Are the snakes really that bad?

[Harps]

Nearly a dozen strong men, and a couple of weak ones, were lost to Cottonheads down there last year.

[Al Agnew]

I think cottonmouths have a well-developed sense of curiousity. On the upper Jacks Fork, where I've seen more of them than anywhere else in the Ozarks, I've had several swim right up to the canoe, not aggressively, just looking at me like, "what the heck are you?" There's no way they would actually "charge" somebody, but I don't think they have a whole lot of fear of people, and if you're between them and where they want to go, they kinda expect you to get out of the way. I've had a couple get close enough that I had to push them away with the boat paddle. But the only time I really felt threatened was when I nearly stepped on one at night while walking along a gravel bar at water's edge. Even it was simply loosely coiled and looking up at me as if thinking, "are you REALLY going to take one more step?" It did not retreat. I did.

[fishinwrench]

I was standing mid-riffle and just upstream one started across, and when it noticed me it stopped swimming and the current carried him right into me.

I told myself to just freeze and remain cool but panicked at the last second because he looked like he was in position to strike.

I swatted at him with my rod (Stupid!) and attempted to high step away, slipped and fell, then recovered and ran to dry ground. Once I turned around the moccasin was nowhere to be found.

For a minute I wasn't sure if I had been bitten when I fell or not.

I'm not at all scared of snakes but that little episode kinda ruined my day.

[tho1mas]

I sure do not like those copper headed rattle moccasins.