From today's Whitegrass page;

http://www.whitegrass.com/SpringSummer10/IMGP9190snakleLG.jpg

Years ago I witnessed a water snake catch and eat a trout in the Shenandoah National park. The snake caught the trout in shallow water when it panicked as my buddy was crossing a tiny stream. In trying to escape us it passed near the waiting snake which grabbed it around the middle just like this. Then, without ever releasing its grip it somehow turned the trout headfirst and slowly swallowed it whole. The process took many minutes. The trout was fatter than the snake and you could see its shape and the outline of the dorsal fin in the snakes belly. I suppose snakes have to eat too, but there must be a deep human horror of snakes.

Sorry to pop your bubble Denis but that is just a harmless northern water snake dining on a native brook trout...and they don't even need a fishing license. A little knowledge of the local snakes will alleviate a lot of the "horror" people have for these critters. Yes there are rattlesnakes in the area, in fact I've caught and released a big (5') female timber rattlesnake off Moutainside Trail. The vast majority of snakes you will encounter are non-venomous and completely harmless. No need to be fear mongering. Now my 12' 120 lb dog tame green anaconda may get your attention but that is another story!!! (:^O)>>>

I didn't take the picture and didn't see it and don't really care either. But, if that is a water snake why does it have a triangular head and such a fat body?

In 35 years of living and hiking in the mid Atlantic mountains I have seen a lot of snakes. More than half were copperheads and rattlesnakes. Vipers are easily spotted by the triangular head, wider than the neck just behind it, and the much fatter body relative to length than non venomous snakes. (They eat well.) I once had a copperhead strike at my leg and miss in the Shenandoah. Then, it stood its ground and stared straight at me as I slowly backed away. It knew I had more to fear from it than it had to fear from me. To tell people that the majority of snakes in this area are harmless is a disservice IMHO.

Yeh...I've heard about "Dog Tame" creatures before Redman....Hope to see ya on the slopes again this year

I won't dispute your field finds Denis but as an avid amateur herpetologist coupled with 35 years of biking, hiking, and snake hunting in the mid-Atlantic region I have seen, collected, and then released literally several (3-4) hundred snakes. Of those 3-4 hundred snakes I would say that 5 were timber rattlesnakes, ~20 were copperheads, and 5 were water moccosins from the OBX area. All the rest were garter snakes, ring-neck snakes, racers, blackrats, corn snakes, hognose snakes, king snakes, mole kings, green ratsnakes, worm snakes, queen snakes, dekay snakes, northern water snakes, rough green snakes, smooth green snakes, red-bellied snakes, and eastern milksnakes. I think that about covers it. The fact remains that the vast majority of snakes encountered in the wild are non-venomous. Most people couldn't tell the difference between a copperhead and a hognose snake or a rattlesnake and a northen water snake for that matter.

I went fly fishing in Yosemite once with a guide and we saw a rattler catch and eat a trout. I am positive it was a rattler as you could see its rattle once it made its way to the opposite bank with its dinner. The guide, who had lived and fished in that area his entire life said he had never seen it before. It was pretty cool.

Also, in the Western PA mountains where I hike and bike, I would say I see as many rattlers (again, 100% positive ID) as I do anything else. According to my local vet, who is only one of many in the area, he has treated 5 dogs this summer for confirmed rattler strikes in this same area. I don't think people should be afraid of them, but they are definitely there.

Here's a picture of one I saw biking last fall:

Okay, entering a link to an image is not working, so try this:

Rattler

Seen many a rattler in kanawha state forest when i lived in charleston. Quite a few down at Holly river this year too. Havent seen many in CV. Maybe less than 3 in 5 years.

My dog barks a lot when on the trails though. maybe he scares them all off before i get there...

When I was a kid I saw a snake catch a Golden Trout on north fork of south brach of the potomac where Harman cabins is now outside of petersburg wv. it wiggled up on a rock across the river from where we were fishing. I also remember being in scouts when a couple of the younger kids were playing with what they though was a water snake when we were cmamping on private land up near the fish hatchery, which upon inspection was a small copperhead. I've seen a lot of posion and non posion snakes in the that area. Here in virginia near my home seem to have a lot of larger water snakes(look like black snakes with a cross pattern on back) that look scary but are not really. However, I willl just say when on Dolly Sods always check rock ledges before you throw a hand over it.

I saw a 4-5 foot black snake on my trail ride today. Very pretty. Not bad for Fairfax County. I hope it got off the trail before someone ran it over.