SNAKES IN STREAMS CAN HAPPEN!

Monday, 21 March 2011 15:28

PUFFADDERS IN STREAMS

I’ve come across no less than five puffadders in streams in the past few years – three of them with my pal Billy de Jong and one each with my son Robert and Pieter Taljaard, an excellent fly fisher now living in Johannesburg. On each occasion it was a blisteringly hot day. Were the snakes cooling off? No. I think they were moving through hunting grounds and happened to be crossing the river when we got there. The odd thing is, though, that whenever I relate stories of puffadders in water people are amazed – almost disbelieving. So just as a cautionary note for the non-believers here are some pictures. They are not intended to do much more than to suggest you need to keep an eye out for snakes, remind yourself that they do occasionally swim and that whatever way we look at it, they remain pretty rare visitors on fly streams.

IMG_2186

Pieter Taljaard in the Smalblaar literally seconds before a puffadder appeared in the water behind him!

IMG_2191

The puffadder leaves the run

IMG_2204

It makes across this little island of rocks then crosses the run again below

IMG_2207

Enlarged from above

Surface_sipper_with_some_gas

Robin Fick then sent these images from the Breede River, Western Cape

Puffadder

This is a shot of Robin landing a bass in the Breede River, taken spontaneously by his wife. What she didn't know, or see at the time, was that a puffy was swimming across the top left hand corner of the frame! Here is the snake from a little closer.

Puffadder_2

And Gerhard Laubscher sent me this puffy swimming 100 metres from the shoreline in Sterkfontein Dam! what he's doing there I can't tell you!

IMG_2570


From Shaun Futter

Shaun was fishing from a tube in a KZN lake recently when he heard a trout rising behind him. he whipped around to get a fly over the rise and saw a cobra making for his tube. He took some hasty evasive action and managed to side step the snake. It turned out to be a rinkhals.

IMGP0093s


From Daryl Human

Walking into a river valley in Lesotho recently Daryl came across these two intertwined puffadders. I sent the shot to Johan Marais, a well respected expert on the subject, who immediately pointed out the very orange colouration of these snakes and was very interested to learn of their location. He suggested this was a battle between the two reptiles, I assume over territory. To see Johan's books on South African snakes visit the site below.

_MG_0817


http://www.loot.co.za/shop/main.jsp?page=search&offset=0&cat=b&terms=Johan%20Marais&x=0&y=0&gclid=CNXz74ba5KcCFY0hfAodel2WTA 

From Mike Newby

Mike fishes Sterkfontein Dam often and jokingly called it Puffadder Valley! He sent this picture of a puffie sheltering under his boat.

Puffy_under_boat

 

From Dave Prentice 10 April 2011

I thought I'd send you the pics  of a beautiful puffie that swam about 2 metres in front of me along the Sterkspruit on the Branksome beat. As you would say....much puckering!

 

 

IMG_0290

IMG_0293

Regards

 Dave Prentice

 

comments powered by Disqus