Major water in Pierce county fine to fish this morning. Major water moved some things around and cleand some rocks. Yellow cranes in the air. Get your cheddar head crane flies now, supplies are limited.
Yesterday on the Kinni, Just about stepped on this puppy! Timber rattler or Fox snake?
Rockets are starting to pop up!
10 users commented in " Snakes Alive! "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI am guessing, and hoping, it’s a fox. we had a couple in the yard a few years ago. they look just like a rattler to the untrained eye, and they obviously don’t have a rattle on their tails. But I have heard there are rattlers on the lower.
Could be a massasauga rattler, not enough info.
http://www.mwparc.org/photo/?26
This timber looks more tan
http://www.mwparc.org/photo/?28
This fox looks more coppery
http://www.mwparc.org/photo/?48
Sarah
Cool!
What a great resource the PARC site is!
It was a cool morning and the sun had just come out. My friend the snake(still uncertain on the ID) was content to be snuggled in the crux of that branch. The branch was attached to a giant willow stump that sits beside the river. The stump is full of hollows and cracks and places to hide. I am sure that is where this snake lives. I was interrupting his morning sun bathing on his own porch when I just about stepped on him. The suggestion of a poke with the fly rod to get a clearer view of his head and tail was determined to be unwise since we were in very close proximity. Thanks for the links
A
Josh
I have seen or heard the rattlers before about a half dozen times over 30 years of haunting the lower. Fox snakes about the same(or what I thought to be, like in this case). It is rare for me to get close enough and to have the presence to shoot a photo. The usual scenario is; angler almost steps on snake. angler and snake both become startled, angler and snake depart in different directions,,,, quickly.
Mild winters, upgrade(warming) in hardiness zone, probably see more rattlers in the valley. Just observation.
I share an office with a missaugua, that ain’t it. I showed the picture to one of the bio=programs sups this morning at the Zoo, he is 99% sure it is a fox. From scale it looked to big to be a timber, and way too big for a missaugua. The Milk snake has different colorization. Plus fox snakes will go into the water for a meal, rattlers tend not to, which is why they are usually in the rocks on the bluff. Makes sense it being that close to the water than for a fox.
No one who isn’t a snake lover should fish with me. I attract them. My friend the bull snake was tired from his (probably) unexpected swim in the Mississippi and turned from mid river into the bay I was fishing. Despite my loud speculations on the intentions of this creature, he swam right up to the roots of the stump I was standing on, pulled himself half out of the water and lay there with his sides heaving while my human friend and I decided where else we might fish. That is he pulled 2 and one half feet of himself out of the water. It is often a battle between feeling lucky to be alive and feeling lucky to have seen such a beautiful animal. I’ve said it before: I like snakes, but they squeak me. I scream first, then try to make the identification. Good for you for reaching for your camera!
Thanks Josh
Great info.
Fox, rattler, missaugua, gardner…..just get the heck out of there. I think I may wear my leather chaps next time I fish the lower Kinni. 😉
Andy-
Great picture and posting. It had me cruising around the net, searching out different snake images and learning a bit about something in our river’s environment that I knew little about. Whenever anyone asks me why I am so addicted to our sport (relatively newly addicted), I tell them it takes a person to the most beautiful places. But describing it as “beautiful” is just scratching the surface….more like “fascinating”. Your friend was a great Saturday morning reminder.
A friend and I got extra close to the same on the upper south branch of the root last week. I too, think its a fox snake. -J
Leave A Reply