two week after turning over a john boat that had a 2' ch under it, he is still walking with a cane, is on serious anti-inflammation pills and just got off turbo pain pills. The bite wasn't that bad, 30 hours in the hospital to watch his heart wasn't bad at all (he was all doped up), but no antivenom and what came next has been pretty brutal. His leg looked like someone inflated it with helium, was black in a way Ive never seen black on skin, on full crutches for about 10 days and now, 14 days later looks finally on the mend. He's on 41, in very good shape but the pain in days 3-6 turned him into a 5 year old. Note to self: Use paddle, stick or a Vol/Gator/Auburn fan to pick up john boat,

(04-30-2024, 09:28 AM)Replying to 40 Watt

Copperheads are very aggressive. I stepped on a cotton mouth when I was 14 but got lucky. No bite.

Water mocs scare more more than any other, including rattle snakes. I was duck hunting with my Dad around 11 years of age and one tried to get in our boat. We were doing everything to get away and it was doing everything to get to us. Messed me up for eternity. You were VERY lucky

Copperheads suck in a number of ways. One big one is they tend to not mind being around areas where people are. About 8 yrs ago my son and I were leaving football practice at one of the parks in Gwinnett, there were easily 2-300 people there. We walk out and there's a 2.5' long CH sitting there on the sidewalk heading into the parking lot. It's just about to get dark. We looked everywhere for a large stick and the only one I could find was about a foot long. I popped him in the head and got him before he got me. I thought for days about that dude being under someone's car as they were trying to load up from practice.

Not to self stay out of little John boats.

(04-30-2024, 09:28 AM)Replying to 40 Watt

wow, that's always scared me about turning over john boats, perfect place for a snake to settle. Glad he is on the mend.

(04-30-2024, 10:33 AM)Replying to McDonoughDawg

https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-boats-0764885b/

(04-30-2024, 09:58 AM)Replying to 40 Watt

Same experience. Went frog gigging w my Dad and his friend. A snake in some willows we were near fell in the boat. Messed me up too.

(04-30-2024, 12:19 PM)Replying to LandDawg

Same experience. Went frog gigging w my Dad and his friend. A snake in some willows we were near fell in the boat. Messed me up too.
[/quote]

what kind of willows?

(04-30-2024, 09:28 AM)Replying to 40 Watt

He should have had a Joe or Jim boat, imo. Them John boats are bad news.

when

(04-30-2024, 12:26 PM)Replying to Doc Hollidawg

He should have had a Joe or Jim boat, imo. Them John boats are bad news.

when
[/quote]

https://www.facebook.com/CaptainJohnBoats

i no lika any kind of snake period.

(04-30-2024, 09:38 AM)Replying to gulfportdawg

Copperheads are very aggressive. I stepped on a cotton mouth when I was 14 but got lucky. No bite.
[/quote]
Negative Ghost Rider. Copperheads are very UNaggressive and typically use their great camouflage to just blend in a stay away from trouble. Cotton mouths will often bite in self defense and not inject any venom. Happened to a friend when we were fishing in the Okefenokee. We both about shit ourselves. Took a loooong time to get to hospital but we shoulda just kept fishin'. No venom was injected. He just got a shot of antibiotics and tetanus shot.

when

Northern water snakes get confused with cottonmouths a lot.  They are similarly colored and love water.  Lots of stories about a cottonmouth falling in the boat or trying to get in the boat are actually about water snakes.  Cottonmouths swim with their body floating on the water and their heads held up.  Water snakes bodies are usually in the water and their head is slightly out of the water.  

Water snakes also get mistaken for copperheads:

(04-30-2024, 12:22 PM)Replying to Toasty B

Same experience. Went frog gigging w my Dad and his friend. A snake in some willows we were near fell in the boat. Messed me up too.
[/quote]

what kind of willows?
[/quote]
The kind that grows around millponds.

They absolutely love to go into fresh dozed earth at night. Every fire we had out this way in warm weather you could count on someone getting struck walking down a fireline at night. The orange/red clay makes them impossible to see at night.
I have had a few wakeup calls in the middle of the night when one of the little shits nailed my fire boots. Fortunately the majority of them were small and could not strike above the 12 inch top boots.