I sure got a snake surprise last night while out with my flyrod.
My ponds have been way above full-pool for the last several weeks. Thus, my pond water edges are up in the high weeds and bushes around the edges of my ponds.
The water temperatures have finally gotten the fish active in just the last few days. Because of the high water, I still can't get close to the water's edge in most places. The fish are greatly enjoying these areas.
Yesterday evening I was using my 4/5 flyrod with about a #6 long-shank wire hook, baited with one of Dave Davidson's scary "Texas Jumper" worms. I was casting it as close to the weed edge as possible. I was getting quite a few small/medium bluegill, some small LMB, and even a few small channel cats.
Then I got something that was really odd as soon as the baited hook hit the edge of the weeds and brush. It felt like a stick, but then it would pull back into the weeds.
As I pulled it to where I could finally see it, I saw that it was a very aggravated and extremely agitated black racer snake, about 4-foot long.
We have a lot of black racer snakes in our area. Lots of them are out looking for spring break one-night-stands when our spring-time temperatures get into the 70s/80s.
Over the years, I've moved countless black racers from around the house and garage. The worst things they usually do is peeing all over my arm when I pick them up to safely move them.
This one had no intention of letting me pick it up to pull the hook out of its mouth. It was also in and out of the water. With the equivalent of about a 2# leader, I couldn't do much to lift or guide it. Even if I could have done so, I don't think I'd have had much luck grabbing it just behind the head to keep it from biting me. I've never seen such an angry black racer before.
I finally let out a number of feet of line, snapped my flyrod as hard as I could in hopes of breaking the leader. After several snaps, the hook pulled out of the snake's mouth. It lodged in my left pinky finger!
The snake won!
The worm was missing.
Ken
