My 17 Foot Python
I caught this giant girl by myself on a hot summer night. She was 17'3, weighed 110 pounds, and measured 24 inches around her belly. Even though she was huge, she wasn't a record, but she is my personal best so far! The record for the longest Burmese Python caught in Florida is 18'9.
HERE'S HOW IT HAPPENED...
I was going about 25 miles an hour down the highway around midnight. I caught a glimpse of her in the treeline. I pulled the truck over and jumped out. Pythons are incredibly camouflaged and that’s what makes it so hard to find them. I spotted her pattern through the grasses, and then I saw her head. It was freaking gigantic. I had never caught a python that big before, let alone by myself!
I had my ‘head bag’ with me. It’s a small black drawstring bag that fits right over the head of the snake. It’s a method I came up with out of necessity. I can’t overpower a snake that big (most people can’t). I had to be a bit creative to make the pythons easier to handle.
When I put the bag over the head, it calms them down and disorients them because they can’t see through it, or sense heat. I have an extra layer inside so they can’t bite...just in case. I had to jump on her and hold on behind her head. She fought to shimmy backwards into the swamp, but I dug my heels in...literally...I was using my legs to out muscle her. I was able to put the bag over her head and she stopped fighting.
So there I was, sitting on top of a python at midnight, in a ditch on the side of the highway that sloped just enough so cars couldn’t really see me. I had no idea how big this python was because I couldn't see the majority of her body. I was gathering my energy to pull her up out of the ditch but I had no idea how I would get her into the back of my truck. Luckily I saw my friends drive by so I yelled out for them. They pulled over and asked what the heck I was doing. I told them I was sitting on a python and I needed their help. They looked at each other like I was crazy and then they saw her. They couldn't believe how big she was and that I caught her by myself. They helped me pull her out and load her in the truck. It was such an incredible night!!