We went out on the Pocomoke River at 5:30a launching out of Snow Hill, MD. The morning was cloudy and cool. We just had two days of non-stop rain and some of the river was windy, so we tucked into where it was calm.
Fishing the high tide, we were able to cast into both the banks and lily pads. The lily pads did not produce for us today. The bank is where I caught three largemouth bass, one on a wacky worm and two on a spinner bait. John caught one largemouth bass on a chatter bait.
While fishing the bank a northern water snake swam by. It was about 24” long and swam around a little bit before going ashore.
The Northern Water Snake is a non-venomous aquatic snake that is common throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed and can live in brackish waters. They can grow two to four feet in length. They have a highly variable color and pattern and may be tan, gray, reddish, or brownish-black. They have dark crossbands on the neck and forefront. They swim actively during the day and night and can been found basking on stumps, rocks and branches to stay warm. They can hold their breath under water for one and a half hours. Their diet consists of small fish, worms, frogs, salamanders, and crayfish. They can live up to 10 years. They will secrete a foul-smelling odor to keep predators away. Males begin to breed at two years old and females at three years old. Females give birth to one litter of live young per year usually in mid to late summer. The young are independent at birth.
Although the day was a bit slow, we did catch fish and that’s a good day.
SIDE NOTE: The low tide never got low. Only about six inches. Very odd, but maybe the storm the day before had something to do with it.