Hooked an unwanted critter yesterday

[Johnnh]

i was fishing along the edge of grass and pads yesterday on one of my favorite lakes near Hillsboro yesterday..

I was in my kayak throwing a light carolina rig with a baby brush hog. I had already picked up some average sized largies when I got clobbered by a big eastern water snake. The snake was in and out of the weeds and thrashing on the surface allot. I didn't want him near me since my kayak is very low to the water line and i didn't want him as a passenger. My kayak is peddle drive so i kept my distance until he finally came un hooked.

It was a nasty experience to say the least. They are not poisonous but not something you want on your kayak.

If you don't know what they are, look them up on you tube

Yikes,
John

[Rapala7G]

Yeah but...

It would likely be the longest catch of the day!

[filetandrelease]

 I’m sure your heart rate went up a notch
 

[rgfixit]

There’s been a lot of them on the canal near my home this year. More then I’ve ever seen before.

Never hooked one though. Think I’d have been grabbing the line nippers.

Rg

[Johnnh]

Snake was about a 4 footer and  chubby and if he got closer than about 20 feet i had my nippers ready

I will be giving that spot a wide birth for a while.
By the way, my bait was on the surface on the edge of a pad when the critter took it.

[zwiggles]

That’s crazy! They are mean mothers, I wouldn’t want him in my boat either!

[rgfixit]

4’....that’s a lot bigger than I’ve seen around here. Probably a different specie than we have. You can keep them.

Rg

[AquaAssassin]

Been bit by one! Don’t recommend, hate snakes!

[FrankenGill]

That would be no fun, it reminds me of the time I had an otter try coming out of my ice fishing hole  talk about getting my attention !

[Johnnh]

When i was a teen, i had a trap line up in upstate NY

I pulled plenty muskrat and mink up through ice and bogs. Always carried a club. Sometimes they came out teeth first with an attitude

I don't mind snakes so long as i know where they are

[jibbs]

I would of thrown my rod in the water ..hate snakes ..but love baby brush hogs on c rigs

[Hottuna5150]

Caught hundreds of them for fun as a kid (with my hands, can't recall ever hooking one).  Very cool predators. The do have an anti-coagulant in their saliva so you bleed pretty good if you get smacked. Completely harmless other than a couple little needle holes if you mess up.

[Fishermantim]

Had a snake "try" to eat an adult sunfish that flopped off my line on shore.
I laughed thinking "Your eyes are DEFINITELY bigger than your stomach (or mouth)"
When I went back after fishing the other side of this particular pond, it was still "trying" to eat the fish.

I've hooked snapping turtles while kayaking, and they get cut off. When you have to reach across their jaws to try and grab the lure (with pliers) it doesn't take any time to realize that would be a bad decision.

[Rapala7G]

Well while we are at it...

A beaver, full grown and quite interested in returning to his lodge, pulled me and a friend in a conoe across a VT pond.  I donated my Mepps spinner when he got close to home.

A duck gave me my longest cast I ever when I mistakenly draped my line over his neck as he was taking off.  He emptied my spool before the lure flipped off him.  I did not catch a fish on that cast.

A pidgeon was hooked on a jig (don't ask), came aboard my friend's canoe and promptly crapped all over it before its release.

A steering wheel sized snapping turtle got my Rapala stuck to his foot.  Wifey just kept yelling "don't bring it in the boat!" which was a 13' canoe.  Yeah, he got to keep it.

A 1-1/2# lobster gave up his claw rather than getting dragged over the rocks of the jetty I was fishing.  Another, much smaller one made it into my boat only to get released.

A pair of lobster pot robbing scuba divers cast some very dirty looks at my dad and me after they cut off our bottom fishing rigs.  They had no dive flag.  It was pouring rain and we were catching squid which felt very strange when "biting".  After getting a few mega yanks on our lines they were cut cleanly.  Then we saw the air bubbles coming up from under the boat.  The bubbles moved to the shore where we got the angry looks.  To this day I do not know it we hooked them or their gear but it looks could kill...

[Raquettedacker]

This was a couple years ago...