warning to all fishing floyds fork

well i have seen many copperheads on the farms were i grew up in maryland and i have killed 2 rattlesnakes in eastern ky while squirell hunting and these were to dark to be copperheads but they had the pit vper heads im gonna go back out there this week and try to get some pics to post to see what ayll think and if duyane saw a nest is it possible 2 cottonmouths matted this far north and thats why i saw 3 or is this just impossible and is there any water snakes with the large v shaped heads that ressemble the cottonmouth? most water snakes heads are slender and not deffined i thought?

The biggest copperhead I've ever seen was on Laurel River Lake , really wanted to board our pontoon! (guess smelled the shiners in bucket?????) It actually got into the trolling motor which was running didn't seem to like that too much LOL

[QUOTE=usmc_0311_hunter;457899]well i have seen many copperheads on the farms were i grew up in maryland and i have killed 2 rattlesnakes in eastern ky while squirell hunting and these were to dark to be copperheads but they had the pit vper heads im gonna go back out there this week and try to get some pics to post to see what ayll think and if duyane saw a nest is it possible 2 cottonmouths matted this far north and thats why i saw 3 or is this just impossible and is there any water snakes with the large v shaped heads that ressemble the cottonmouth? most water snakes heads are slender and not deffined i thought?[/QUOTE]

Nonvenomous snakes can flatten their heads when they feel threatened to appear poisonous to ward off predators.

I think water snakes can have a larger head. The head is more flat and does not have the pits. It also can narrow more slowly back down to the body, where a pit's head will narrow quickly, but a water snake's head still can be larger. Of course there is the eyes and I was close enough to see these weren't round.

I readily admit I couldn't make a positive id based on the young I saw other than they were pits. The rest is based on habitat, which isn't the best indicator for certain. Knowing they were pits was enough for me, regardless of species. LOL

In doing a little research, copperheads can sometimes be found around water so that is a possibility. In the rocks, makes a little less sense, but what does these days? :)

If anyone wants a definitive answer as to whether the snake was poisonous or not, someone go catch one and look at the bottom on the tail ---- 1 row of scales = venomous, 2 rows of scales = nonvenomous. Who is feeling adventurous? :P

Well, I haven't been back so that should tell you how adventurous I feel about it. LMAO

[QUOTE=aceoky;457900]The biggest copperhead I've ever seen was on Laurel River Lake , really wanted to board our pontoon! (guess smelled the shiners in bucket?????) It actually got into the trolling motor which was running didn't seem to like that too much LOL[/QUOTE]

A bunch of years ago I got bit by a big copperhead while walking up the hill at Nolin Lake. He got me on my left leg in that soft spot between my ankle and achillies tendon. An old doctor in Brownsville gave me a shot of cortisone right in the bite, told me to keep ice on it and that I was a big ole strong boy and I'd be OK.

My leg was swolen and black and blue for days, felt like a had a broken ankle when I tried to walk on it. Maybe three days later I was fine, never got sick or anything like that. I was real freaked out that first night, thought I was gonna die.

He also told me that he treated a bunch of snake bites and they were all copperheads. He said that when he was young, probably back in the 50's, someone would get into a rare timber rattler but no one had seen one of those around Edmonson County for years.

I know my snakes, and have definately seen a cottonmouth in this area. However, just because it was around water doesn't make it a "water moccasin"(hope I spelled that right). I'm not saying they are plentiful around here; just saying its possible, and please don't kill them out of ignorance or irrational fears.

[QUOTE=toomanycasts;457942]I know my snakes, and have definately seen a cottonmouth in this area. However, just because it was around water doesn't make it a "water moccasin"(hope I spelled that right). I'm not saying they are plentiful around here; just saying its possible, and please don't kill them out of ignorance or irrational fears.[/QUOTE]

[URL]http://fw.ky.gov/pdf/kysnakebook.pdf[/URL]

Here is a good publication on Kentucky Snakes. Interesting read on Cottonmouths and similarities to water snakes. Check out all the triangular headed water snakes on pages 27, 28....... I know a lot of folks who say they've seen cottonmouths distant from their western Kentucky habitat and I believe them, better safe than sorry, but I've never heard a supposed expert on snakes say they can be found anywere but W-KY.

Let me add that I'm not jumping in here trying to claim people are wrong. Cottonmouths are just an interesting subject that gets brought up ever now and then.

Good information is always good. bad information... Well, speaks for itself. I'd rather get it right then be right.

it deffinatly wasnt the northern water snake now i hate to say this but it looked very similar to the diamondback water snake in that link on page 28 but it says those stay in western ky also so the only way im gonna find out for sure is to go catch one ill try to get out there wensday hopefully there in the same area they were laying out in the sun on that hillside right next to the bridge im sure they live right in that area shouldnt be hard to find

[QUOTE=usmc_0311_hunter;457971]it deffinatly wasnt the northern water snake now i hate to say this but it looked very similar to the diamondback water snake in that link on page 28 but it says those stay in western ky also so the only way im gonna find out for sure is to go catch one ill try to get out there wensday hopefully there in the same area they were laying out in the sun on that hillside right next to the bridge im sure they live right in that area shouldnt be hard to find[/QUOTE]

Good Luck !!!:eek: