Friend Catches 3 Foot Snake While Fishing in Brandywine Creek State Park
Brandywine Creek State Park, along with the many other state parks throughout Delaware offer ample opportunities for outdoor recreation. Whether you’re into fishing, hiking, camping, disc golf, bird watching, tubing, canoeing, kayaking, etc., there is truly something for everyone in our state parks, especially Brandywine Creek.
Like many Delawareans, I enjoy fishing with my friends, even if we don’t catch anything, it’s still nice to sit back and cast a line out on a sunny day. We often journey to different locations and mark our favorite spots. Anglers in Brandywine Creek can often catch small mouth bass, bluegill, crappie, and trout when it’s stocked.
But the last time we went fishing, we caught something we weren’t expecting…
After he reeled it in, we jumped back and gave the line a little slack. The snake was able to wrap itself around a rock and somehow unhook itself (thank goodness) and went swimming away.
This type of snake is a common Watersnake. The Watersnake is most often mistaken to be a venomous cottonmouth snake, which is exactly what my friends and I thought it was on first appearance. The northern watersnake is marked by dark-colored blotches and feeds primarily on water creatures, therefore it rarely ever leaves the water. Watersnakes are common in Delaware and are not poisonous. But that still doesn’t mean you should try and provoke them or hold one. Treat them with space and respect, and you will receive it from snakes in return. In fact, Delaware is home to only two species of venomous snake: northern copperheads and timber rattlesnakes. So please be cautious when approaching any snake in Delaware. Both of these species are extremely venomous and can be lethal.
Be aware of your surroundings in any state park, anywhere you go and take in the beauty of what’s in our backyard, especially during this time when the virus limits us to certain activities.
