Getting Tagged and Fishing Bedded Bass in March

One of the reasons I especially excited for Noah and my third and longest trip to Florida is that it was a much better time of year to see wildlife than our previous trips, and I'd have more time to devote to that. Don't get me wrong, I can fish longer and harder than most, but there are other things to enjoy, and seeing snakes is one of the things I enjoy most in life. All I'd ever seen in Florida on prior trips were black racers, and we have much better looking racers at home anyway. So, not only did Noah and I specifically dedicate some time to herping, but I spent quite a bit of time looking for snakes while we were out fishing. I'd already seen a few snakes that I was unable to get to when, on a notably fruitless venture up the canal we found tarpon and snook in the week before, I finally spotted a snake that didn't evade me when I tried to catch it. In the rocks of the spillway I saw what was obviously some member of the genus Nerodia, or water snakes. I later determined that it was a Floria green water snake, Nerodia floridana. I had already missed three brown water snakes on the other side and wasn't about to let this one get away, though I could tell it wasn't the same species. I gently grabbed the snake's mid-section and removed it from the rocks. It was none too pleased with this, as is typically the case with Nerodia. Some snake species rarely bite, but water snakes in general are inclined to do so. I've been bit by numerous water snakes while handling them. I managed to get this one out of the rocks and up onto the grass without getting bit. I did a little bit of antagonizing to get it to pose nicely for photos.

I took a couple shots, hunched over and leaning down, reaching out towards that snake, then moved to adjust my position. Doing so I made myself look bigger and she struck, one of many times she'd already done so, but this time she got me, tagged me right on my middle finger. This was the first time I was ever bitten by a snake I wasn't holding at the time, and I was a little disappointed with myself. I don't care if a non-venomous snake I've got my hands on bites me as they generally calm down after the first bite doesn't draw a reaction, and a small non-venemous snake bite is neither dangerous nor painful most of the time. But being bit by a snake that I don't have my hands on means I didn't have a good enough read on that animal. But, it is a good illustration of just how minor most snake bites are. A lot of people kill water snakes. They are very bitey snakes, but they don't deserve to be killed. Most bites from a water snake draw a little blood, sting a little maybe, and heal quickly. This is what one looks like:

After I calmed down completely the snake calmed down completely, and not only did she stop striking at me from the ground, when I handled her again, she was completely relaxed. When I released her back into the spot I'd pulled her, she didn't rush away in an attempt to get away from me, she just slowly slithered off, letting me pet her as she went. 

The fishing that day up that canal arm was quite poor compared to our previous experience there, so we headed down stream past the launch to water we hadn't fished in a little while. On the way down I found a beaded pair of bass, small male and large female, and decided to dedicate some time to catching the female.  Fishing for bedding bass is not something I do a lot anymore because it is very disruptive and dramatically decreases the success of their spawning and their mortality. But in this case, there were a lot of bass around and a lot of very big bass, so I didn't feel I'd be hurting the quality of the fishery much. In CT, mid to late may is the time for bedding bass, and it's a short window. In Florida the spawn seems to be quite a bit longer, as Noah and I had now seen bedding bass as early as January and late as March. The male, of course, ate first, as is often the case. I lost him kayak side, and he really wasn't a bad fish. It's not uncommon for a bedded pair of largemouth to consist of a one pound male and a female as much as eight or more pounds heavier than her partner. The female in this case was probably only a pound or two heavier than the male. She had mouthed the fly on my first cast but now that I'd caught her partner she became hesitant. I did eventually aggravate her enough to bite again though. The fight was really impressive. I often trash talk how poorly largemouth bass fight for their popularity, but this fish was an exception. She pulled. 

It was a nice little gift to find and fish for a bedded largemouth that early in the year, even though in Florida the spawn was almost over. It definitely makes me less inclined to fish for the first bedding bass I see back at home... unless that bass is clearly a fish over five pounds. I have very little restraint in such a case. In my defense, bass aren't native to CT waters anyway....

Until next time,

Fish for the love of fish.

Fish for the love of places fish live.

Fish for you.

And stay safe and healthy.

Thank you to my Patrons; Erin, David, John, Elizabeth, Brandon, Christopher, Shawn, Mike, Sara, Leo, and Franky for supporting this blog on Patreon.