Michigan Rattlesnake

[Hunt4Ever]

I saw my first Michigan Rattlesnake the other day.

We were shooting arrows and shot one over the target. While were were looking for it, I saw the snake. It was coiled up and was shaking it's tail. It was small, about 8-10 inches, but you could hear the rattle.

It was pretty cool. The only thing that bothers me is this was a small one. That means there are two bigger ones out there some where.

By the way, I was in Hamburg.

Anyone else seen one?

[$Big Pimpin$]

Yeah we seem to have alot of them out ihere in the Hambug/Pinckney area.

[ESOX]

There are quite a few of them in the nature area of Stony Creek Metropark, I have seen them up to 30"there in the marshy area in the extreme northeast corner of the upper lake (north of 28 mile).

[rrbuckmaster]

My friend and I saw one in Clarkston off Waldon rd about 7 years ago. About 24" long and what a surprise when you hear a rattle!

[ice fishin' nut]

My aunt lives on Buk Lake, across the street from the Dairy Queen in Hamburg, and along the road are some Cattails. Saw one there this past August..... Scared the @#%@ out of me!!!!!

Ice Fishin' Nut

[fishinlk]

I saw one 4 yrs ago while camping along the Manistee in Kalkaska cty. I was sitting at my picnic table tying flies and I heard some buzzing next to my tent. It sounded like a june bug was under my rainfly so I got up to take a look. As I'm standing on one side of my tent leaning around the corner looking up I hear the buzz again only on the ground. I look down and there's a nice 2' snake stretched out alond side of my tent and my foot was about 3" from being snake bait! I never jumped so high in my life!!! After I calmed down I backed up and watched it from my picnic table as it made its way to the river. It made it most of the way there when some people parked in the campsite next to mine and decided to take a walk down to the river. I had to warn them that the snake was there. So what do they do? they want to take pictures of it and get a big stick and start prodding and poking at the snake. They get him nice and worked up next to my camp site. :mad:
Well about this time my neighbor comes back from town and I clue him in on the game. He had an empty cooler and spinning rod. We snagged the snake and dropped him in the cooler. The fly never stuck in the snake, just enough to get him the cooler. We then drove him out about a mile and a half with me sitting on the cooler lid and dumped him in the woods. It wa REALLY cool except for the idiots with the stick and the camera.

Lance

[PW]

I saw a couple near where I grew up outside Kalamazoo. Five years ago, I saw one while hiking in the Pigeon River state forest. Actually, my wife saw it first. I was walking a ways ahead of her and ran back after I heard her call "Umm...Paul?" in a calm but concerned voice. It was on a bank alongside the trail, right at knee level with her and rattling away. I just had her circle widely and slowly around it, and as soon as she moved back it settled down.

[northern_outdoorsman]

I saw one in Roscommon a few years back...Some lady was trying to run it over with her Truck...I stopped her, caught it and put it in a bucket. She said I hope ya kill it, my kids play around here. I told her I would go way out in the swamp and let it go...I hoped it lived...I think she rolled over it once:(

[Youper]

At one time I lived in north Florida, and worked out in the sticks. One day as I left work there was a large snake streched out across the road not far from the drive way. It was so long that when I ran over it, both the drivers side and passenger side tires ran over the snake with plenty to spare. It was quite a big bump, but the snake seemed pretty unimpressed, and slithered off the road. It also took me years to stop looking for things that want to bite or pinch me, and actually look at anything above ground level. The first time I went canoing in the UP, I looked for 'gators all day, and had to keep kicking myself. As Homer Simpson would say,"Doh!"

[fishctchr]

I know of a couple of swampy areas (one within 1 mile or so of my house) that have lots of rattle snakes. I used to trout fish a little creek in one swampy area and you had to be on the lookout all the time as they were all over sunning themselves. Pretty cool if you don't mind snakes.

[o town]

You guys kill me!
Your pathetic Massagua or whatever rattlers are vicious and really awe inspiring? Christ, we have ants down here that would inflict more damage.
SFK, you know better and Trout, I'll bring up a 5' Eastern Diamondback to fulfill your fantasies.
OOOOh, we're scared of a 2' snake with limited abilities. God, you guys are pathetic.
We have snakes that can kill you down here, not just mess up an afternoon.
Please attack me on this. I need a negative fix.
I'm posting a thread on "Raise Oyster Mushrooms in Your KItchen for Fun and Profit", complete with pics, if I can figure out how to post them.
o town

[o town]

Mere toy snakes in MI, SFK.
Did I ever post about probably the biggest Eastern Diamondback ever killed in West Palm Beach, FL in 1917? It was 14' 11" and had a head the size of a shovel.
Strangely, I haven't seen many snakes here since I moved up from South Fl 5 years ago and we live on a river, have a pond and lots off woods. South FL, they were everywhere and most of them were poisonous.
One difference is we have large colonies of Barred owls and red-shoulder hawks that live in the river corridor. Very odd day when we don't see at least one of each hanging out in our trees.
Strange, but I thought your MI mini rattler was extremely rare. I don't think I ever saw one except when I was a kid and saw one curled up on a rock up on the Pigeon River. By the time I got closer, it had disappeared, so I can't be sure.

o town

[TheFlyfisher]

ESOX: He is right! I seen three there at Stoney Creek.Seen two off the trail at the nature center and was fishing on shore by winter cove one day and it was about 3' away from my chair. I didn,t play Crock Man and gave him his space.

[fishctchr]

Yeah I know what you mean trout, I had a cousin that was hauled off to the hive by one of those giant peruvian killer bees, never to be seen again,

[o town]

I can't believe you guys tell such whoppers.

Now, if you want an absolutely true fact, we have mosquitos so big down here that they buckle your knees when they land on you. F-16's shot down a half dozen yesterday when they invaded the airspace over at Cape Canaveral.

o town