Snakes while scouting.

[blizzardhunter]

I've seen on the news there has been a rise in snake bites the last few years. Several in western ky already this yr.

Post that a few more times and on a few more forums, western ky public lands may receive a little less pressure on Labor Day weekend than usual!

That's funny.

When I was researching KY public, I could not get through a single thread about an area without someone warning about snakes, ticks or druggies. I actually started to think it was some sort of prank...

Unfortunately we have been the meth and opioid capital of the USA for a while. But I've never ran into a druggie deer hunting. I have several friends from out of state that swear we have the worst tick population they've ever seen. As far as snakes go I've seen plenty of copperhead but have never had a bad experience with one. However, cottonmouths are the meanest things to ever live on the earth. Fish and wildlife claim we have the highest per acre population of cottonmouths of anywhere in the country in our end of the state. I find that hard to believe but those damn things are everywhere. All our swamp and riverbottom here is thick timber and I'm serious when I say they are everywhere. The public hill country we have never was bad except the ticks. But the forestry department reintroduced eastern diamond back rattlesnakes about 20 years ago. The population took off so now I never hunt public till the weather gets cool. I hate snakes.

[Tufrthnails]

I've seen on the news there has been a rise in snake bites the last few years. Several in western ky already this yr.

Post that a few more times and on a few more forums, western ky public lands may receive a little less pressure on Labor Day weekend than usual!

That's funny.

When I was researching KY public, I could not get through a single thread about an area without someone warning about snakes, ticks or druggies. I actually started to think it was some sort of prank...

Fish and wildlife claim we have the highest per acre population of cottonmouths of anywhere in the country in our end of the state.

Don't tell my cousin up there that I'll never get him back in the public land up there! I drug him out last Nov, But I'm wanting to go early season this year. He already swore off hunting in FL, because of the snakes and we only seen 3 that evening.

[UofLbowhunter]

I had a scouting trip in april where i couldnt walk with out stepping on a snake, it was unreal. I think that was the day they wanted to come out for spring cause there where sevral still mud covered. I havent been back scouting there since Ticks have been horrible in kentucky this year i have heard of to many people coming down with something due to a tick bite. And i have heard of to many people just flat out getting covered up this year. I told my wife she lucky cause im gonna try to stay out of the woods this summer. Ticks and snakes are not my favorite things. Blizzard, when i was younger seeing a copper head was norm around my old house, i use to live near some bottoms, the farmers started tiling and cleaning things up and they disappeared. I started working on the other side of my county near some stripe mines and i see copper heads left and right there. There still around but spotty! Cotton mouths on the other hand, there thick around here about like everywhere else. One thing i dont see is rattlers (thank god) but i do see them in LBL!

[blizzardhunter]

UofL you can mix up some permethren and make a stout insect killer/ repellent. I use it for turkey season and early bowseason. I don't really care about ticks anymore. Are u putting in for the lbl quota hunt this year.

[SouthernHunter]

I heard in April I think, that Georgia was experiencing extremely high reports. I also have a friend in North Georgia who runs a wildlife control business on the side and he claimed he was getting more snake removal calls than he could do. He had to hire a part timer just to keep up.

[Wannabelikedan]

Permethrin treated clothing+snake boots+good walking stick(more for snakes and keeping spider webs off your face)+pistol full of rat shot= less worries during southern scouting

[jman22]

I sure have it easy in upstate NY when it comes to snakes. Especially after reading through this thread! I give you southern guys credit, it must add a new level of awareness dealing with those buggers. I used to do some work down in Louisiana walking transects through woods. They loved us NY guys down there bc we covered a lot of ground in a hurry. Never told em it was bc we just wanted to get back to our NY woods!

[UofLbowhunter]

UofL you can mix up some permethren and make a stout insect killer/ repellent. I use it for turkey season and early bowseason. I don't really care about ticks anymore. Are u putting in for the lbl quota hunt this year.

Yes im putting in for the quota, but i may just put in for preference point. I have one already. I really want to get down there this month and do some glassing and speed scout around some bean fields just to see if theres any thing around , that may change my mind ,and then maybe do some winter trips to get a feel for where they could be at. I have two in mind if they made it,i scouted last year. But finding them i know will be alil tough. I think i may try a bow hunt or two though. Being 2 hours away just makes it alil tuffer to get there.

Ive use permathin alot turkey hunting it mostly works but i still have come in with ticks on my head and stuff, ive just have heard and know people from this year, i just dont want to get sick i have enough health issues as it is. I normally would be out Getting it though!

[blizzardhunter]

Let me know if you make it down for a hunt. I live 15 minutes away so I'll probably be up there. This week I was having to drive to nashville everyday for work and was driving through lbl at daylight. I've saw a lot of deer in the bean fields and a couple really nice bucks. Should be a good year.

[SidewayZ]

That sucks. If I saw that many snakes of those types, I would probably not hunt....Fricking hate snakes!

[IkemanTx]

I can't get away from them down here.. especially since I use water to access

[blizzardhunter]

Bump for UofLbowhunter

[IkemanTx]

I get more snakes in early season than I do in scouting. Mostly because I scout in January-February, and early March.
I got a pair of Dan's frog legs because of them. Snakeproof to my inseam!

[beartruth2]

They are bad here in the part of texas i hunt it's nothing to kill rattlers in December specially the last couple mild winters we had

[UofLbowhunter]

If im lying, may i fall over dead now, whitch i almost did this morning. I was scouting a big creek bottom, due to the fact we had a big cold front role through Friday. Any way, i was following a creek that lead past a swamp that has a island i want to look at, the sign was getting right for a bed, find fresh scat i stated looking hard. I eye balled a wollerd place in some tall grass and eased over to it at the edge i spot an odd looking shape in the grass edge. I kid you not it was the biggest copper head i have laid my eye on (sorry taking a pic was the last thing on my mind) 3' long and the biggest stubby body i had ever seen. My first thought was a python, really, i bet his side hieght was as tall as a doubled up fist, and his head was just as big. His dam brown striped eye where about the size of your thumb nail. I just freaked, all i could think was smack the out of him and run!! So i smacked him with my walking stick and hauled it out of there!! I know he jumped two foot. He didnt have full belly either cause i think took off as fast as i did the other way!! And to top that i took off so fast and didnt worry about where i was goin and ran through the swamp water some and had a cotton mouth take off on the route i was shaggin down thank god he was scouting away cause i wasnt about to stop!! I have seen several big poisions snakes around the bottoms i grew up in but nothing that ever really bothered me, but that one tore me up, it was unreal!! So think twice about kentucky swamps in the early season. I see good ones here!!