That has the makings of a great story. How did he get the snake out of the boat?
The guy grabbed the snake behind the head, pulled it off his leg and threw it overboard. He was bit several times.
Yow! They can be very aggressive.
I agree with String and Kayamedic, I grew up in the swamps and never had a problem. The thing I lookout for is hornets nests, the big round papermachier and smaller ones and yellowjackets in the river banks. These can sting more than once and will pursue for long distances. If in a boat, you cannot go fast enough to outrun them and will be stung many times. Iāve only seen a snake falling from a tree once in 50+ decades in the swamps. Of course the boater claimed it was a giant Cottonmouth, but it wasnāt. You have to be pretty experienced to tell one water snake from another. Fact is Cottonmouths do not climb that often. Be most careful on riverbanks thatās where people get snakebit even then only rarely. Pythons are in the Everglades, not inland. Enjoy your trip. You might consider a SOT.
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Then there was the time I stepped on a snakeās head getting out of my canoe. He was underwater a few inches. I didnāt know it until he wrapped around my ankle.
I didnāt turn him loose until I knew it wasnāt a cottonmouth. He too was black but had horizontal lines of yellow and purple.
If he had been all dusky black, he would have lost his head.
It was a rainbow snake.
Yes! Drunks in power boats!
Had that experience.