Skeet Reese & Roy Halladay rescue snake bite victim

Bassmaster Elite Series stand-out Skeet Reese and Philadelphia Phillies ace pitcher Roy Halladay have more than big fish tales to report from their recent South American fishing excursion.

Bassmaster Elite Series stand-out Skeet Reese and Philadelphia Phillies ace pitcher Roy Halladay have more than big fish tales to report from their recent South American fishing excursion.

During an unforgettable peacock bass fishing trip deep in the Amazon, their group, which included Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter and ex-closer B.J. Ryan among others, encountered a Brazilian fisherman stranded naked on the shores of the unforgiving Amazon River on December 8, 2011.

The local angler had been left high and dry after an anaconda attack that resulted in a badly battered canoe and a bite mark on his backside.

Fellow Elite Series pro John Murray was on the trip, too, and described the scene saying, “Everything the guy owned was on that canoe. Only a few of his belongings were still floating in the water around him. As we pulled up, the snake was just leaving; you could still see the bubbles in the water as it swirled away.”

Former Classic champ Reese also described the scene in his blog at AdvancedAngler.com:

We had plenty of wildlife encounters though. Along with the fishing, we decided to go hunting one night, and Carpenter and B.J. both shot a caiman; which is like an alligator. Me and Doc Halladay even came across a local, sitting bare naked on a tree by the river. What we were able to figure out is that he was fishing in the river for tropical fish to sell for aquariums when he got attacked by an anaconda.

The snake apparently bit him on the ass but he was able to free himself before the snake wrapped him up. Instead the snake wrapped around his motor on the back of his little 14 foot dugout canoe and tore it off the back of his boat. Doc and I helped him gather his gear and flip the boat back over and then towed him home. You could definitely see the bite mark on his ass, but he was able to fight it off; amazing.

The fisherman narrowly escaped the reptile’s attack with his life but lost most all of his belongings and an outboard during the melee. Reese and Halladay helped the angler gather his belongings and towed him to safety. 

After the ordeal, the visiting anglers became interested in tracking an anaconda but the locals refused, saying there are only two things they are afraid of — anacondas and sting rays. Can you blame them?