Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Snapping turtles

I hate them. I've seen them injure other animals and people.

Last year I took a 35-pounder out of our pond, and relocated it miles away. I just spotted another one this year, not nearly as big, but big enough.

Trying to net the buggers is very difficult. I was thinking of getting a small crossbow. Anybody have any experience with that? They're supposedly pretty powerful and it seems like they could definitely get through the shell.

Thanks

One month after Woodstock, a commercial trapper took over fifty snappers out of Max Yasgur's farm pond. That had been filled with hundreds of drunken/stoned revelers a month before, with no reported bites.

The best defense against snapping turtles is apparently to be bombed out of your mind and naked.

OTOH, they have 7 different flavors of meat in them. And like Star Wars' Ton-Tons, they smell worse on the inside when you cut them open.

At the range you would be bowhunting from (assuming a boat, dock, or close range from shore), a quality crossbow will do the trick. You would want the traditional bolt tip that is a plain sharp point with the retractable barbs so that the barbs do not hinder shell penetration.

That said, turtles are not bad for a pond given there are not too many. And, one has to ask why there would be so many? There may be enough dying older fish to support a larger population and the clean up crew would be desired. Turtles can do some substantial damage to vegetation, however. I can tell when a snapping turtle is in my pond due to the sudden destruction of the lilies that I am trying to get established.

The only turtle attacks on people I have heard of were accompanied by the words..."watch this"...lol

I'll pass on eating the snapper in Esshup's pics.

I think the flavor of the meat may be influenced by his dietary preferences.