Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Wildlife Management Snapping Turtles

We just purchased a house that has a small pond (somewhere between 1/3rd and 1/2 an acre). My kids love swimming in it. They love counting the frogs, and fish. One day we counted well over one hundred sunfish. Then yesterday my seven year old found two very large snapping turtles mating on the surface. Their heads are larger than my fist. Their shells are well over a foot in diameter. They are very impressive animals, and must faster than I would have imagined "turtles" to be.

Some friends are convinced that the turtles will eat all of the fish. Others are convinced that the kids are in danger. Can others please share their experiences with me? Thanks.

Welcome to the forum first off...

Snappers will feed on fish, but mostly dead or dying. They are not efficient predators of healthy fish. So I wouldn't worry about them cleaning your pond out.

As far as being a danger to swimmers, here is my opinion. Out of the water, snappers are nasty! I mean NASTY! They will snap your finger off in a heart beat. However, if they are in the water they are pretty darn docile. They will generally head the other direction if approached and even pull into their shell if stepped on. I wouldn't stress it.

I think it was Bob Lusk that said that if a fish got eaten by a snapper then the fish deserved it.

Welcome to PB!

Snappers are great. We got a guy on here who knows he has a large population of them in his swimming hole that he's had for years and has never had an incident. Enjoy them, they're truly amazing animals.

I've been around snappers my whole life -- and that's a long time. When we were young, like probably 10 and older, we caught a lot of them that family members "processed" for great meals.

They do express a bad attitude, but in all my encounters with them I've never come close to being bitten. I don't know of anyone who has ever been harmed by one. Like with any wild critter, just give them due respect.

I have one in my pond now. He (she) is welcome to stay. I would only have an issue with them if they were to overpopulate. But, even that is remote. They kind of have a pecking order (snapping order?), and some will move on.

Enjoy them.

Ken

Yesterday I was catfishing in my pond before son and wife drove down. The stupid turtles were stealing my shrimp off the hooks before a catfish could come close. Then a snapper took one...he was not happy with the hook. I broke him off and about 30 minutes later he did it again. Second time made me in a bad mood and he lost the battle with a .22.

I did learn that suspending shrimp under a bobber was futile with the turtles and I was successful just fishing them on the bottom bobberless.

So did you catch any catfish then once you put them on the bottom?

How many and what size?

Will your cats bite worms or liver?

I can't keep the HBG off of mine so it is a pain as well.

Thanks

Caught some nice fish yes. BG's will take shrimp or just mollest it and worms have to be on the bottom or the bg are all over it. I like shrimp for bait, i dont do stink bait, and been a while since I tried liver.

The problem is I can't get the worm to the bottom before the HBG take it.

I may try some shrimp as well.

I put in 100 CC in December and I am curious as to how much if any they have grown, but I will not know unless I can catch one of the sneaky critters.

Any other hints?

If you really want to catch the poor, pitiful, lovable, and defenseless, little turtle

get yourself a plastic jug with a good screw-on lid. Something like a 2 liter orange juice container.

Get some 40-60 lb., monofilament line and a #4 circle hook. Tie the hook to one end, and the jug to the other end. Make the line long enough to easily drag the hook on the bottom of the pond after you throw it out. Go to Wally World, or similar, and get some real cheap chicken pieces.

Right around sundown, thread a chicken piece onto the circle hook. Throw it out.

Collect the turtle, or unfortunate catfish, either of which will be in a real bad mood by morning. If it's a snapper, dispatch it using your favorite method. Just don't put your hands or fingers near its mouth. And, remember, even after dead for quite some time, a snapper's reflexes can still be very active and hurtful.

If you are interested, I've got some good recipes.

Ken

I'll bet you could if you rigged the rod with a 1 oz egg sinker, splitshot about 12" above the hook and then the hook. Cast it out, and let it sink with a tight line, don't freespool. I'll bet it'll sink faster than the HBG can swim. Once down on the bottom, put the reel into freespool or leave a couple feet of slack in the line. The CC will pick up the worm and not feel the large sinker.

Wow, thanks for all of the first hand advice. I am really glad a friend pointed me toward PondBoss. As a new pond owner, I find I have lots of questions and it is wonderful to find a place where there are real world answers.

I usually put a swivel below the egg sinker to give it a positive stop. Around here that's a standard bottom fishing rig for shore fishing any fast moving water too, the swivel allows your bait to spin in flowing current.

I have 3 large snapping turtles that eat pellets along side my yellow perch. The turtles are the first ones to show up at dinner time, they are usually waiting for me before I get there with the feed. Season opens here July 1st and I plan to harvest and butcher them making soup out of the trimmings and frying up the larger pieces of meat like chicken nuggets. I live near several swampy areas and have new recruits every year, every time I remove them, new ones show up.

I also have a couple snappers I've noticed in my 1/2 acre pond. And I've noticed I don't have as many of my favorite painted turtles showing up for feeding off my dock lately. Will the snappers kill the painted turtles, some of which are 6-8" in diameter or are they not a target?? Hopefully they are just shy this year..

A big snapping turtle will take chunks out of other turtles. Legs, heads...

Regards, andy
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