Snake at the pond

Northern Water Snake This snake has been living around my pond all summer. I tried to encourage it to find a new home by filling in its hiding place but apparently I failed in that endeavor. This morning I discovered it entangled in my pond netting. Not knowing what type of snake it was I called for help but even then the snake could not be freed without severly damaging my pond netting which would have left my fish vunerable to predators, like this snake. Many years ago I lost a $3,000.00 fish to a blue heron. I since have learned to build ponds that are harder for predators to get into and where the net rests higher above the pond. I'm glad the net prevented the snake from getting into the pond as it was certain to make a meal from my fish. It lived from eating tapoles and small frogs which are easier to catch than the fish are but thos creatures have vacated the premises due to cooler weather. I really hated to kill the snake but not knowing what kind it was and knowing that it would be cruel to let it starve to death I didn't have much choice but to kill it. I sent a picture off to an expert who ID'ed the snake as a northern water snake, which is what I suspected it to be. It is non-posinous but still a mean biter.