Turtle - Man

[non-pro-archer]

You can also tie the line to a milk jug and throw it out in the pond.

If you tie 2 jugs together with a 4 foot section of string it makes it easier to get from shore, kinda the same set up they have on crab pots where you throw a big treble between them to snag the line

 

[Ogemaone]

It's

Looks like it is right at 16 inches. :rolleyes: In WI slot is 12-16 inches.

It's a nice one, it taped at 15 5/8. Too bad they don't allow bigger. When I was researching how to preserve the shell, I seen a bunch of guys down south make clocks out of them. It would be hard to do on a 16 or smaller shell. They must have different regulations.

 

[2ndHand]

I used a circle hook. I attached the hook to a 24" steel leader and tie it to around 10 feet of braided nylon fishing line. I tie it to a tree and throw it in the water. I usually try to use a 3-4" bluegill. You don't want to much line out or you risk the turtle getting snagged under water. I caught that one in my pond. Same as you, kids didn't want it in there for swimming plus I didn't want it to eat fish.

Got it - Now I under stand. I was thinking of some type of circle snare (I'm new to fishing). I will give it a try next week and report back. Many thanks!!

 

[2ndHand]

If you tie 2 jugs together with a 4 foot section of string it makes it easier to get from shore, kinda the same set up they have on crab pots where you throw a big treble between them to snag the line

Thanks for the tip using the jugs. I'll try both methods next weekend. This should take care of this turtle.

 

[2ndHand]

Went to a smaller sized Walmart to see if they had the circle hooks, 24' steel leader and braided line - they didn't stock those items. Would Farm and Fleet have them, or do I need to go to a Gander Mountain? Thanks!

 

[Ogemaone]

They should, if not use any decent size hook or a smaller treble hook which will work as well.

 

[Reagan]

When I was a kid we used to catch and eat them. They are tasty but a lot of work to clean.

We just used nylon string with a large hook tied to a milk jug. 18-24" of string will work. We found chicken gizzards were the best bait for staying on the hooks. Let them get ripe before you put them in the water. If you have a lot of cattails, the turtle will usually crawl into a mess of them. It can get exciting when you wade into water, grab the jug and line and then reach for the tail when you determine where the head is.

If you tie a line to shore, make sure the the stick is actually a root or tree branch. A big snapper is powerful and can pull hard on your set up. The jugs have a higher catch rate because they give when the snapper pulls.

 

[2ndHand]

They should, if not use any decent size hook or a smaller treble hook which will work as well.

Sounds good - appreciate the info..;) Hopefully I can post a picture next week.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

I have heard of guys trapping them by using a barrel cut short (1/3 of a 55gal barrel) then use a board ramp plywood approx 16" wide on the barrel. Throw rotten chicken in the barrel. The turtle well fall into the barrel attempting to get the chicken:) if I were to try it I would counter sink the barrel in the mud just on the waters edge of your pond so the ramp isn't steep. I have heard of guys catching a pile of turtles at one time with this method!

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Jugs with glow sticks in them at night is fun too:) I have caught a pile of turtles like this while attempting to catch cats

 

[2ndHand]

When I was a kid we used to catch and eat them. They are tasty but a lot of work to clean.

We just used nylon string with a large hook tied to a milk jug. 18-24" of string will work. We found chicken gizzards were the best bait for staying on the hooks. Let them get ripe before you put them in the water. If you have a lot of cattails, the turtle will usually crawl into a mess of them. It can get exciting when you wade into water, grab the jug and line and then reach for the tail when you determine where the head is.

If you tie a line to shore, make sure the the stick is actually a root or tree branch. A big snapper is powerful and can pull hard on your set up. The jugs have a higher catch rate because they give when the snapper pulls.

Thanks Reagan! Fortunately no cattails to deal with, but no nearby trees either. I'll try a T-post for the shore line bait. If I catch it with the floating bait, hopefully I can get it to shore without getting in the water...

 

[2ndHand]

I have heard of guys trapping them by using a barrel cut short (1/3 of a 55gal barrel) then use a board ramp plywood approx 16" wide on the barrel. Throw rotten chicken in the barrel. The turtle well fall into the barrel attempting to get the chicken:) if I were to try it I would counter sink the barrel in the mud just on the waters edge of your pond so the ramp isn't steep. I have heard of guys catching a pile of turtles at one time with this method!

Interesting - thanks for the suggestion Jordan. I will keep that method in mind if I an not successful with the line baiting.

 

[2ndHand]

Got the turtle - shot it with a .22. It took a few attempts to hit it. Had to wait for it to surface a couple of times (about 15 - 20 min). Hit it three times, then it sank. It was larger than I thought.

 

[Ogemaone]

You going to save the shell?

 

[2ndHand]

You going to save the shell?

I would have, but it sunk after the third shot.

 

[Reagan]

If it is dead, it will float in a couple of days.

 

[2ndHand]

If it is dead, it will float in a couple of days.

I'll be back to the farm next weekend and will see if it has surfaced. After it sunk, there were lots of large bubbles. I took a shot at it with my AR on Saturday night, but missed. This morning I used a piece of conduit tubing to steady my aim with the .22.

 

[j-bird]

We used to jug them (milkjug, coupl feet of trout line cord and as heavy a hook as you can find -great way to catch alot of catfish as well). and eat them -never liked shooting them - becaue of the whole shooting at water thing as well as potentially it sinking. I will say this it took a very hungry man to figure out you can eat a turtle! It's good, but you will work for it.

 

[UP Powers]

wow... I would say that turtle is probably in my top 5 favorite things to eat. I could easily say that my mouth is watering right now for Turtle soup and roasted turtle. If someone said.. here is King Crab legs and lobter or you can have turtle. I would be Snapping up the turtle in a millisecond. It's so good. too bad it got wasted and the resource was not put to use. Man I love turtle. mmmmmmm It's easy to clean.

Trot line is the way to go. Just hook the line to an anchor and float the bait with a milk jug. Drag to shore once caught. Get a pitch fork and a stick, if the hook can't pull the head out. Get the head out, stick the pitch fork on the head, lop off the head with machete or axe. Nail the tail to board and let it bleed out for a while. You want that meat white. Start at the bottom and loosen the soft tissue and once you get the shell off, you can easily see the meat. I swear if I would have seen this earlier, you would be enjoying a table delicacy that I love and it's something that I cherish in my life.

 

[j-bird]

I have only cleaned of few of them myself so I am still trying to get the hang of it. My grandfather would lock up the brakes going down a country road to grab a snapper as it was crossing the road for the chance to eat it. That was back before we all wore seat belts - nothing lik picking yourself up off the floor of the truck so your crazy grandpa can eat turtle! He would remove the head (whatch those they will still bite you) and stuff a garden hose in the neck and turn the water on to help seperate the skin from the meat. His other driving trick was clearing ditches and clipping mailboxes after cats but that's a different story!