Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Alligator Snapper...anyone experience on trapping?

I have three ponds from 1/2 to 3 acres in size. I bought 17 welsh harlequin duck hatchlings back in early April so now they are about full grown. I witnessed a large alligator snapper take a chunk out of one of my ducks thighs and pulled it under freaking the geese and the ducks out enough that no one went back in the water for several days. Now for those who know about snapping turtles...these are not common snapping turtles that can get 26lbs. No these are straight from the pit...150 lbs average with some as large as 250+ and unlucky for me only inhabit the southeast. I saw his head and neck which is bigger than my fist. I got the duck carcass out and wired it half in the water and when he came up for it the next day I shot at it with a 3.5 inch 12 gauge turkey load at about 30 feet. Didn't phase it. I tried a shot with a 30.06 no go. I have now ordered a large trap 4 feet square and was wondering if anyone else has been blessed by the presence of these creatures. Apparently they take out fish as well as they sit on the bottom and bait them in with a red tongue (likely forked LOL). I saw one of my large 30 inch catfish with a large chunk taken out of his back prior to the duck incident and wondered what happened but he lived and it healed. I may have to drain (thankfully it's the 1/2 acre pond) most of the pond if the trap doesn't work. Any stories out there on alligator snappers...nothing in the archive searches I've done on here. I can't use a trot line or the catfish will get on it.

I trapped a regular snapper but not an alligator snapper. It was the easiest animal I ever trapped. Set the trap and in no time I had him. Moved him to the nearest river.

Only have common snappers in my pond. Your guy sounds like he has been around for a while. Might want to make friends and enjoy having him around. They are actually pretty interesting to watch and, like many turtles, can probably be trained to come to be fed (lessening its impact on the other pond residents). Alligator snappers are actually endangered in many places.

I'll bet you could catch him with a hook and line fairly easily, just replace the rope with 1/8" cable and a pretty large hook. You going to relocate it or is it slated for dinner? I wonder if a place like Cabelas or Bass Pro would want it? Don't know the legalities of it tho.

I've seen 2 different regular snappers in my lifetime that were HUGE. One at a Forest Preserve BOW South of Chicago that looked like a muskrat swimming until I realized that it was a turtles' head that I was looking at, not a 'rat. I was in a float tube at the time and I didn't stick around. The most recent one was in Potato Creek State Park in Indiana. I was fishing in a boat when this mossy boulder surfaced next to the boat. The shell looked like it was 3' across and it's head was at least 6" wide. It had a type of FA growing on the shell that looked like 8" long green fur. It looked at me, got a breath of air and was gone. I never saw it again. I can't imagine just how old those 2 snappers were!

I think I would get in touch with Cabelas, BPS or somebody who would catch and keep it. That thing is hundreds of years old.

I don't know how to catch them either.
I've got a big one in my feed-trained bass pond.
You might want to call on the Kentucky Turtle Man. Just google "Kentucky Turtle Man" and watch what this guy does.

You could try setting out a couple of poles or catfish jugs and use bream as big as your hand. It will be to big for the catfish to fit in there mouth but the turtle should find it pretty quick. I removed about 6 from my pond last year when I set out catfish jugs.