Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations help trapping turtles??

my wife and i purchased 3 ducks for my 1/2 acre pond.my 3 year old daughter has really enjoyed them they are about 3 weeks old.each afternoon my wife has been walking the ducks outside to our pond so they can get use to the water before we release them in about 2 to 3 weeks.yesterday the ducks were taking their usual swim and she heard one of them making a squaking sound so she handed my daughter to the neighbor and ran to the pond to see what was going on.to her surprise she saw a bloody duck struggling to stay above the water.my wife was able to get the duck to the edge of the pond with a long net, but by that time he didnt make it.when i came home from work i went to the pond to try to find out what caused this disturbance, and i was very surprised that something bit the ducks leg completely off. my first thought was that it must have been a turtle being that i have seen several in the last couple of weeks. thank goodness my daughter didnt see this.can someone recommend a good turtle trap,i would love to catch a lot of them and feed them to the buzzards before i release the ducks.also i have my pond stocked with minnows,bluegills, redears,channel cats, and i am going to stock the bass tomorrow since my minnows and bluegills have spawned. i was just curious of how many pounds of fish a good size snapping turtle could eat in one year.thanks for any advice on this subject.

turtles have little impact on fishery. However as you have found out big impact on ducks/geese. Just this week on a pond the baby geese went from 8 to 3 from turtle predation. Get a hoop trap. Works great on larger snapping turtles. Also setting jugs will work but yes they can take down ducks.

where is the best place to order a hoop trap.i was hoping to place an order on the trap asap, that way i can trap as many snapping turtles as possible before we release the two other ducks. will the hoop trap also work for some of the smaller turtles or just the larger ones.thanks for any suggestions.

I have used a varmint trap with leftover meat as bait, lower the trap underwater just enough to cover the top of the trap and tie it to a pier. You have to keep checking on the trap because if you leave it for a couple of days, the turtle will find a way out. I have a turtle problem too and I just think they are uglier than sin and I prefer to shoot them.

I think Aquatic Eco system is an advertiser so try them. There are several companies that sell them if you do a search. They will catch small turtles also but a great way to catch the bigger ones.

Yeah, I get rid of mine with a 17 HMR if you can shoot them.. Other wise the traps the way to go..

My thinking is that the trap is the better way to go. What if one of your 3lb or even worse, 7lb bass was swimming close to that ugly turtle while you were taking aim. BOOM! you fired the gun and missed the turtle , but found your lunker!

If you are going to shoot them, you'd better wait until they are purched nicely on a log and are in close range. Otherwise, go with a trap.

I know some of you might be saying, "I can't hardly find the fish with 20 casts of my best lure, much less a bullet. You may be right, but stranger things have happened!

My Leupold 2x7 & .22 Win. Mag. clearly shows me what's about to be evicted from my pond. I'll save the trapping for the wild hogs, they make great BBQ

Depending on the angle of incidence, a bullet fired at the water surface will either ricochet off the surface or enter the water. If the bullet enters the water, it looses energy very rapidly and penetrates such a short distance that there is practically no risk of injuring a fish. A bullet and a spear behave entirely differently in water.

The new vmax tips practically disintegrate upon impact. I love poppin a few turtle heads.

Funny how one man's trash is another man's treasure. I wish my snappers would pull down every one of the geese that fly in and foul my dock,lawn & driveway! For yrs. I waited for a migrating pair to fly in & raise their young on my island. Pretty sight...nature at her finest.But,in the past six yrs,the number. of resident geese has skyrocketed. Give me turtles anytime. We can catch them,eat them,and decorate their shells(great project for the older kids). BTW turtles travel over land from pond to pond,so it's hard to keep them out.

Eastland,

You are 100% right about those wild hogs and BBQ...but man do they ever tear up my pastures!