From my post in My outings I'm trying to figure out what this is.

I have come up with a diamond back water snake but not sure

the pattern is more striped than diamond blotches. I don't know much about snakes but it looks like it could be a northern water snake.

I think your right.  I found this

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.umass.edu/nrec/snake_pit/images/water.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.umass.edu/nrec/snake_pit/pages/nwater.html&h=270&w=345&sz=16&hl=en&start=5&sig2=IKn1IlSDAA2dEkGpIOMN_Q&um=1&tbnid=hJMDBnPaEY7mwM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=120&ei=byQuRoXCMITMgAP5pvTDCw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnorthern%2Bwater%2Bsnake%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX

A scary one

It looks like the type of snake that I would not want to touch.  

Looks like a COPPERHEAD to me. I have killed 100s of them and have a couple of skins tanned on my wall.

Ronnie

Looks like a water banded snake,I have a lot of them around here and kingsnakes love to eat them .Matter of fact thats a main diet for kingsnakes i have seen them many times around the edge of the ponds i fish hunting the water snakes.I have 3 pet snakes now that i caught  over the  yrs one is a king snake about 4 foot long the other 2 are black rat snakes 5 foot and my pride and joy is a 7 footer i cuaght at a friend of mines farm it got into his rabbit hucth  ate a rabbit and couldnt get out .His head is 3 inches wide and his body is as big as my forearm.I love snakes

A northern water snake  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerodia_sipedon

or it could be a banded water snake

I think your right.  I found this

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.umass.edu/nrec/snake_pit/images/water.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.umass.edu/nrec/snake_pit/pages/nwater.html&h=270&w=345&sz=16&hl=en&start=5&sig2=IKn1IlSDAA2dEkGpIOMN_Q&um=1&tbnid=hJMDBnPaEY7mwM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=120&ei=byQuRoXCMITMgAP5pvTDCw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnorthern%2Bwater%2Bsnake%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX

yup, I think that's it.

Some sort of water snake, my friend is bothering me to leave so i am not going to look it up at the moment.

If it was that close to me it would be a DEAD one.  The 44 mag with rat shot does a number on them.

i think its a northern water snake also

hey Bud if it were me id go with a twelve gauge shotgun and a deer slug.really does a number on the snakes round here

Here's one I found mating outside the TajMajhal in AC

:o   I would have been out of there, something about snakes in the water.

I am with Bud on this one....

I saw 3 snakes in the water during our tourney on Varner this last weekend, I immediately left the area, each time.  

Nancy Boys......leave the snakes alone. If they aren't bothering you don't bother them. If you're in a boat you are safe...unless they drop in your boat and then the best recourse is a cool head and a fishin' pole to flip 'em into the water....Y'all have fishin' poles dontcha?

It's a banded water snake.  Leave it alone and it will leave you alone.  Snakes are a great benefit to our environment.  In no way should they be killed just because they are snakes.

I agree with long mike on this one even though I hate them with a passion if they don't bother me I don't bother them.  Live and let live is what I say.  If you don't eat it don't kill it

I agree with long mike on this one even though I hate them with a passion if they don't bother me I don't bother them. Live and let live is what I say. If you don't eat it don't kill it

My thoughts exactly

Not my thoughts.  I hate snakes.   >  I won't usually kill black snakes, as I've heard they keep away rodents as well as poisonous snakes, but if I see copperheads that would bite my dogs,

BOOM!

No threat anymore.

its very rare that we kill the snakes only done it a few times,if they swim/slither away an leave us alone no troubles but once they start actin squirly or like there gonna try to bite then they are in trouble

P.S. trust me i dont want to hurt them unless i think their gonna hurt me

I love snakes, and I look forward to seeing them on the water. Even if they were threatening me, I would simply remove them from my boat. I have been bitten by a non venomous watersnake like the one pictured and it really doesnt even hurt. A small ***** and a little blood, all you need to do is wash it well with soapy water and put a band-aid on it. Unless you know for a fact that the snake is non venomous, you may want to take a trip to the hospital just in case. In my case, I caught it and checked for fangs. If yo are not crazy/stupid like me and following/picking up the snakes to admire them, they will leave you alone.

Anyone in Southern maryland or eastern virginia need snakes removed from there property PM me ill come catch ur snakes for free :)

Thanks guys.  i was just wondering what it was.  I saw a ton of them around the lake.  I really thought it was a water snake but just needed more research.  Didnt plan on killing them.  They do more good then harm.  I did almost have one fall in the boat when going in after a jig.  But no big deal I aint scared.  

I agree on the killing of snakes except for one instance. Around my house ( I live in the mountains ) I have a lot of snakes. I will not kill a non poisonous snake like a black snake, garter, eastern ring neck, corn snake etc, etc but, if I see a copperhead or a rattlesnake in the yard they are bye, bye. I have been bitten twice in my life, both times by Copperheads and its not a pleasant experience.