We’ve all seen it, the photo of a fish with a snake inside its mouth warning fellow anglers beware. Seen on Facebook in a popular post fro September 2015:
Fellow Anglers beware. Several snake bites this season have came from baby copperheads found alive inside of feeding fish. With the top water bite happening now the snakes get more oxygen to prolong there life inside the fish while the fish continues to feed. Makes the want to have bass thumb a little less desirable. Lol
Image: Wikipedia
As far as this photo is concerned, it’s been circulating since Ricky Stephens posted it in a gallery on the Outdoor Life website. The snake in the mouth of the largemouth bass isn’t a copperhead, it’s simply a garter snake. The original description from the gallery:
Okay, we’re half completely grossed out and half fascinated by Ricky Stephens photos of a largemouth bass he caught that swallowed—or rather half-swallowed—a garter snake.
Originating from a made-up meme from a Facebook user with false information and not an official wildlife organization, we’re labeling this story as FALSE.
