Turtle trapping

[b116757]

I stocked a pond this spring I cleaned out last fall with fathead minnows and bluegill. I noticed several turtles in the pond when we stocked it this spring and built a turtle trap. Well anyway it’s just 4”PVC in a 3’ square with cheap wire under it with a couple 1/4” plywood ramps on either side worked very well first month we pulled out 25ish turtles and relocated them. Well we checked it last weekend and the cheap wire mesh I used literally was rusting into pieces after only a couple months in the pond. We brought it home knowing the design does catch turtles pretty well and took off the failed wire mesh and welded together an aluminum cage from some aluminum grip strut I had laying around added a couple boat fenders for added flotation and put it in a different pond to thin out the turtle population on it a bit. I don’t know just how bad they are for my pond fish but there seems to be a very high number of them in each pond. If I build anymore I might try and get a sheet of expanded aluminum diamond plate or perforated aluminum sheet to use for the catch pen.

 

[SoSalty]

A few turtles with abundant food sources might not hurt. If the population explodes, as it is wont to do, it will self-correct, but only a long time after their target prey, fish for one, becomes decimated and there is a stressful die off or departure of those turtles. Trapping can be exhausting but pays dividends in the way of a healthy fishery. If you come up with an efficient economical design and method of turtle removal, do let us know.

 

[b116757]

This more or less I used 1/4” plywood ramps seems to work very well after they get used to it in the pond first week or two we only caught a few at about a month we had 25ish in it at 2 months wire was falling apart. I will likely use aluminum of some sort for the catch pen on anymore I build. I need to keep eyes open on Facebook marketplace for something that will work I can get cheap old road signs maybe?

 

[Tree Spud]

This more or less I used 1/4” plywood ramps seems to work very well after they get used to it in the pond first week or two we only caught a few at about a month we had 25ish in it at 2 months wire was falling apart. I will likely use aluminum of some sort for the catch pen on anymore I build. I need to keep eyes open on Facebook marketplace for something that will work I can get cheap old road signs maybe?
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Couldn't you use 2"x$' galvanized woven wire fence?

 

[b116757]

Could maybe idk I almost wonder if there isn’t a fish style netting that wouldn’t work well for this it not being rigid would possibly make moving it from site to site easier also taking up way less room and just easier to carry.

 

[Bill]

Maybe be on the lookout for some used tennis court net. Those things sit out in the weather for a long long time. We have a chum bag made from that net and it's lasted years. My son never takes it out of the water. It just hangs off the boat because it stinks..

 

[The Fishman]

Check into coated galvanized crab trap wire. Crab traps sit in saltwater all the time and they last forever. Getting a roll may be overkill, but you might be able to buy a ready made trap from Bass Pro or Academy and modify it to suit your needs.

 

[b116757]

We pulled about 15 turtles out of a pond this evening and relocated them to a river on the way home.

 

[Westwind]

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Memphis Net And Twine would have the right kind of netting. They also have pre-built traps.

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