re: Snake ID.

That’s a Cottonmouth!

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I always heard they can't bite under wate

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then how do you think they catch fish?

I can’t give a definitive id from that pic, but my guess would be some type of watersnake, not a cottonmouth. You can’t rely on the swimming - I’ve seen cottons & watersnakes swim on top the water and have seen both swim underwater. Head looks more watersnakey, and the pattern looks off for a cotton because of the separation in the pattern (the bands don’t connect to the other side). As far as body type, last week I caught what might be the longest Florida cotton I’ve ever caught, and it was relatively slender for its size.

Almost 4 ft. long but not very thick…





One with a clearer pattern - note how the bands cross over the back, whereas on the OP’s snake, there is a pattern down the side but not crossing over the back.



All that being said, the pattern does look cottonmouthy despite not crossing over. So I wouldn’t be shocked if it were. My eyes just aren’t good enough to discern from that photo. And off hand I don’t know of any watersnakes that match what I see in the OP photo.

It's a sweet little puppy dog that just wants a scratch under the chin

What did I tell you the other day about practicing relocation

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practicing relocation

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Tried it. Not good at it

That’s the first thing I saw, was that the pixilated hourglass pattern didn’t cross midline on the back, which would rule out this being a cottonmouth, but the glare on the apex of its back may obscure that, but still think this isn’t a Cottonmouth

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but my guess would be some type of watersnake, not a cottonmouth.

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Air ball. Def a cotton.

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We are talking about the pic in the OP and not the post you responded to

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I know. The OP pic is a cotton.

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but the glare on the apex of its back may obscure that,

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I thought the same thing with the glare. That’s what makes definitive id difficult with unclear photos like this one.