3 stripers and 1 rattle snake

[Salc28]

Went by this afternoon after work and hit 3 spots and the last 2 I hooked up to 3 stripers the water wasn't moving that much . At the second spot there was a lot of moss floating but I was using a bucktail jig so that wasn't a big problem . I got a 17" striper that was a fatty for the size , went to the third spot and as I got there I happen to ran over a small rattle snake just to keep in mind that they'll be coming out more soon . There I hooked 2 small ones about 15" . http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t465/salc28/B6E547C4-0922-44DB-AE57-B47A2CD3DE83-4683-0000027B136E5EA8.jpghttp://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t465/salc28/6E8F5314-9827-420B-BF4D-97BF1B6FDD68-4683-0000027B23567E5C.mp4http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t465/salc28/D31BABA2-20ED-4F7C-9178-A974496A6F18-4683-0000027BA5D28DC0.jpghttp://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t465/salc28/B7D82775-1C51-4FEC-A7E8-2FA86144BCA7-4683-0000027B86ECFC5C.jpghttp://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t465/salc28/D66707CC-6AF8-483C-8C4D-4675254F53DE-4683-0000027B49570158.jpg

[Fish Dog]

Nice fish. Just an FYI for you, that's a gopher snake, harmless. I'm sure there's a few buzzworms around there also though.

[Salc28]

Nice fish. Just an FYI for you, that's a gopher snake, harmless. I'm sure there's a few buzzworms around there also though. I thought I saw a small rattle on it , don't like to mess with things that can kill you .

[snospdr]

It's a gopher snake - harmless. Please don't kill them.

[Fish Dog]

I thought I saw a small rattle on it , don't like to mess with things that can kill you .

Don't blame you for that. Gopher snakes are good and we need them around. Here's something that will probably help you for next time.

http://www.californiaherps.com/images/signs/knowyoursnakessignmt306.jpg

If you ever see the two types of snakes together you'll never mistake one for another again. I might add that the gopher snake is marked similar to the rattle snake which is one of its natural defenses. Since it looks like a rattle snake some predators leave it alone. Ironically this similarity probably gets a lot of gopher snakes killed because people think they're rattle snakes.

[jdduckman]

My 2 snake stories.
Was at the AV duct and this Mojave Green was coming for me. He was probably gonna go right by, but I couldn't stand it so I tried to flick him with the end of my Fishing pole. In doing so I hooked him. Not knowing what to do I casted him out into the water and hooked some large sliding sinkers to the line and then cut the line.
I used to cut the stomachs open of all my duct fish, to try to find the Hot Bait. A catfish had a decomposing Mojave Green in it's stomach and another one had a pretty good sized gopher. I don't disect catfish stomach's anymore.

[cutbait]

Snakes out already?
Thanks for the heads up


Keep in mind. Gophers are shiny and thin while rattlers are dull and fat. Once you see a fee youll never confuse them.

Ive seen so many I can ID going 65 mph from 300 yds. Its pretty easy once you know

[Salc28]

Don't blame you for that. Gopher snakes are good and we need them around. Here's something that will probably help you for next time.

http://www.californiaherps.com/images/signs/knowyoursnakessignmt306.jpg

If you ever see the two types of snakes together you'll never mistake one for another again. I might add that the gopher snake is marked similar to the rattle snake which is one of its natural defenses. Since it looks like a rattle snake some predators leave it alone. Ironically this similarity probably gets a lot of gopher snakes killed because people think they're rattle snakes. they do appear to look the same but since that one I happen to ran over was about 14" long it did look like it was a rattle snake . I ran it over as I made a turn but at first I didn't know it was a snake .

[fishinone]

Nice job catching the striper.

Gopher snakes aren't an invasive species. LOL

They are similar, if your not sure leave it alone.