They say – whoever “they” is – that if you have black snakes around, you won’t have copperheads. They are natural enemies. Better to have a harmless black snake or two than a nest of poisonous copperheads. Recently, I heard just the opposite, that copperheads and black snakes co-exist. This source said that the black snake/copperhead myth was just that – an old wives’ tale.
So which is it?
My friend Chris Johnson and I were having this discussion and he sent me a picture that more or less settles the argument. As you can see, the black snake is getting ready to have the copperhead for dinner. On occasion, however, if both snakes find a cozy place to hibernate, they will share those quarters. But the copperhead better wake up first, or it could be his last sleep over.
I have always liked having black snakes around. We once had a small cottage on Twin Lakes near Quinque and one day as I was picking up a piece of lumber from my pile, I discovered a huge black snake taking a nap. He was most disturbed to have been bothered, and grumbled a bit as he slithered away, but the next day he was back beneath the lumber. As it turns out, our little cabin had attracted mice and I had been trying to trap them, but Br’er Black Snake had a better idea. He ate them. Soon, we saw no more mice. A black snake is always there for a reason and that reason is usually food, as in rodents.
We now often find snake skins in our yard, sometimes smaller garter snake skins. and sometimes the much larger black snake skins. This I find interesting; A shed skin is always much longer than the snake that shed it. That’s because the skin covers both the top and bottom of each scale. So if you find a 4-foot skin, the snake was actually much smaller.
Black snakes are quite common in Virginia, but there are two types – North American rat snakes and black racers. Of the two, the racers are known to kill other snakes, while the rat snakes stick mostly to other foods.
Both are nonvenomous, with white or grayish bellies, and their diet consists mostly of rodents and other small animals. They also eat birds and bird eggs. I have a friend with a chicken house and he hates black snakes. They not only eat the hen’s eggs, but they will also sometimes strangle and kill the hen herself. So black snakes aren’t welcomed everywhere. Black snakes will generally slither away when confronted by a human, but sometimes become aggressive when they are molting – even the skin on their eyes sheds. At that point, they can’t see well and are more likely to attack out of self-defense.
A word of caution: Just because black snakes are non-poisonous, you don’t want to get bit by one. First, it hurts, and second, you may be exposed to bacteria, which can lead to infection. So if you see a black snake – and if you don’t have chickens – keep your distance, leave it alone and let this creature do what it does best. Eat mice.
Saltwater Update
Looks like great fishing ahead in saltwater for the 4th of July. The pier fishermen along the bay and at Virginia Beach are racking up. Amy Eanes of Danville decked a 27-inch puppy drum. A host of bottom fish are being caught including puppy drum, spot, sheepshead, and sea mullet. Cobia, bluefish and Spanish mackerel are also in the mix.
Ribbonfish have moved in with the Spanish mackerel for boats patrolling the coast. Offshore, the deep droppers are hammering the tile fish and black sea bass. Cobia are biting inside the bay along with red drum. Flounder action is picking up at the CBBT, The Cabbage Patch, Bluefish Rock, and Back River Reef.
On the OBX, some of the charters are finding Tilefish, Big Eye Tuna, Yellowfin Tuna, and Wahoo. The inshore boats out of Nags Head and Hatteras are doing well with Spanish Mackerel, Puppy Drum, and Speckled Trout. The sound is on fire with lots of keeper specks and pups, plus stripers. Dirty water in the surf slowed that action, but it should clear by week’s end.
Freshwater
Water temperatures in Lake Orange are in the mid-eighties and the water is stained. Fish are settling into their summer patterns. Bass are hitting topwater baits and soft plastics. Crappie fishing has picked up for anglers using small minnows in 8 to 10 foot depths. Walleye fishing has been good throughout the lake on live bait. Catfishing has been strong throughout the lake with chicken liver as bait. The bream are being caught on red wigglers.
The Chickahominy River is a great place for the topwater bite right now. Both the James and the Chick have lots of vegetation and wood cover that hold fish.
The upper James is in ideal shape and the smallmouth are biting. Topwater baits are working.
Lake Anna continues to produce good catches of bass during this time. A Tuesday night tournament produced a winning bag at 19-pounds. Crappie have gone deep at Anna, as they have at Buggs Island.
Many are trolling for stripers at Anna, and Buggs, but the live baiters are doing well by keeping baits in the strike zone longer.