My first real interaction with snakes started when I was 15 years old in 1988. Me and my friend were in his back yard one day and found a Garter snake they had brought home from vacation and had got away. He gave me that snake and that started my interest in snakes. Later I bought more Garters in the pet shops and started buying books on snakes. I read in one book how you could find snakes under rocks and logs. Because we lived in the city, there weren't many places I could think of to look for snakes. Only one place I knew of that might have snakes was El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach. My mom dropped us off there several times to look for snakes, but all we ever found were Fence lizards and Alligator lizards. One day we visited my Grandma in Green River Wyoming. It was early June and she took me and my little brother out on a dirt road where there were lots of rocks to look under. I looked under a bunch of them, but wasn't seeing much. There was one big one down at the bottom of the hill I was saving for last. After turning all the good looking rocks, at least the ones I thought looked good at the time, I decided to head back to the car where my Grandma was waiting for us. On the way back down the hill, I was pooped. I saw that last rock and went right toward it. Because I was so tired, I didn't fight the gravity the last ten feet and let my self run down to the rock jumping onto the top of it to slow me down. Before I lifted it, I decided to catch my breath first. I was just standing there looking up when all the sudden my little brother said "a snake, a snake!!!" I looked down and there was a tail sticking out from under that rock and it was vibrating like a rattler. It had no rattle on the end, so I lifted it up and there was a small Great Basin Gopher snake! Finally my first snake. I was so excited. It wasn't until I was 17, when we moved to Lake Elsinore, that I first really started to look for snakes again. I really had no idea what I was doing, but I managed to find some really cool snakes there in the early 90's. In the early/mid 90's I had lost interest in snakes for a few years, but one day in 1995 I decided to go out looking for them again. I went off a dirt road and looked all over for things to flip. That day I found a Red Coachwhip out in the open. That really woke up my interest again. The next day I found a Ring neck under a board, and the day after that, I found an adult Cal king out on the crawl at 2PM next to a little pond in the shade. That really did it for me. There is nothing like seeing a kingsnake out on the crawl during the day. I've kept kingsnakes ever since that day. In late 2004 I got on the internet for the first time. After about a week or so, I found Field Herp Forum and really started to learn about snake hunting. Brian Hubbs shared a lot of information back then on the forums. Now days, he doesn't, he just refers you to his books. lol Because of all his help, I've been able to find many more kingsnakes than I ever did before. My coolest Cal kings ever were found from 2005 to 2010. Now, I want to give back a little to people that are new to this like I was.
The most productive way to find Cal kings is by looking under boards and AC (artificial cover). This method has been coined Flipping, but you shouldn't actually flip the boards. I'll have more on that later. Cal kings can be found in a variety of habitats, but they are most common in grassy areas. This can be grassy hills, grassy flatland, or in little valleys that hold moisture with little streams or big rivers for that matter. They are often found in marshy areas as well. This habitat can be found all over California, or even in the middle of the city. Google earth is a great way to find these types of places. Remember to always get permission to lay boards on someones property. Once you have found a good area, you need to acquire boards for your boardline. Half inch plywood works best. A standard sheet is 4 X 8 feet. Those large sheets can easily be seen on google earth by other herpers, so I prefer to cut them down into 3 pieces. Each piece is around 2½ X 4 feet, like in the above photo. One time I found an adult pair of Cal kings along with an adult SD Gopher snake under a board this size, so they are definitely large enough.
Once you have found a spot and have your boards ready, the first thing you want to do is find as many rodent holes in the field as possible. If you can lay every board you have over a hole, that would be great. If not, its not that big of a deal, but it will likely take those boards a couple of years before they start producing results. You want to have as little grass as possible under the board, so take a steel rake and clear it all around the rodent hole. Lay the board there and cover it with the grass, so everyone doesn't see it. This grass will fall off or blow away in time, but if you paint it there on the spot and throw the grass on it while the paint is wet, it will stick to it when it dries. Oct-Jan are the best months to set up boardlines. When all the grass is dead, its much easier to find rodent holes. Laying boards out during that time also gives the grass a chance to grow up around the board nice and tight. The best time to check the boards is normally from mid February to Mid April. It all depends on rain and rain amount. Your best days will be a few days to a week after a good rain. Normally in April it starts to dry out and you find fewer and fewer kings. Some years, the rain lasts longer into the season and you'll be able to find kings a lot later. I found quite a few under boards in May of 2006. And I found me best king, a Scrambled banded Newport, under a board on June 9th 2006. That was during a June gloom. Even though it was completely dried out that day, I found my NP and even a gravid king under another board. The second best time to check is after rains in October and early November.
Take care of your boardline. Don't take everyone to your boards, because once you do, the possibilities of that spot being shared with others, is pretty high. Most people have to learn that the hard way. The more people herping your boardline, the fewer snakes you will see. Don't hit your boards every day, try waiting at least a few days before you go back. When you lift your boards, do it in a way where you can lay it back down exactly where it was. This will keep the moisture sealed in longer, which is good for you and the snakes. You find fewer snakes under dry boards. This is why the word "flipping" isn't exactly the best term.
Another way I used to flip kings was by looking for areas on google earth where people have dumped their trash off dirt roads. Looking under that AC is a good way to find all kinds of different snake species. Treat those places like your boardline, and you'll find snakes there year after year. I even like to spread out some of that AC if its all in one pile. Technically that might be illegal, so do it at your own risk.
Lifting boards by hand can be hard on your back if you are looking under a lot. You also don't want to stick your hand next to a rattler's mouth. Because of that, most herpers prefer to use a snake stick or potato rake to lift boards. I always use a snake stick for this reason.
Another way I used to flip kings was by looking for areas on google earth where people have dumped their trash off dirt roads. Looking under that AC is a good way to find all kinds of different snake species. Treat those places like your boardline, and you'll find snakes there year after year. I even like to spread out some of that AC if its all in one pile. Technically that might be illegal, so do it at your own risk.
Lifting boards by hand can be hard on your back if you are looking under a lot. You also don't want to stick your hand next to a rattler's mouth. Because of that, most herpers prefer to use a snake stick or potato rake to lift boards. I always use a snake stick for this reason.
My first experience with roadcruising was back in 1991, when a guy I had met in a pet store told me about Whitewater Road. He said just go out there in the night and the snakes are laying right there on the road. My first opportunity was in Sept. 1991. Me and my friend headed out there and found snakes for the first time. It was the most amazing experience for me. I even talked to guys out there that were also looking for snakes and found out I wasn't even there the best time of year. I had no idea it even mattered what time of year to go. In this section I'm going to keep the details on roadcruising very general, but that should be good enough for the beginner to get started.
Roadcruising gets good when the nights warm up after spring. May and June are the best months and that goes for inland areas and the desert. The best temps seem to be between 65º - 75ºF. The coldest temp I've found a snake was at 57º. It was a baby CA kingsnake in the desert around 10PM in Oct. The warmest was 90ºF. That was a small Speckled Rattlesnake also in the desert. Elevation plays a role in how warm the area will be. The higher the elevation, the cooler its going to be. There is a big difference between the high desert and the low desert. Sometimes its too cold in the high desert, so you'll have to go to the low desert to find the right temps. Time of night is another factor. If its real hot (80+ degrees) in the night when you are there, you will have to wait later in the night when the temps drop. Normally that's how it is in July in the low desert. August is bad everywhere. Snakes just don't like to come out no matter what the temps are.
Roadcruising seems to be best on moonless nights. Snakes can still be found on a full moon, but on average, moonless nights are best. Activity picks up in late August and Early Sept. when hatchlings start to emerge on the roads. You don't see as many adults as you did earlier in the year, but the hatching sometimes make up for that. I've found snakes as late as early November on the desert roads. It all depends on temps, though. Lots of times its too cold in November to find anything. Rain also helps bring snakes out. If it hasn't rained in months, then all the sudden one day it rains, get out there that night. I've had really cool nights after rains like that. A good safe speed of 35 to 40 MPH is perfect for roadcruising. The little snakes are hard to see until you are right up on them. Often I can't stop in time, so I flip a U turn and go back. One time I stopped and ran back with my flashlight and could not find the snake, so I had to run back to my car and turn it around and there was the little kingsnake. I try to turn around every time now. Just fallow the basics and soon enough you will learn about what does and what doesn't work when it comes to roadcruising.