I walked down to the pond to feed today and to my surprise there was a 30+ pound snapping turtle devouring 1 day old bg eggs from beds. I have plenty of readers sliders but this is the first snapper I've seen at my pond.

Any tips on removing him? I assume trapping may be the easiest method? As if I didn't have enough work to do lol

snappers don't climb out and sun themselves like sliders do. I've had good luck catching larger softshells and snappers by using a trot line and baiting with chicken gizzards and pieces of cut up Bluegills.

If you can see him/her, a treble hook and 20+ pound line will give you a chance to snag it and land it.

Does it need to be removed?

Hungry, Sparky?
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=422951&page=2

I guess I've become "soft-shelled" in my old age.

Over at least the last 60 years, I cannot even begin to imagine how many snappers I've taken, cleaned, and turned into delicacies.

As I've mentioned in other threads, I'm also not sure how my kindly father let me live as long as I have, after I kind of ruined a couple of his new cars.

One night, another 16 year-old buddy and I brought home a big snapper that we found trying to cross the road on a rainy night between a divided muskeg.

We felt pretty proud of ourselves for skilfully catching it, and knowing enough to put it upside down in the car trunk (of my dad's nearly new car).

We smartly knew that these big turtles were mostly defenseless when upside down. Unfortunately, as 16 year-olds, one thing we didn't anticipate was how much a big snapping turtle can pee. Worse than that, we certainly had no idea of how awful a big snapping turtle's pee can smell when in an enclosed space. We unfortunately found out that back in about 1964, there didn't seem to be a neutralizing agent for the smell. Vinegar, baking soda, you name it -- didn't work.

The turtle was healthy enough to become several delicious dinners. It was put into a large "wash tub" and we sprinkled coarse corn meal into the tub a couple of times per day, for several days.

As was usual practice, we cleaned out the tub twice a day. Then we sprinkled in the cornmeal when the water was again reasonably clean. The cornmeal would help clean out the nastiest stuff in their digestive tracts. It made cleaning them a little less of a dry-heaves type gagging experience.

As I've slowly approached big snapping turtle's senior age, I began to greatly appreciate how they can prosper for so many years.

A number of them visit our ponds each year. I now let them just enjoy their vacation time while they are here. They seldom stay for more than a few weeks. Then they move on. They don't cause problems.

It has been 5-7 years since I've turned a big snapper into meals.

Just my thoughts.

Ken

Yes, they move around a lot. I have 2 large ones that come and go 2 or 3 times every summer. Not the brightest critters in the world. When I had the land across the lane fenced with field fence, I would occasionally find one dead that was either coming from or headed to the pond. They'd get their head through the fence and just keep trying to get through until they dehydrated and died. Their feet could dig some pretty good holes after hours of pushing in one spot.

I have over 20 red ear sliders in my lil BOW...I wish I could find something useful to do with them. I don't mind a few, but they are getting their share of the pellets at feeding time.

Ken that is a hilarious story!


The redears and painted turtles are hound dogs during feeding time, it's unbelievable how fearless they have become after two weeks of feeding. They follow me all over the pond.

I think I have the snapping turtle problem figured out. It is a female and she laid a nice clutch of eggs along the shoreline bank. It appears that the raccoons and other critters are all of them! I found the snapping turtle in the same spot today but this time she was laying next to my BG beds devouring fresh FA blooms! I figure she can hang out a while and eat all the curly leaf and FA she wants to regain strength. She had to have come a decent distance to the pond as my outlet creek is a mile up a steep river bluff from the flooded Mississippi and the trek from my neighbors pond is pretty treturois as well. I've heard that when the river is flooded as it is now that all species of turtles have a hard time finding egg laying habitat and tend to venture greater distances than normal.

I will post some pictures tomorrow but she let me get extremely close while she was browsing through the FA. My bluegills are spawning at such a high rate that I doubt the turtles eating eggs has any impact on their production.

Mmmmm, turtle good.

Here's the mamma eating FA near shore amoung all of my spawning bluegills



Whats left of her clutch

I have just used a large net placed behind them. When they spin around to swim away, they go right into the net. I then drop them into a large plastic bin and off for a ride to the nearest non-maintained pond they go.

I have transplanted a few really large ones this year that have been devouring frog eggs. I like my frogs, so they must go.

Here we go again...this might be the same one but appeared a bit smaller. Chomping bits off a dead LMB

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I got it to drop the bass so i could see how big it was
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I'd guesstimate the dead bass was 18-20" - thats a pretty massive head thats left - Im hoping it died of old age and the snapper stumbled across the carcass while cruising the pond bottom.