By Any Name, Unwelcome Company

At various times, Charlie (pictured here) has suggested that I try out some kayak fishing. My standard reply is, "Thanks, but no thanks. I want a platform that has a little more freeboard than what a kayak offers." That response isn't about to change anytime soon after the email report I received a bit earlier from Charlie about his fishing trip today on Back Bay.

He began the note by saying he "had an 'interesting' trip." I can think of many adjectives to describe the kind of day he had, but "interesting" wouldn't be one of them. I would go with "frightening" maybe, or perhaps "terrifying," but certainly not "interesting," or as he later referred to it--"exciting."

Charlie's fishing day began innocently enough--he launched at Lovetts about 5:15 and was fishing at the duck blind by 5:30. "Fishing was s-l-o-o-o-w, just like yesterday," he said. Unlike yesterday, though, it was a little breezy, which, as he explained, "helped with the heat problem."

His final tally was four bass: three on a hollow-bodied frog and one on a Chigger Craw. All of the fish weighed less than a pound. "They were way back up in cuts or ditches that ran back into the marsh," noted Charlie. "Plenty of bait were running around, but nothing much was chasing them," he continued. "I think they were spot."

Now we get to the highlight of Charlie's day--the event, which, as he described it, "got my juices flowing.

"I never saw the damn thing until I felt something in my lap and looked down. Luckily, I know my snakes well, or I would have bailed out. There lay a brown water snake with a small spot in its mouth. Guess he was looking for a dry place to have breakfast and picked my lap." The ever-cool Charlie then said, "I brushed him over the side and checked my skivvies."

To cap off his experience, Charlie was unloading his kayak at the ramp when he found the unwanted guest still was riding along. Without his knowledge, the snake had climbed back aboard in the rear of the kayak after Charlie had tossed him out the first time. "It's a good thing I didn't reach back there and feel him, or I would have bailed for sure." Instead, he chased him out of the kayak and finished packing up. Said Charlie, "I hope the next trip is less exciting."

For your viewing pleasure, here's a copy of the video Charlie got of his unwelcome company today:

Be watching Charlie's blog later tonight for a full-blown version of this episode in all of his own words. Here's the link: http://vbfishguide.blogspot.com/.