I have a problem with Turtles coming back in force !!!Last year a guy set traps & caught quiet a few,that thinned them out pretty good,but now their back.I'm trying to get the guy back but can't find him. Has anyone had any similar problems or solutions ? I don't think turtles benefit ponds in any way .. do they ? I have three small ponds..under a acre ,but 17'-20'deep & only 4 years old.

I read in Bob Lusk's book that turtles aren't really a problem for a pond. The only turtles that can eat fish are snapping turtles and I don't know how many fish they are able to eat in a year. If you don't have snapping turtles, don't worry about it. If you do have them, do some more research.

They may not eat many fish, but they do go from pond to pond and carry all sorts of stuff with them...some of the ones in Texas have moss an inch thick on their back, no telling what's burried in there. I prefer target practice, it's not easy to make a head shot at 75 yards, and it keeps my .22 win mag dead on.

Once in a dense turtle pond I set a trot line with perch, the next morning, I caught 4 turtles. I also had a stringer of nice red-ear perch devoured when I left them unattended for a couple of hours.

The only thing I dislike about turtles is when their burrows in a soft bank collapse.

I prefer the .375 H&H - it has sufficient penetration to go through the shell, so headshots aren't necessary.

Other than a turtle trap, a simple catfish basket also works well. (If you can check it ever couple of days.) Just put it out, bait it with something stinky and the catfish and turtles will go in to eat. The turtles will drown. The catfish can be returned to the water. I caught 27 in a basket in two days last year.

Also, you can bait out hooks with minnows on limbs where they crawl up to sun. Put the hook and minnow out of the water so fish won't get it, but on the log. Nail the other end of the line to the log. (I have never tried this, heard about it.)

Our little Painted turtles are OK but the snappers really clean out the ducklings (as well as cleaning up any dead fish)We aren't allowed to shoot them and actually have a closed season most of the year. My pond is back out of sight so turtle control is no problem but the little lake we live on is right next to the highway and crawling with snappers.We seldom have a brood of ducks survive. Pat

I have a lot also. I use them for target practice. Cheaper than going to the range. I have also run trout lines to catch some. My lab likes to catch'em and kill them also.

I have some very large softshell turtles that I have also shot.

I do like the idea of the catfish basket.

make your own turtle trap.they are easy to make and takes very little money.i use a kids swimming pool with a walk up ramp,then put some bacon in bottom of pool.they will walk up ramp and fall in pool and cannot get over the sides.after you catch them put in your truck and take them down road and let go in ditch.works great and you will have spent about $15.00

Too funny Theo...couldn't help but imagine the visual, The mere shock wave from 2 feet would kill it ! Theo...ah, got another one !