Snakes and Bass

several weeks ago I remember reading a thread about a bass fighting off a snake. Well this weekend I was fishing a rock quarry at natural springs up in new paris ohio. I saw a water snake in the water, and a bass was keeping him up close against the bank and would not let the snake any farther, it was cool the bass went where ever the snake went. I also saw something I never saw before a bass play dead. I saw the bass lay down on the weeds at the bottom, turn on his side, I probed him with my bait bumped him several sides I figured he was swimming and just died. After a few minutes he popped up and swam away.

I saw a bass do this last month to a shad. Chased it all the way up to the bank, and right out of the water. It then waited until the shad flipped back in the water and inhaled it!!! Pretty neat to see....too bad it didn't do the same thing to my Vixen!!!!!

This past spring, my wife and I were fishing up at Patoka in a feeder creek. I saw a crappie about 8" come floppin out of the water. As I got closer, I seen that a snake had struck it and was gonna make it lunch. Man, I wish that I had carried the camera that time.

The bass wasnt fighting off the snake, he was hoping for a good meal!

Does anyone use a bait that looks like a small snake?

I know people fishing plastic worms that might look like snakes... but I am a rookie and just wondering.

This sparks my interest because two years ago at Laurel Lake I saw a bass eat a 10-12" water snake that was swimming close to the bank. The bass really wasn't that big either.

Made me wonder... especially since Laurel seems full of snakes (especially around Craigs Creek)

The title sure got my attention. After last week I was at a narrow canal under moonlit around 2am. I could see a ripple made by a snake swimming toward my boat in the middle of canal. My boat was positioned right outside of canal as I was about to enter but the snake swam til the canal edge (point) and witnessed a BIG SPLASH right in front of my bow about 10 feet nearly gave me a heart attack! I'm talking a BIG splash. I knew it was a big bass. Yep the snake disappeared.

Bass eat snakes all the time. If they get the oppurtunity they will put a hurt on some no-shoulders, and sometimes big snakes to.

[QUOTE=BurleyDog;378287]Does anyone use a bait that looks like a small snake?

I know people fishing plastic worms that might look like snakes... but I am a rookie and just wondering.

This sparks my interest because two years ago at Laurel Lake I saw a bass eat a 10-12" water snake that was swimming close to the bank. The bass really wasn't that big either.

Made me wonder... especially since Laurel seems full of snakes (especially around Craigs Creek)[/QUOTE]

I caught a couple 2 lbers about a month ago using Doug Hannon's (The Bass Professor) snakes. Only finished them one day at a small farm pond but both fish came on a cast where I threw on the bank and slowly dragged into the water. They destroyed it! Hard not to set the hook too quick on a topwater bite like that.