$99, a snake and a eel

So went over to sis in laws place to pick up some packages because had a lil address mix up and they got sent to her instead of my girls place like normal.Well walked in got my stuff and within a few minutes of me saying how nice it was out nephew was getting dressed grabbing rods and putting his car seat in my car [emoji23]
Went to Walmart to pick up some bait because the bait shop closes early on Sundays annnnd..... Well we had joked and he said we need to spend at least $100 this time ....ended up dropping $99.03 [emoji1751] ended up getting him a Shakespeare tiger spinning combo just to see if he could handle something a lil bigger and the tiger was one of the first "big" rods I got as a kid. Not too big not too little good mix imo. And for the whole $24 it cost if he broke it fish took it or what have you I wouldn't have been to mad lol .I swear I started tearing up a lil watching him looking at all the lures and stuff because I remember doing the exact same thing at his age. All that excitement, all the magic of getting ready for a fishing trip a fishing trip... Wil never understand why people try to kill that in a kid. That being said he's a bit too obsessed with the glow in the dark rod holders [emoji23]
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Gave him the responsibility of pushing the cart around and not hitting anyone, he seemed to love it
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Well we get to the spillway and it's kinda packed , 15 odd people within 60yd of bank on either side. Me and nephew had to get in kinda a brushy part of the bank. I had been telling him with it heating up id teach him how to look out for snakes so he can just avoid stepping on one and not get popped right ? Because down here as soon as it gets warm it's nothing to see. 10-15 snakes of different types along 50yd or bank. Everything from canebreak rattlers to harmless water snakes. Well, I had been when we where walking down ,but when he bumped the lil bush behind us I hear that zipping sound a snake makes when it's moving though leaves. Look and sure enough one had popped out of the bush and shot away from us out on to the trail. Calmly told nephew to freeze don't move don't scream and to just relax. To which he did really well as I pointed the snake out about 5' away. Like 3 1/2' yellow belly water snake. Harmless really. Unless your a fish or frog , and they can be a bit of a nuisance, because they will steal fish off your stinger or basket if your not careful. Well it turns around and goes back into the bush to with I tell nephew " see we just spooked the lil guy is all, he just wants to be be left alone" to which I proceeded to not leave him alone ,lean down grab him out the bush and pull him out to move him. Popped me about four times on the arm before I got a hold of his head but was able to give nephew a good look at him. Was trying to give him a basic lil snake ID deal. You know arrowhead usually venomous rounded head non venomous. Cat eyes venomous, round eyes usually nonvenomous. You know nothing to make him wanna go out snake cathing but I. Case he saw one he'd have a better idea of what he's looking at . Or at least " hay this one will definitely kill me this one probably won't " Well looks like he's inherited some of the women's in his family's complete fear of snakes.i'm laughing about it. He's very confused if he should scream or what [emoji23] just kept saying " ID PREFER IT IF YOU DIDN'T GET CLOSER ! " [emoji23] Well next thing you know the people 20' down the bank start freaking out after one of the women folk saw me and started failing her rod around goin "HES GOT A SNAKE O MY GOD ITS A SNAKE ITS A SNAKKKKKE !!" I mean all slipping and slidin over the bank ..for a snake....20 somthing foot away...in my hand [emoji849] I walk up the bank and toss the lil guy into a reed bed in the middle of the creek. Just to come back to these folks trying to interrogate me on why I didn't kill it. When I told them I like snakes and it was a harmless one they looked at me like I was insane and packed up not too long after and took off while nephew was reelin in a lil bream. O and he loves these lil fish grippers I got him ..lil girly I guess but hay about the only way he wants to hold a fish now for some reason... Idk got him told hold some the first time I told him but I don't know what got into him
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Well they moved and we slide down I to the nice spot they where at. Well would be nicer if they didn't leave so much damn trash. How hard is it to put all the junk you brought into the bag you brought it in with and dumb I in one of the 100 something trash cans all around the park [emoji849]
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Well cath a few more bream and decided to cast the tiger out with some shrimp. Nothing fact just a quick Carolina rig 2/0 hook.Something kept hitting it. And I mean pretty hard but never enough to get hooked. Never seen hits like that before. Thought it was a gar honestly. Reminded me of a bream bit but bigger. Would see the rod tip go " tap tap tap tap....TAP TAP ....TAP then drop it " Well I finally just let it sit and Said what ever it was would get over confident soon enough..well sure enough something decent finally hooked in. Gave it a few reels and told nephew to come get it and man the way that boy acted with that lil fight [emoji16] boy it's in him now not hard to tell when that lil kick of adrenaline gets in someone system once they get on a decent fighting fish.
Well we reeled it up and all we see is like a golden swirl... Like we had a ribbon or something...I though maybe a small gar ? He thought a snake... NOPE ! THE VERY FIRST EEL IVE EVER SEEN UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL!!
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Grandma used to always tell me about how they caught eels in the creeks around here when she was a kid ( think she said eel was strictly for the adults)but this is my...well me and nephew's FIRST! And man he's so dang proud of it ! Whole car Ride back he was talking about how awesome it was we got home he was basically yelling about it to him mom and dad who I sent the videos of it on Snapchat and they where beyond happy and proud of him. Even got a lil video here since it doesn't show his face but you can hear his excitement!
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Yeah really think this becoming once of May favorite thing to do while home [emoji846] ..hell of a lot better then all this wedding planning [emoji23]

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Great write up, Wolfdog91. Ahhh....you can keep the snakes!

DG

them eels is some good eating. one of our ponds had eels in it. we would smoke em till the bones picked out easy

:awesome:

Nice going, it sounded like a fun time. I ate eel for the first time last year and was pleasantly surprised. I have never lived near water that has them.

Those eels do make good eating.

Was working with a guy down in florida training retrievers for field trials. One sunday a guy I did not know at all asked if I wanted to go fishing. Yeah like I would ever turn that down. So we were down at some inlet into the intercoastal waterway near Pensicola catching croakers and I hooked this eel. Well the old guy told me to wet my hand, stick it into the sand, then grab the eel right behind the head. We ended up eating fresh croaker and eel for supper. Darn good stuff, but a little tricky to clean the first time.

Wolfdog91, you have the right exact tone of voice and content. You sir are a GOOD uncle. And doing a good job of telling the story too!

In the forest service we called those type of people by their scientific name Huminus Piggyus.

That young man is hooked. He'll get over being squeamish about handling the fish just don't rush him.

Snakes is cool :bigsmyl2:, spiders are not cool.

When I saw the title of this thread,, I knew I'd be entertained.

Not only entertained,, but I'd be smiling.

Yep,, I was right!

Great post!

Good reading!
Have used eels for bait, salt water! Slimy suckers, will have to remember water and sand trick!
Both son and daughter like to fish!

Great story! It's always a warm feeling when the Chirren take up hunting and fishing!

Wolfdog91....always an enjoyable read! Reminds me of what my uncle used to say: "Boys become good men because of time good men spend with boys"

I love seeing young people catching the fishing bug. Had a young gentleman with Autism ice fishing with us that caught a really nice 23 inch brook trout....he caught the bug....BAD...now he can't wait to fish with us every year and he's always welcome!

Great job! Brought back memories of my son and I fishing. Even have a pic of him in the back of my truck, tailgate down, and him fishing off it with his big guy sunglasses on. Thanks for the reminder.
Ron

You did a great Job !!!!! great post thank you.

I heard the excitement in 2 voices on that video. Another great story. You are doing good work.

Good write up, and good job of not killing the snake.
I remember many years ago a little cafe on the Mississippi, advertising "The worst food on the Mississippi River". They had excellent smoked eel and carp.

:awesome::Bright idea: Good job keep it going

Wolfdog91,

Thanks again for sharing your adventures with your nephew. I was blessed with only one, and I don't remember a bad day one we spent together. He's 52 now and those years sure flew by quick. Watching the bond being built between the two of you, the care and love the two of you share for one another, sure puts a smile on my face and brings joy to my heart. Thanks again my friend!

Murphy

Reminds me of trip to Fl, son wanted to fish off the bridge. Got a blowfish and then an eel. Had to get the side cutters to cut the stainless leader. He wouldn't get near it. Now his company says he can't fish if taking customers. He did get a black tip shark once. Took daughter to the creek once when she was little. I put on minnows fast as I could and the 20 or so folks on the bank started crowding her out so we left. Sandies are fun for kids.

Unagi, pronounced "ooh nah gee" (hard G) is Japanese for freshwater eel, ate many while stationed there '79 - '83, oustanding eats.

Great story and kudos to Uncle Wolfdog!!!

Great to see you educating him on the snakes. Most snakes are beneficial to the ecology, even the poisonous ones. Learning what to do when you encounter them is a very needed skill. Way back when, I used to catch rattlers and take them to the local hospital to be milked for venom to make antivenom. We would get paid 5.00 a snake and the requirements were to bring it in alive and unharmed and to release it after in the same place it was caught. Nowadays the antivenom is synthetic so no more snake venom is needed and people have pushed how bad snakes are all over the internet. Rattlesnakes will always tell you they are there and to not come closer, If you stop and hold still they will usually move off on their own. If they are protecting their home they will not move but if you slowly back off they will not follow. The one thing to be aware of is some rattlers have lost their rattles through a fight with another animal or shedding that did not go well. The tail will still be going like crazy but no noise.

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Originally Posted by Rickf1985

Great to see you educating him on the snakes. Most snakes are beneficial to the ecology, even the poisonous ones. Learning what to do when you encounter them is a very needed skill. Way back when, I used to catch rattlers and take them to the local hospital to be milked for venom to make antivenom. We would get paid 5.00 a snake and the requirements were to bring it in alive and unharmed and to release it after in the same place it was caught. Nowadays the antivenom is synthetic so no more snake venom is needed and people have pushed how bad snakes are all over the internet. Rattlesnakes will always tell you they are there and to not come closer, If you stop and hold still they will usually move off on their own. If they are protecting their home they will not move but if you slowly back off they will not follow. The one thing to be aware of is some rattlers have lost their rattles through a fight with another animal or shedding that did not go well. The tail will still be going like crazy but no noise.

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I used to hunt snakes to collect venom back 50 years ago. Back then, we could milk them in the field and release them again. When they changed it so we had to take them to a lab to have them milked, we stopped hunting them, as having a sack full of snakes to haul around did not appeal to us. We got paid by the gram, and that sure worked out better than $5 per snake!

Thanks always for your shares Wolfdog......Obviously, you have a buddy for life.