Fly Fishing Trips, Vacations, Equipment & Gear: A Few Good Points & One Less Rattle Snake

Hilda ,Martha ,Reba ,Slick and myself where into some Birds ,a covey of Scaled Quail had flown up the side of a mountain and we where in hot pursuit then there was movement on the ground a surprised Diamond Back had moved from underneath a bush and was heading towards some rocks .The problem was Martha was running back to me so he was trapped between us he quickly began to coil and rattle ,In a split second I blew it's head off making sure not to shoot the coveted Rattle ...it was all over in seconds .
The" what ifs" started to fill my mind ,I almost stepped on him , the dogs ran by the same bush ,worse yet we had already had a point on a single a minute or two earlier so the Dogs where "lit up " and hunting very aggressively.What would I have done if one of the dogs or myself would have got bit ? looking down at the truck it would have sucked getting back down the mountain.
The Snake lay on the ground ..headless but still moving it's nerves did not want to shut down , the dogs kept their distance while I took pics and retrieved the rattle.
For some Folks seeing Rattle Snakes is not a big deal , for this transplanted Canadian they are.Even though there are a few Prairie Rattlers in Alberta and Saskatchewan I am told they are not as dangerous as the Diamond Back or Mojave Rattle Snakes which I have encountered in my new home State, and not as big! All summer long I operate in prime Grizzly Bear territory and know what precautions to take while in the back country which is make lots of noise and if you see bear sign leave. It all adds to the adventure .
Rattlers somewhat provide that same feeling of adventure , if you screw up something bad could happen .So far the encounters I have had have been totally unexpected and add to the experience of the day. If the dogs were not around I would just take pictures and move on .
Prior to and after our "Snake Episode " I had some nice work out of the Dogs I ran .
We moved both Gambles and Scaled Quail ,Reba my youngest dog did a great job on pointing some Gambles and had a nice back on a covey of Scaled Quail .She retrieved both birds I shot.