Opportunistic predators with voracious appetites, largemouth bass will eat whatever living creatures swim and slither atop matted weeds or across the lake’s surface. With our lakes gaining weed cover and plant life, this spells success for anglers pursuing largemouths with reptile baits. On some local northwoods lakes, detail-oriented anglers have taken notice of largemouths feeding on reptiles. Up here,  northern water snakes are common. Their populations on heavily vegetated eutrophic waters with near-shore habitats make them viable prey for over-eager and opportunistic largemouths. Adult largemouths have zero problem slurping down a foot-long snake.   Northern Water Snakes as Prey This non-typical prey species fascinates both bass and anglers. The success behind the reptile patterns greatly revolves around slop and vegetation. Wishing he was still alive for an interview or to educate on his big bass theories, Doug Hannon was one of the snake bait originators and pioneers. The Bass Professor’s “Original Fishing Snake” helped him document several of his 800 career largemouths surpassing 10-pounds from home and abroad. “The sec