turtles

[picketpin1]

anyone have any info on how to trap snapping turtles
such as trap placment-what to use as bait. i have one turtle
trap and a good place to trap.just dont know how.
any info. will be appriciated.

[Steve]

I'd love to hear any answers for this. Something I've always wanted to try. How about hand fishing for them under undercut riverbanks like on Fred Trost's show a while back.

[Woolybugger]

That's crazy. I nearly lost my fingers feeding the snapping turtle I kept as a pet. Heavy masonry gloves were all he got a piece of. If you can see the turtle and make out heads and tails it just matter of grabbing them by the base of the tail. They can't scrape or bite you then. To far down the tail and that head can come around and get you.
I never tried baiting them but they sure do like chicken skin and dead fish.

[shooter921]

I knew people that had a pond that they swam in and they would take meat/chicken skins and what not down to the shore and when the turtle came out to eat in they woudl drop a net and move it to a lake or something.

80

[Steve]

That's what I'm looking to do. Take a few to stock my favorite pond with and cut down on the mosquitos.

[shooter921]

Great story! Do you still trap them for people, or are ya retired? Did you ever eat the turtles you caught or did you just seel them and use the money for food? Lets hear about TOBY!

80

[fishctchr]

I have a friend that traps snappers, which opens in a few days, and he uses carp and suckers and sometimes salmon carcasses in his traps. I can attest to the excellent eating they can provide as I eat some every year. I have caught a few in the past by using heavy cord with a big hook tied to it with a bluegill on it for bait.

[TrapperJeff]

You can trap snappers with a large standard live trap or speciality turtle trap which is just a wider version. Ive used chicken and pork fat as a lure, just clip it to the far end of the trap, then place the trap half in the water- half out. With the open end to the water. You can use just about any kind of meat as a lure. The stinkier the better. Good Luck

[Woolybugger]

What's the largest the snappers get around here. I caught a snapper in Beaver Creek in Sterling Hts that was couldn't fit in a garbage can without deforming it. One big scary snapping mouth.

[picketpin1]

thanks for info.
seems to be some intrest in this little talked about
subject.

thanks again.
my 14 yr. son and i will be giving it a try next weekend

[NEMichsportsman]

Toby-
what a great story...if you have got a bunch more like that, maybe we can rent you out to sit around the camp fires at some of our deer camps. I would rather hear some fresh stories in such detail than the same old stories that my hunting buddies tell year after year!

jp

[trapper jim]

I trap turles in traps i made out of metal fence and chicken wire. they are easy to make and i use a small coffe can with fish that sat out in the sun for a couple of days. Today was the first day i trapped and i caught a 20# and a smaller one. All you gotta do is check it every day and if there are snappers around they will eventually find the trap. Hope this helps. Good Luck and Good trapping.

[Steve]

Jim can you draw us a diagram of one of these traps? Do you place them in water or on land or in between?

[Spanky]

Splitshot, killer story! They say there is 7 different flavors of meat in a single turtle, don't know personally.

Steve, alothough they eat beetles, grubs and worms, I doubt very much that theywill do much for the mousquito problem.Put up some bat houses, they will eat hundreds of skeeters an hour!

hope everyone is having a good independence day !

[trapper jim]

Steve, I put the trap in the water until the can is out of the water about an inch or two. when i make them i just take standard fencing (The law says it has to have at least inch holes.) form it into a big circle and wire the ends together. Then cover one end with chicken wire atach it to the fencing with wire. Now the other end, take two pieces of chicken wire and make one piece of wire go from the top of the cage down about two feet or so at an angle. You will have to use wire to hold the chicken wire in place. Then do the same thing on the other side. You want a small gap between the two pieces of chicken wire so the turtle can get in. But, when he goes to get out the chicken wire will fold down and he won't be able to get out.Make sure the Chicken wire is wired up real good. Turtles can tear up a trap. To make the door so you can get your turtles out i just cut a chunk out of the fencing and put chicken wire over it and wire it down so that i can open it easy. I am not very good at explaining things to well. Hope this helps. Good Trapping.

[trout]

If you plan on trapping turtles please read the rules on doing so.
Also place the trap where it is out of the water"enough" so that the sub legal sized turtle can breathe and be released.
Good Luck

[Steve]

Yeap, I'm going to put up some bat houses too as soon as I can find some plans. A picture would be worth a thousand words here Trapper.

[trout]

Check this site out for turtle traps!
http://www.nationaltrappers.com/Affiliates.html

[Steve]

Trout, do you think those traps are the same as described by Trapper?

[trout]

I'd ask him to look at the photos steve.

[trapper jim]

I don't have a scanner yet. but, the pictures that the web site has look pretty close. I do place the trap out of the water enough for all turtles to be able to breath. Also i stake the trap so the turtles can't move it. Trout what rules am i missing? Are there some that i missed? Thanks. Good Trapping

[trout]

Do we still have to have trap tags on them with our Names etc> ????? And what are the size limits?
I think you mentioned all the rules but for those new to trapping them please read the guide.
Thanks ;)

[TrapperJeff]

There is a size min. of 12 inch carapace
3 per day, 6 total and yes we still have to tag them
with name and address and they are delicious!!!!

[trapper jim]

trapper jeff is right. Also you can only have three traps out. Good trapping

[$Big Pimpin$]

I never trapped snappers but i would just get a rather large hook and put a dead bluegill on it and cast it to em only problem is half the time they bite or broke my line. The biggest one i ever caught weighed 28lbs. There is a bunch of different kind of meat on them also but it doesnt really taste different, just different texture. I dont have any snappers in my private lake anymore but i have massive soft shell turtles does anyone know if they are good eating?

[fishandhunt]

A few things to remember when turtle trapping. Always have room for the turtle to breathe. As trout mentioned, you can release the small turtles and non-desirables. Also note that you want to keep the turtle alive for a day or two to allow them to purge themselves. Give them fresh water and do not feed them. This goes a long way towards making the meat better.

A good source for turtle traps and replacement netting is below (requires Adobe) bottom of page 51.

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/catalog/downloads/pg.49-52.pdf



Mike