Hey folks,

I was kayaking at a local small lake recently and saw a snake slithering on the surface of the water. It looked so perfect swimming on the surface of the water and I was wondering if anyone has ever seen a bass attack a live snake? I was hoping a monster would come and eat that sucker but it never happened.

Never seen bass attack snake but have seen bass following snake and for some distance 100+yds.

First, welcome to the forums!

 

No, I've not seen it in the wild, but I've seen a video of a guy use a rattlesnake to catch a big bass. Crazy, wouldn't do it myself....

Yes...on a river a black snake was crossing. Must've been a small smallmouth because it didn't eat him

I've never seen a bass do it, but I once saw a small snake (I'm talking tiny) swimming close to a river shoreline taken by a bluegill. It happened so fast I didn't realize what had happened at first. I would have never known (or guessed) it was a bluegill unless I had seen it swimming away in the shallow clear water.

The following statement is usually met with sharp skepticism,

but based on everything I've experienced, bass are not fond of snakes.

 

Roger

No, but I for the first time in my life last fall have seen an eel (which I didn't know we had locally) chase after a gander of baby ducks. That was kinda cool. He didn't get them but was sweet watching it.

I've caught a bass with a snake sticking out of it's throat, but never seen one actually attacking one.

 

fishinthedacks' story reminded me of a bass my wife caught while we were fishing on a friends private lake in South Carolina. She was fighting a solid 3-4 pound fish to the boat when it spit up a large object, turned out to be about a foot long eel.

Seeing that prompted me to try a YUM Mightee worm weightless like a Senko, first cast with it;

No.

No, but I have had a snake chase a lure.

That's the great thing about fishing... The things you get to see while fishing. I was fishing on the coast of Virginia in the North Landing River when I saw a fish (it was 80-100 yards away) come out of the water and grab a snake that was hanging in a low lying branch. I was not close enough to see what kind of snake but the dimensions of the fish said "bass"

Craziest thing I've seen was a coyote chase a deer into the water. I'm on my boat and heard a loud splash behind me, turnaround to see a deer swimming and a coyote standing on the bank with his tongue hanging out. Scared me!!!! Wish I had had the presence of mind to take a  pic.

No snakes, though.

About 5 or 6 years ago me and my buddy would use little ringneck snakes(don't shun me I love all animals) to catch bass in a decent sized creek over by my grandpas house!

No i have not either, but have caught one bass using that manns snake. It was alittle 2 pounder.

I've caught a bass with a snake sticking out of it's throat, but never seen one actually attacking one.

 

fishinthedacks' story reminded me of a bass my wife caught while we were fishing on a friends private lake in South Carolina. She was fighting a solid 3-4 pound fish to the boat when it spit up a large object, turned out to be about a foot long eel.

Seeing that prompted me to try a YUM Mightee worm weightless like a Senko, first cast with it;

That is awesome !could make out what kind of snake? Im assuming its a water snake

That is awesome !could make out what kind of snake? Im assuming its a water snake

It was what we call a red bellied water snake, which I believe is actually a northern water snake. 

Yes I have. I used to own some property with a 1 acre pond, one mourning I was looking for some worms with my son when I found a snake, which I caught. For the heck of it I tossed it into the pond which I new had some 5 pounders. The snake got about 3 ft when a bucket mouth came out of the depths and nailed it. It was awesome, there was a bridge to a small island and I was standing on the bridge, the water was very clear so it was a great view of the attack. I waited for a while and no snake surfaced. 

Yes, maybe. My buddy and I were fishing a river and not having much luck. We rounded a corner of an island just in time to see a small water snake get eaten by a fish. I can't say for certain it was a bass, it may have been a bowfin, but we saw the fish's back and it looked like a bass. I've cleaned bass before that had snakes in their stomach. I've also found rats, mice, birds and turtles in a bass' stomach.

 

I've caught a bass with a snake sticking out of it's throat, but never seen one actually attacking one.

 

I've heard story that a fisherman caught bass with a water moc in it's throat, the snake bit the guy on the thumb.  As I say it's a story.

I would say no to seeing one eat a snake, but they eat frogs, ducks, rats, mice, small birds that end up in the water (all of which I haven't seen them eat either but they do) and anything else that will fit into their mouths.  So being opportunistic hunters/feeders I wouldn't rule out that they wouldn't given the chance and the right situation a small snake would probably make a fine meal.

Heck, NatGeo or Animal Planet showed a sweet bass inhaling a baby gator once. If the bass is big enough, and it thinks it's prey will fit in it's mouth, it's  going for it. 

I love the mouse lures, watching fish eat rodents is somehow hilarious to me. 

I see snakes on the canal here all the time. I have seen topwater lures grab their attention but they never even go for it.

Heck, NatGeo or Animal Planet showed a sweet bass inhaling a baby gator once. If the bass is big enough, and it thinks it's prey will fit in it's mouth, it's  going for it. 

 

You would certainly think so, but it's really not that simple.

Although bass adore frogs, they dislike toads and snakes.

 

In 1992, I had a home built on a 10-acre wooded tract in Georgia. Seizing an opportunity, I had the dozer operator excavate

a small pond that Lois & I subsequently stocked with bass we caught locally. I never fertilized the pond, and only feed the bass

on occasion for our own enjoyment. Once in a while I'd buy a dozen minnows just to have some fun.

Whenever my wife or I came upon a toad, grasshopper, worm or snake, I'd toss it into our tiny pond and watch the festivities. 

The bass were lean and always hungry, and would blast anything that hit the surface. Much to our surprise though,

every toad and every snake was eventually regurgitated and ended-up floating on the surface. Over time though, the bass became conditioned, and though they continued whacking frogs, worms, grasshoppers, etc, they totally ignored every toad and every snake. 

 

I've always been curious as to why this was so, but then a transient member on BR shed some light on the matter.

If I remember correctly, he had hands-on experience dealing with reptiles and amphibians, and stated that the hide of snakes & toads is distasteful to bass, probably serving as a covert defense mechanism.

 

Roger

Watched a bass eat a newborn turtle right at the boat before. That was pretty cool to see. Bet that turtle was only about the size of a half dollar or so. Gone in one gulp.

 

Never seen a snake get eaten but I'm sure it happens frequently.