Took the boy to Central Zones Swim Meet in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin last weekend. Snuck some IMMoo training while there. The RecPlex there is a nice facility. Did some open water swimming in Lake Andrea just adjacent to the Rec Plex. Couldn’t believe how many water snakes I saw. Asked a local about 'em and he stated they eat algae mostly and this year “there’s a bumper crop of them snakes in and around the water 'cause it’s so hot.” Should I be worried about water snakes in Lake Monona?
I don’t know specificaly about that lake. But a water mocoson is nothing to mess with. They will bite and you will regret it. But hey, I’m swimming with aligators or sharks here in FL. Pick your posion.
those aren’t water moccasins.
I don nt now i cant spill
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I would not worry about them. Those are not poisonous snakes and they will not come around you swimming. Try chasing them, they are pretty fast little buggers and you’ll get some speed training in. 
Took the boy to Central Zones Swim Meet in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin last weekend. Snuck some IMMoo training while there. The RecPlex there is a nice facility. Did some open water swimming in Lake Andrea just adjacent to the Rec Plex. Couldn’t believe how many water snakes I saw. Asked a local about 'em and he stated they eat algae mostly and this year “there’s a bumper crop of them snakes in and around the water 'cause it’s so hot.” Should I be worried about water snakes in Lake Monona?
Are you serious?
- I’m from Wisconsin and, yes, there are water snakes and I believe there might be more but where did you see them? No chance they were near you when swimming. Like a guy said above, they’ll swim away from 1 person… think if there are 2500.
- I don’t live there anymore but my entire family is there. Not a single person has heard of some snake epidemic. My sister is actually dating a guy who worked for the DNR. Brought the snake thing up to him and he just laughed. Said he’s never seen a snake in the lake. Which makes me question everything you just wrote. The first thread about this was hilarious. I was actually kind of nervous (hence why I asked everyone in my family). But now it’s just played out.
- Have you done any research about the Madison lakes? You shouldn’t be worried about a phobia. You should be worried about serious pollution. They are some of the most polluted lakes in the country. They shut down the beaches constantly when I lived there. (I’ve been gone for awhile, so I can’t speak to the current state)
Look out, Anaconda’s in Pleasant Prairie!!
I live in Madison. There are plenty of water snakes here and in most lakes in WI, including parts of Lake Michigan. They are absolutely harmless. Wouldn’t even make the top 100 list of things to worry about in the lakes here (blue green algae, bacteria, et.c.)
Use the search feature. There are a number of posts about them.
Yes, there will be a ton of them in Lake Monona. No, you should not be worried about them. They are nasty as hell (and can get pretty big) but, they are harmless.
You might better be served worrying about the otters.
Took the boy to Central Zones Swim Meet in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin last weekend. Snuck some IMMoo training while there. The RecPlex there is a nice facility. Did some open water swimming in Lake Andrea just adjacent to the Rec Plex. Couldn’t believe how many water snakes I saw. Asked a local about 'em and he stated they eat algae mostly and this year “there’s a bumper crop of them snakes in and around the water 'cause it’s so hot.” Should I be worried about water snakes in Lake Monona?
Harmless is somewhat relative. Peanuts are harmless to me, but to someone with a peanut allergy they may be deadly. I will say that the teeth on the snakes are not huge. I think that having one of those buggers wrap around your arm may send even the bravest of athlete into a spinner.
chris
Took the boy to Central Zones Swim Meet in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin last weekend. Snuck some IMMoo training while there. The RecPlex there is a nice facility. Did some open water swimming in Lake Andrea just adjacent to the Rec Plex. Couldn’t believe how many water snakes I saw. Asked a local about 'em and he stated they eat algae mostly and this year “there’s a bumper crop of them snakes in and around the water 'cause it’s so hot.” Should I be worried about water snakes in Lake Monona?
Awwww, crap…The wife is going to do the Super Sprint Danskin in a couple weeks (her first tri) and if she sees one of these she will freak out. I’m honestly concerned for her now.
here’s a batch of Michigan common water snakes.
they would seemingly wait for me every morning.
here’s a batch of Michigan common water snakes.
they would seemingly wait for me every morning.
I would SHIT my pants if I saw one of those. I hate snakes, HATE them. They are the ONLY thing on this earth I’m terrified of. I’d rather swim with a shark than have an encounter with a snake, on land or in water, rattler or harmless gardner snake. Snakes are the reason I don’t hike or MTB. ughhhhh repulsive little creatures!
I’m like your wife and my advice is I would NOT mention it to her. Because if someone told me there is a possibility of water snakes I wouldn’t race. That would be it. I’d rather not know. I hope she doesn’t read ST.
here’s a batch of Michigan common water snakes.
they would seemingly wait for me every morning.
I would SHIT my pants if I saw one of those. I hate snakes, HATE them. They are the ONLY thing on this earth I’m terrified of. I’d rather swim with a shark than have an encounter with a snake, on land or in water, rattler or harmless gardner snake. Snakes are the reason I don’t hike or MTB. ughhhhh repulsive little creatures!
I SHIT my pants just looking at the picture
Several years ago I was completing a scuba dive on a shipwreck in Lake Ontario. The dive was close to shore. Just as I was breaking surface a water snake swam about a foot away from my face. I almost ran on top of the water being so startled. Reality is however, they can grow up to 5-6 ft in length, but are quite harmless.
OMG!! That’s freaking terrifying! No more LOST swimming for me!! Worst case scenario - it’s an electric eel, who escaped from a zoo. I had a leech once stuck to my leg briefly when getting out of the river, my brother pooled it of and pretended to eat it.
Oh c’mon folks. Snakes are loveable critters. Just ask this kid cuddled up with his pet python. I actually had pet snakes when I was a kid, but its not like you can teach them to fetch.
Water snakes often work in tandem with a fish. I watched these two working for about a half hour - Bonaire.
