally Posted by brimeater
dont buy into it , cottons do hang in tree's and reelfoot is the most snake populated place in the world ! may is still pretty safe . after that i would bring my machete. keep you eyes peeled , 2 times i had snakes trying to get a free ride in my boat , once we were trying to wack him with the oar and he just kept comming got the motor running and split. be carful dude
So none of you guys would use a float tube there, right? :D
It does not matter to me what kind of snake it is. I respect snakes by keeping my distance from all of them cottonmouth or not........:D
Quote:
Originally Posted by deathb4disco
I would use a float tube (Bellyboat)no problem! the snakes don't bother me:) Now as for them Gators... thats a different story:eek:
Well, I'm cancelling my trip to Reelfoot! I have a trip scheduled in late May with my wife and son. We were going to be camping at the state park and fishing for crappie & bluegill. I got bit by a rattlesnake when I was 12 and since then I am deathly afraid of snakes (I had an allergic reaction to the rattlesnake venom and was in ICU for 2 weeks). No way in H-E-double hockey sticks I'm fishing Reelfoot if there are Cottonmouth snakes. How dissappointing!
Now I just read that it is against the law to kill a snake at reelfoot. Are you kidding me?
Why would you want to kill one anyway? They do not hurt a thing. I understand you are very scared of snakes especially after what happened to you. But I have been going to Reel Foot for a long time and have never had any problems. I personally like snakes I caught a Cotton mouth there a few years back. The only reason I caught it was because it was in an area where there were several boats and I figured someone would have an encounter with it and kill it. The snake was given to the state viewing center there in Tiptonville. I have seen a ton of water snakes and have had them try to get in the boat but they won't hurt you. I wouldn't cancell a fishing trip to a great lake like Reel Foot because of what people say about snakes. If you went and got into some of them huge Bream or Crappie they have, you would forget all about them snakes.
Now the Red Wasps and huge Wolf spiders that hang around them cypress tree's I can do without. But I still go and have a great time every time.
My two cents on this issue.
CX.
Not only am I freaked out about bringing my new boat and hitting stumps and damaging it but now I have to worry about Coppermouths? You Reelfish experts and locals have a big task ahead of you to try to convince me not to cancel my trip. I am willing to hear from you all though. I've heard great things about the lake.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crappie Xtreme
I appreciate your two cents and your opinion. It's not that I want to kill snakes but it's just the fact that it's illegal to kill one. What am I to do when one jumps in my boat or falls out of a tree on my wife or son? Of course I'm going to kill it! Crappie XTreme, maybe you can just fish with us so if one jumps into the boat or we see one, you can catch it for us. Are you crazy? We'll see how much you like snakes when a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake bites you. Maybe Steve Irwin (Crocodile Hunter) didn't die. He just changed his name to Crappie XTreme. I'm just messing with you, I appreciate the fact you like snakes and I don't think snakes are bad, I am just deathly afraid of them now. The Red Wasps and spiders don't bother me though.
I appreciate the fact you like snakes and I don't think snakes are bad, I am just deathly afraid of them now. The Red Wasps and spiders don't bother me though.[/QUOTE]
I can't say I blame you for not being scared of them. I'm sure it was really bad being bitten by a rattle snake. The laws are the same here in IL it is illegal to harm them also.
Now the Wasps and Spiders I don't like. Spiders give me the geebs and wasps are just plain mean. But you can't let that stop you from going because the fish are unbelievable in the Foot. I caught a Bream last spring there that was a pound. As far as your boat goes pay for a guide and have him take you out. One good thing about a guide is he will use his own boat and will more than likely put you on fish. I use my own boat when I go and have never used a guide. But If I would have had a guide for the first couple years I probably would have learned the lake faster. But with all the years I have been going I have learned the lake pretty well. Or well enough to get on fish when I go. Reel Foot is one of my favorite lakes if not my favorite lake. It is a beautiful lake.
I think you will like it if you go. It is stumpy and if you are not careful you may hit a stump. But go slow and just raise your motor up so you won't damage it if you do hit one.
Sorry I didn't mean to sound like a jerk in my first post that was not my intention. I just hate to see someone cancell a great fishn trip because of what someone says.
CX.
Sorry I didn't mean to sound like a jerk in my first post that was not my intention. I just hate to see someone cancell a great fishn trip because of what someone says.
CX.[/QUOTE]
I don't think that at all! I didn't take it that way as I was just joking around with you. I'm leaning toward just going and not worrying about the snakes. For those of you that duck hunt there at Reelfoot, don't you guys worry about your dog. I was just thinking that I better not take my yellow lab for a swim in the lake. This is all new to me since I just moved down to TN from Wisconsin about 5 months ago. We didn't have to worry about poisonous snakes. When I lived in California we had lots and lots of Rattlesnakes but never had to worry about them being in water.
If you're looking for snakes, it's a gimme that you will see some. But if you have your head down and fishing, you won't see as many. :D
Quote:
Originally Posted by talltimber
Some of them you just cant miss.
Now them danged BIG BIG BIG Spiders in the trees creep me out worse than anything!!!!
I forgot about that! Im a full grown man and they get big or bigger than my hands!!!!! So big in fact you can see thier eyes from a distance. That is some creepy sh*t
I've been to Reelfoot 3 times, I seen cottonmouths 2 times! I don't like them toothy snakes either!!!!! The times I've been there I can spend alot of time looking for snakes because the fish get lockjaw when I show up!
Around here in middle TN the old timers used to tell us that certain creeks were full of cottonmouths. Ironically, the same creeks seemed to be full of fish as well. Even the hint of a snake will scare some people away. Anyway, all of my favorite fishing holes are full of cottonmouths ( HA HA)Quote:
Originally Posted by Slipped Cork
Uh huhQuote:
Originally Posted by LSUguy