Pickerel & Eel

juvenile

Chain Pickerel

This fish is prone to over-populate whatever waters it is in, with the result that few get very big, instead, there are large numbers of small ones. They actually do pretty well in an aquarium, as long as you provide them with a steady supply of live minnows. They are not aggressive towards anything they cannot swallow.

what it looks like from the boat

-- Wikipedia


American Eel

Eels are typically only seen at night. Pencil-sized young are common. Yearlings that have just come in from the sea are 3-4 inches. After many years in freshwater, these eels go back out to sea to spawn, and then die. Eels are extremely slimy, you don't want to handle one.

-- Wikipedia


Orbweavers

Orchard Orbweaver

If you are trying to escape the sun in the shade of overhanging tree branches, you are inevitably going to get spiders in the boat. These are almost entirely harmless orbweavers - they are not aggressive and don't bite, and are not poisonous to humans, at least no more poisonous than a honey bee. That said, our brains are programmed at the most basic level to fear spiders, and I don't like them any more than anyone else. Just calmly knock it out of the boat.