Lazerface
Eagle Member
Not all that much braver. Like riding a rollercoaster or flying in an airplane (for those with a fear of flying) or swimming at the beach, I had to convince myself that I've probably been swimming with those critters all my life, and they weren't going to bother me. If I'd seen one while swimming, I'm not sure I would have stayed in.
Last year we had a blue-green algae bloom. That kept me out of the pond almost all year.
Yea, nothing to be scared of. I love me some snakes and my favorite wrangling technique is to catch them while swimming underwater in the clear streams I float in the spring/summer. My wife is not a fan, but I love swimming after them and waiting for them to go under. I swim after them underwater and usually grab them about mid way up the body and come crashing through the water's surface with my arm up and the snake wiggling about. I then let it swim away after my wife screams and onlookers wonder what is wrong with me. I don't typically disturb snakes unless it's a local species that has yet to meet my caught list, then I will catch it so I can take a look at all it's feature's/patterns close up. But swimming after them underwater and catching them is too much fun to pass up.