Turtle trapping...

[Buckskin]

Does anyone know of any reliable snapping turtle trapping methods.
I ate one last year and it was soooo good it made my toes curl.

[catdaddy]

u may not belive me but get a 330 or a 280 bodygrip trap, holds them awsome bait under water with live fish by the tail or woems or frogs, hey you may even pick up a muskrat or mink if youre lucky, but that will woek wonders on snappin tyrtles

[Bogmaster]

While a large bodygripper will take snappers,it may be illegal to set when fur seasons are closed.Also a mink or rat caught while trapping turtles,is more than likely worthless fur wise---they will also be eaten by turtles.
 Tom

[catdaddy]

youre right, muskrats do make good turtle bait, theres no sesom for turtles here, just make sure u set them under wtaer if its legal, ya dont want to kill a dog, belive me, some idiot let his cat on my grandpas propety and i cought it, but i thought he was dead an when i opend them up he ran off, thank god

[Newt]

Seems to me I heard of a video.TURTLES BY THE TON

Boggy do you sell this video.And the other videos made by this man ?  

[steve66]

just grab em by the tail.

i used to know a fella that would drive his boat up to them reach in and pull them out of the water by the tail.

certainly wouldnt catch me doin that.

[Buckskin]

Tail end is the end you want to grab!!!

[WILDBILL1958]

take a six foot card and tie three hooks three inches apart. use chicken giz. for bait. what they don't swallow they rack off with their feet ether way they are caught. I catch 3000 lbs a year for markets this way..snapper and softshell. for snapper put the lines near trash. for soft shell put on sand beds but set all sets near the bank .

[Buckskin]

Wildbill,

I'm having trouble imagining this set up.  What do you mean by a card?
Are the softshells as good eating as the snappers?

Thanks,

[WILDBILL1958]

I mean a cord. like the kind of you use for trot lines and mason cords. use  3/0 to 4/0 hooks.soft shells tast better then snappers and a lot easyer to clean.I used this method in alabama , georgia and fla with good results.are you catching them in a river , ponds or creeks.? this set up works better in creeks and ponds but will work in rivers. depends on how many you want to catch here in fla I set 250 and run them every three days.when you wade a creek look for piles of trash wash up next to a bush in the water. you can put up to two lines here

[Buckskin]

Wow thats a lot of turtle!!!  The area that I am in has a small river with feeder creeks.

[WILDBILL1958]

yes but at $7.00 a lb dressed. i'll keep  catching them.try to set the small creeks that connects to he river.I sell almost $30,000.00 worth a year .there's a great market here.you should check and see if you have a market there.I keep my turtles a live till i sell.for snappers you can get up to 10.00 each a live

[wormbobskey]

I use trout lines and jugs to catch my turtles and do pretty good. I only use one hook per line and will tie it off on stout saplings and over hanging tree branches. I mainly set on small pond and around beaver dams. Ponds make using jugs really easy as the turtles can't go to far and the jugs are easy to snag with my cat fishing pole. Worm

[RemingtonMagnum]

WildBill1958

When you put the gizzard on the hooks do you put them in water are on the sand and trash bars???


Don Jackson Remington Magnum/Ultramag

[catdaddy]

a nice steel fish hook with a fish head on it will take snappers, my grandpas said when he was a kid him and his friend would hit um with broom handles untill they bit it, thn thed carry it home that a way, i wouildnty try grtabbing a snapping turtle, it bite my fingers off

[Buckskin]

Do any of you know anyone who was ever bitten by a snapper.  I never have and that always amazed me.  Not like they are going to bite without being antagonized, but for all the people who mess with them. You would think that somebody would get hit.  I once hooked one with a musky sized spoon and pulled it into the boat by the tail. It was a bigun' probably 28-30" across the back.  lifted in the jonboat and it got away from me, so I stood on its back to hold it in place. It lifted me up like i was a beer can.  All hell broke loose in that boat, we broke 2 rods and finally got it back in the water.  Fun times.

[Newt]

OOOHHHH about 3-5 times a year. Mostly through a feed sack that I put them in. They can see out and you cant see in.
 Unlike when they bite a stick A snapper wont hold on to you.When I have been bit ,You know the REAL GOOD ones.The snapper strikes at you,then clamps down.This gaves you a BIG bruse.About that time the points on its break brake the skin. Now your cut too. Then --Now this is realy when the PAIN comes in--the snapper pulls back its head with out opening up his jaws and RIPS the skin.  I hate when this happens ! So your pinched real bad,Cut and bleeding.PLUS you skin is ripped too. Most likly it will get infected too.
 But you know I have jumped out of moving boats and grabed snappers anyway I could get a hold of them. And never been bit when the snapper was IN the water swimming.Get a hold of him tho ! well you got a fight on your hands.

[RdFx]

I have to wait till first of July to trap snapping turtles.  Got to wait till egg laying is done and then we have slot size also... Keep the turtle stories coming in.... come on  Slimey, entertain us...  what is your biggest turtle ever, not counting  alligator snapper!

[Newt]

My biggest snapper.I cought in a small pond,bout 200 foot across.It was back in 1974. --65#-- He was eat'n the tame ducks and gesse. I have had some up to 52# About 20 made 50 #.Lots in the high 40's. But nothing near 60 since then.
 One day in North Carolina,in one trap I had 2-weigh'n 42#, a 35#,a 32# a a 26# and a 21#. Me and my girl friend had to roll the trap in the boat.After it was on the deck,she jumped up on the seat till I got the turtles dumped and bagged.
  One day back in my drink'n days me and her was turtle'n in a canoe.
I had a trap with 5 turtles in it about 120# of mean meat!!! We had to tow the trap to shore where I could dump it and bag the turtles. The problem there was no land ! To beach the canoe on.Land was just too far.Did you ever see floting vegeation islands ?If you steped too hard you would go through.Well thats where we went. Sally kneeled on the island,while I pulled the trap into it. I turned the canoe on its side and rolled the trap in it.Do'n all of this while not trying to put too much preasure down on any one spot,and on my knees. Than we righted the canoe.We got back in and was making our way to shore when I grabed for a "Cold One". The canoe went over ! So there we stood up to our chest in water. Sally walked to shore with the cooler.She was saying something like !@#$%^&*()(*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*(*&^$
I dared not to talk back !!!!!!!!! Then I made my way to shore towing the trap with the turtles. A few more trips to retreve the rest of the gear and the canoe. Glad we were in shalow water and with in 25 yards of the beach.The bottom was not the best eather!!!! about 2 foot of mud. She still reminds me of that day. Dont under stand why tho!!!!!!!!!!!!