Snapping turtle

[svnmag]

Actually got my wires crossed on the threads.

 

[dean nelson]

If you have a nice snapper or a nice beaver, I wouldn't complain.

Well you go dangle your worm in front of it and let us know how that works out for ya!

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22

Yeah they frown on that in town. Pluse don't want to kill it if I don't have two....although bow fishing could be a last resort.

 

[svnmag]

I didn't realize you where in town. I thought you had a private pond out of city limits. Locate it, then cast out a hunk of meat about a foot below a float. Constantly jiggle float until it eats. After that, it's between you and the Lord.

 

[MSA]

Snappers cross land to get to new water alot. You could removed 2 or 3, never see 20, and 5 more new ones will wander in while 5 locals wander out over the summer. Enjoy them as part of the lake, even if you step on one its usually a quick nip, you pretty much have to catch and manhandle one to induce a bad bite, and even that aint the end of the world.

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As far as zebra mussels, id be more worried about waterfowl. The free swimming larva stick in their feathers pretty easy.

 

[svnmag]

Where they're unregulated a hatchet is handy. Maintain a tight line, step on the shell and the neck fully extends...

Sorry for the sarcasm with my first post. I ASSumed this was private land.

 

[WormWiggler]

If you have a nice snapper or a nice beaver, I wouldn't complain.

meh.. they both get nasty with age

 

[johnr]

I enjoy my aged beaver.
No issues with me as long as it remains useful

 

[dean nelson]

MSA That would be true here but the only water that the turtles trade back and forth with is the drainage ditch and the fence on that normally stops the snappers from getting to the lake. The painted turtles can squeeze under it till they get about full sized but snappers are generally blocked from a fairly early age. The ditch drying up sent tons of turtles for a walk this spring and clearly some of the bigger ones found a way in most likely from where third street crosses the ditch since both myself and a neighbor saw snappers up on the street over there at different times. The lake has fairly clear water so spotting them is much easier then it normally is in the dirty water they prefer so it doesn't take long to figure out something is up. One odd thing I noticed is when the snappers showed up most of the painted turtles left. the lake is small to start with and in reality only a small strip on the edge of it is suitable for them especially with the extreme thermocline that sets up about 10 feet down. Below that no cold blooded creature is going to want to spend much time. Hell the local emergency dive team doesn't like to go down there it's so cold.

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And they are not part of the lake.....this is only the second time they have shown up in the lake in the 30 years we have had a place on it.

 

[MSA]

Probably someone like me living on the lake that put em in there.

 

[svnmag]

Turtles of all species are extremely detrimental to fishing in a small pond/lake. It's disheartening to observe 100+ heads poking out. I'm not a big fan and have spent many boxes of .22 with little effect. I guess one could seine. They just keep coming.

 

[Captain Ahab]

Well you go dangle your worm in front of it and let us know how that works out for ya!

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I'm going to try catch one at lunch hour.

 

[dean nelson]

Just remember always wash your snappers before you eat it or else you might get e-coli.

 

[Allen]

Snappers cross land to get to new water alot. You could removed 2 or 3, never see 20, and 5 more new ones will wander in while 5 locals wander out over the summer. Enjoy them as part of the lake, even if you step on one its usually a quick nip, you pretty much have to catch and manhandle one to induce a bad bite, and even that aint the end of the world.

I've seen firsthand what large snappers can do to carp trapped overnight in the bag of a seine. Holy crap for carnage! Most fish escaped once the snappers attacked, but before holes got torn in the bag they would just swim right up to the buffalos and take a single bite out of them. Some of the bites were "clean cut" hunks of meat missing and as wide as my damn hand. I have lived with a very great respect for the power of their bite ever since. I was maybe 16 yrs old at the time and the day we bagged those excess fish was the same day I had to wade around in with the fish throwing the snappers out. Must have been around 6 of them and I had never before (or since) seen one of the size of the top three. This was down in a bay just north of Deepwater.

 

[MSA]

Theres some monsters in the Mouse too.

 

[Buckmaster81]

I saw a snapping turtle in the James River year ago that was as big as a standard size suit case.... the damn head was as big as a 6" wooden post

 

[svnmag]

I have been startled by the size of snapping turtles up here. Like a freakn' triceratops.

Like THIS freakn' shi'ite around Darling and the Mouse (like reported by MSA):

Skip to 3:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBld0BTFlVQ

 

[Ponyroper]

Strange this thread showed up now and today I saw a big snapper on the side of the gravel road near the Big Muddy Creek east of Almont. First snapper I've seen anywhere for many years.

 

[Fracman]

I would use something like this on them

 

[svnmag]

My above is better handling than the "tail carry".

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The size of my above post is not much of an exaggeration if any.

 

[westwolfone]

The best thing you can do is..................nothing. Just leave them alone. Let the kids know to stay away from them and everything will be fine.