On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:33:47 -0400, gfretwell wrote:


I am not as sure about the snakes. I am out in the scrub park near the
house quite a bit and I have never seen a rattlesnake. There are plenty
of black snakes and a few coachwhips there. This may be why
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake1.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake2.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake3.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake4.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake5.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake6.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake7.jpg

Great shots. That rattler seemed as long as the racer. I wonder if they
ever kill something that won't fit? After that meal, I'm surprised he
could move.



I took a stingray barb in the foot once on the beach on Sanibel but it
wasn't a bad shot. He poked up the barb to say "I'm sleeping here" and I
was walking carefully so it only went in about 1/2" I picked open the
wound with a fruit pick from the barmaid at the Hilton (now the Sanibel
Inn) beach bar and flushed it out with vodka.

That's the way John Wayne would have done it. ;-)

On Sep 21, 2:17*pm, thunder wrote:
On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:33:47 -0400, gfretwell wrote:
I am not as sure about the snakes. I am out in the scrub park near the
house quite a bit and I have never seen a rattlesnake. There are plenty
of black snakes and a few coachwhips there. This may be why
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake1.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake2.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake3.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake4.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake5.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake6.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake7.jpg

Great shots. *That rattler seemed as long as the racer. *I wonder if they
ever kill something that won't fit? *After that meal, I'm surprised he
could move.

I took a stingray barb in the foot once on the beach on Sanibel but it
wasn't a bad shot. He poked up the barb to say "I'm sleeping here" and I
was walking carefully so it only went in about 1/2" I picked open the
wound with a fruit pick from the barmaid at the Hilton (now the Sanibel
Inn) beach bar and flushed it out with vodka.

That's the way John Wayne would have done it. *;-)

Great pics.

On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:21:34 -0400, gfretwell wrote:


Did you see the picture of the python that ate a gator so big that it
exploded?

Yeah, that was also impressive.

http://criticalmiami.com/index.php?id=236

On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:01:18 -0400, gfretwell wrote:


The pythons are so bad in the everglades they have opened up hunting for
them. No closed season, no bag limit and no restriction on how you take
them.
My son in law works for water management and the guy they have taking
them uses a shotgun. The trick is being far enough away that when you
hit one in the part that is exposed, he can't get you when he strikes
back. It is certainly not a "single shot" shotgun sort of thing. You
need a quick follow up shot to hit him in the head on that strike. It is
sort of a "station 8 low house" sort of thing but a "double". There are
teams that capture them alive but they are not your average people and
they do get bit a lot. The bites are very likely to get infected.
I am going to get out there with the water management folks the first
time I get a chance but I will be a shotgun guy, not a "grab'm" guy. (at
least not at first)
I might want to go out with a capture team once I get a feel for it. I
don't mind wrestling with critters.

Looks like you have a new python, besides the Burmese one.

http://www.miamiherald.com/573/story/1243680.html

I'm still amazed those things will tangle with an alligator. I was doing
a little reading on the pythons. It seems they could really do some
damage on the Everglades ecosystem. That's a shame. There isn't any
place like the Everglades.

On Sep 21, 9:49*pm, thunder wrote:
On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:01:18 -0400, gfretwell wrote:
The pythons are so bad in the everglades they have opened up hunting for
them. No closed season, no bag limit and no restriction on how you take
them.
My son in law works for water management and the guy they have taking
them uses a shotgun. The trick is being far enough away that when you
hit one in the part that is exposed, he can't get you when he strikes
back. It is certainly not a "single shot" shotgun sort of thing. You
need a quick follow up shot to hit him in the head on that strike. It is
sort of a "station 8 low house" sort of thing but a "double". There are
teams that capture them alive but they are not your average people and
they do get bit a lot. The bites are very likely to get infected.
I am going to get out there with the water management folks the first
time I get a chance but I will be a shotgun guy, not a "grab'm" guy. (at
least not at first)
I might want to go out with a capture team once I get a feel for it. I
don't mind wrestling with critters.

Looks like you have a new python, besides the Burmese one.

http://www.miamiherald.com/573/story/1243680.html

I'm still amazed those things will tangle with an alligator. *I was doing
a little reading on the pythons. *It seems they could really do some
damage on the Everglades ecosystem. *That's a shame. *There isn't any
place like the Everglades.

B'leve it or not, the PETA types got upset about shooting the pythons.

On Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:37:08 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:49:48 -0500, thunder
wrote:

On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:01:18 -0400, gfretwell wrote:


The pythons are so bad in the everglades they have opened up hunting for
them. No closed season, no bag limit and no restriction on how you take
them.
My son in law works for water management and the guy they have taking
them uses a shotgun. The trick is being far enough away that when you
hit one in the part that is exposed, he can't get you when he strikes
back. It is certainly not a "single shot" shotgun sort of thing. You
need a quick follow up shot to hit him in the head on that strike. It is
sort of a "station 8 low house" sort of thing but a "double". There are
teams that capture them alive but they are not your average people and
they do get bit a lot. The bites are very likely to get infected.
I am going to get out there with the water management folks the first
time I get a chance but I will be a shotgun guy, not a "grab'm" guy. (at
least not at first)
I might want to go out with a capture team once I get a feel for it. I
don't mind wrestling with critters.

Looks like you have a new python, besides the Burmese one.

http://www.miamiherald.com/573/story/1243680.html

I'm still amazed those things will tangle with an alligator. I was doing
a little reading on the pythons. It seems they could really do some
damage on the Everglades ecosystem. That's a shame. There isn't any
place like the Everglades.

I was flipping channels tonight and saw that Jackass guy playing with
two anacondas in one of those ball houses the kids play in.
One of the snakes disappeared in those balls and popped out of nowhere
to grab one of the guys by the leg. The Jackass guy got two nasty
bites on his arm trying to hold one. He had it too far from the head
(maybe on purpose, considering who it was).
I am thinking the shotgun doesn't sound like a bad idea.
I am not looking for aT

The internet should disclose some makers of western boots. Might be
good money in the skins

Casady

On Sep 22, 8:06*am, (Richard Casady)
wrote:
On Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:37:08 -0400, wrote:
On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:49:48 -0500, thunder
wrote:

On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:01:18 -0400, gfretwell wrote:

The pythons are so bad in the everglades they have opened up hunting for
them. No closed season, no bag limit and no restriction on how you take
them.
My son in law works for water management and the guy they have taking
them uses a shotgun. The trick is being far enough away that when you
hit one in the part that is exposed, he can't get you when he strikes
back. It is certainly not a "single shot" shotgun sort of thing. You
need a quick follow up shot to hit him in the head on that strike. It is
sort of a "station 8 low house" sort of thing but a "double". There are
teams that capture them alive but they are not your average people and
they do get bit a lot. The bites are very likely to get infected.
I am going to get out there with the water management folks the first
time I get a chance but I will be a shotgun guy, not a "grab'm" guy. (at
least not at first)
I might want to go out with a capture team once I get a feel for it. I
don't mind wrestling with critters.

Looks like you have a new python, besides the Burmese one.

http://www.miamiherald.com/573/story/1243680.html

I'm still amazed those things will tangle with an alligator. *I was doing
a little reading on the pythons. *It seems they could really do some
damage on the Everglades ecosystem. *That's a shame. *There isn't any
place like the Everglades.

I was flipping channels tonight and saw that Jackass guy playing with
two anacondas in one of those ball houses the kids play in.
One of the snakes disappeared in those balls and popped out of nowhere
to grab one of the guys by the leg. The Jackass guy got two nasty
bites on his arm trying to hold one. He had it too far from the head
(maybe on purpose, considering who it was).
I am thinking the shotgun doesn't sound like a bad idea.
I am not looking for aT

The internet should disclose some makers of western boots. Might be
good money in the skins

Casady

As all the grandkids of my parents got older, at Easter, the kid's
would hide the eggs and the adults would look for em. My sis in law
was bending over to pick up an egg and a hognose snake "struck" at
her. She fainted right there on the spot and so did the snake. You
could roll the snake on his belly and he'd roll back over like he's
trying to say, 'Go away, I'm dead", sorta cute.
Another time, we were exploring the pit at Falling Waters State Park
mapping the cave at the bottom and one of the guys finds a black racer
in the pit and decides to "rescue" it even though tit looked very
happy to me down there. He caught it and stuffed it into his pack and
started up the rope. He gets about halfway up and that snake got out
of his pack and starts wrapping round his arm biting him and he's
desperately trying to stuff it back in with one hand, funny as hell.

On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:01:18 -0400, wrote:

I am going to get out there with the water management folks the first
time I get a chance but I will be a shotgun guy, not a "grab'm" guy.
(at least not at first)

Where would you go for the best python hunting and what would be the
most suitable boat? I've been back 20 to 30 miles in the Little Shark
River area but haven't seen any snakes, possibly from lack of skill at
it.

Do you need to notify the park people in advance?