Re: Fishing myths/legends
We have a non-native fish called an oscar. A large pan fish with small sharp teeth, google eyes and a big dot on the tail. Very agressive and hard fighting. They are from the pirana family I'm told.
<br /><br />I have dreams about moccacins occasionally...I"m crossing a creek and half way across I look down to see that I have moccasins all around me. Some times I get bit, some times I dont.
<br />Twelve years ago I lived in a house that was a short walk near a golf course near Orlando. I had cleared a path through 150ft of thick brush so I had an easy access to my private wildlife refuge. One day I was exploring in there and following a creek along the bank and I came to area thick with vines and tall brush. Not wanting to get my feet wet I began to cimb through. After several branch/ face slaps thorns and tangles 10 ft into this mess I came face to face with a fat moccasin aprox. 3 feet long. I was in a crouched position entangled with the vines and shrub branches and about 1 - 1 1/2ft. from the snake at I eye level. He was laying perpendicular and horizontal to me. I was so busy avoiding branch smacks I hadnt noticed it coming in. And with all this growth being connected, how had it had remained there undisturbed? I immediatly backed up a little to avoid striking distance. The problem now was backing out of the tangled mess without disturbing it in the process. It layed perfectly still with one eye on me. I turned to my left towards the creek looking for the quickest way out of the situation and lo and behold there was another one about the same distance from me and height above the ground as the snake #1.
Reverse was my only obtion. Every move that I made transended to the limbs that the snakes rested on because everything was inter-connected. Slowly I backed out inch by inch, vine by vine until I was finally a safe distance away and at the edge of the thicket. I was still wondering why they were not spooked as of yet. I shook the limbs agressively a few times and the didn't budge. I got a stick and walked around and into the creek to get close and have an easy escape. It was then that I saw the third snake that must have been directly over top of me when I was in the thicket! About six feet off of the ground doing the same thing as the others. I put the stick directly in the face of snake #1 and he never flinched. When I smaked the vines with the stick all three bolted away. I guess they were sleeping, with there eyes wide open. That was and still is a unbelieveable situation I got myself into and lucky to get back out. <br /><br />Moccasins are poisonous. Much like a scorpion. Several bites from several snakes would kill you and one bite may kill some high risk people. And I know from experience that they sometimes like to
hang out together..
..<br /><br />JB-I could be wrong...I have been before...but before re-educate myself on North American snakes I'm going to take a chance and state that...<br /><br /> I believe water moccacins and cottonmouths are the same thing. Cottonmouth being a nickname. They come in various markings and are dark green with pretty yellow or tan markings on the back and a lighter shade belly. That what they look like down here in Florida. Where I grew up in Kentucky they were solid black with a white or grey belly and often mistaken for a black water snake. They all have fangs with a wet loose white inner mouth that covers over the fang when not biting. I verified this from experience also cause I caught one once ( [edit-
by accident ], without the use of a stick or sling) during a "who can catch the biggest snake with only your hands contest".
Well it beat summmer boredom.
[Edit]
Thought it was just a large water snake. Found him laying under an old TV in the middle of a creek.
