[lforet2002]

One way to tell a water snake from a moccasin is if there in the water a water snake will just poke his head above water but his body will stay under where as a moccasins whole body will float on the surface...

 

[SCcatfishing]

I lived in the johnson/ carter county area going up, we often went to maryvile alcoa area 2 hours away from home... My whole life I never seen any snakes except for one time I was out in the swimming hole out by hhs off of 321... I was up 20ft in a tree about to dive into the water and I think my crap fell faster than I did, there was a 6 foot long black snake setting ontop of a nest of fishing line...

 

[festus]

I talked to several old retirees at Carbide Park Monday on this subject. Most of these folks retired from the bomb making plants in Oak Ridge, and spend much of their time around Melton Hill Lake. All these folks were familiar with the Clinch and Tennessee Rivers before either Watts Bar or Melton Hill were built. They say there are no cottonmouths around here, I mean the Anderson/Knox/Morgan, and Roane sections. Lots of folks confuse one type of water snake that's common here with a copperhead. They have the similar colorations to a copperhead, but they're slimmer, their tail is pointed, and they don't have the triangular head. I used to be party chief in a land surveying crew and also worked for the phone company, and have run into various types of snakes, but never a cottonmouth. And I usually pick blackberries every summer, have seen several rattlers and copperheads, but I make so much noise they're most likely more afraid of me than me of them. :cool2::cool2:

 

[festus]

....I forgot, these folks did tell me that there are cottonmouths in certain parts of KY. This seems odd since KY is north of TN, but I imagine it has something to do with zones. You know, like in a seed catalog when you order shrubs, trees, or grapevines, they'll have a map that asks what climate zone do you live in? Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, and so on. I live on the border of Zone 6 and Zone 7. I bet most cottommouths are found either in Zone 8 or on the border of Zone 7 and Zone 8. Or again, it could be the elevation or maybe even a microclimate. Say for instance, muscadine grapes may be grown in Zone 7, but you see very few in Zone 6. Parts of TN are in Zone 6, and many folks there have never heard of a muscadine. Then muscadines can grow all the way up to parts of Pennsylvania, which is far north of here. Can't tell you if Pennsylvania has a microclimate or is in Zone 7. Just my two cents worth. :wink:

 

[TennesseeJugger]

I grew up in southwest tn. yeah buddy they are down there, if you see a black snake with a diamond shaped head on water he is usually your man. I've never seen one in middle tn.

If I see a snake at all I do not hang around long enough to see what type of head they have....LOL

 

[Jedicazador]

Over near Camden a few years ago there was some men riding thier fourwheeler into work on a duckblind.They hit a bump on the trail and looked back and it moved.They first thought it was a tree limb but not it was a cotton mouth they killed and then got into trouble for killing it.If I can find a picture or web address on it I will post.It was too big for me for sure and too alive..Good snakes is dead snakes.

My buddy lives near that WMA and told me about that snake too, guess it was a monster. His wife was freaked out and wouldn't let the kids go out for a while

 

[AwShucks]

The ones you really, really have to watch out for are those copper headed rattler moccasins. They are some BAD dudes.

 

[festus]

:big_smile::smile2::roll_eyes: I knew an old lady with a dern master's degree from college, was book smart but didn't have the common sense of a grasshopper. She was a former Superintendent of Schools in Tennessee. She told me that rattlesnakes or copperheads could interbreed with blacksnakes. Ha ha, I'm not lying, AwShucks, some folks are just educated fools I guess. :wink:

The ones you really, really have to watch out for are those copper headed rattler moccasins. They are some BAD dudes.

 

[festus]

Preston, is that close to Cumberland Gap? Beautiful country up there, I've been to the spot many a time where you can stand in KY, VA, and TN at the same time. I have a friend who lived closeby to the Gap. You had to drive from Tennessee into Virginia, through Kentucky, and back into Tennesee to get to his place. oooh: He eventually moved further south and has a lot on Norris Lake.

festus,i was born in lee county va. the cumberland area,iwas so far back in the mountains that there was one way in and one way out.there were cotton mouths up there.my uncle was bitten by one.its right in the tri state area,tenn.,ken., and va. meet,so i would say yes yall have them,but i'm no expert.

 

[flatheadslayer]

Preston, is that close to Cumberland Gap? Beautiful country up there, I've been to the spot many a time where you can stand in KY, VA, and TN at the same time. I have a friend who lived closeby to the Gap. You had to drive from Tennessee into Virginia, through Kentucky, and back into Tennesee to get to his place. oooh: He eventually moved further south and has a lot on Norris Lake.

probably 20 or 30 min. away.

 

[ibmeubu]

here are a couple pictures showing what happens to a water snake that looks like a copper head and a chicken snake come together. If you can't tell by the pictures. what happened was the chicken snake first wraped around the water snake and just twisting and tightening up till the water snake was to weak to fight and as you can see the chicken snake eat him

 

[ibmeubu]

here's a couple more pictures.

 

[john catfish young]

I used to fish around the Cairo boat ramp area and I can tell you there are a bunch of them snakes around that area. I had one trying to get in the boat with me and my wife and she was screaming and I was beating at it with a long cane pole.......I decided to fire up the motor and get the heck out of there. These were not just water snakes....these were the big fat bodied, triangle heads, greenish-brown in color and snow white inside the mouth. "Cottonmouths".:crazy: