Turtle Trapping

[David LaPell]

The severed head retains the ability to bite for an hour or so. I saw a beagle with one clamped to his nose for a few seconds until he was able to sling it off.

The dog was not happy, but was far more scared than hurt.

I learned to cut the head off by grabbing the lower jaw with channel locks and then extending the neck out as far as possible. Slice the head off and dispose of it where it can't be a hazard. The feet need to have the claws removed or the turtle (even with no head) will claw at you as you try to work.

As for taste, the neck is white and tastes like very clean fish without the fish taste. The legs run a little darker and remind me of a cross between fish and frog legs. There is a small amount inside the shell up on top that is similar to the leg meat but has a stringier texture. Cut the pieces off the bones, soak in salt water overnight then flour and fry like chicken. Very, very good groceries.

You may find them with eggs and these can also be eaten; very rich and oily, scramble if you like. If you click two of them together they make a sharp sound almost like two small pool balls but they don't crack. You must cut them open.

That brings me to mind of the first turtle I ever saw my grandfather ever took. I was about 6 or so and he had taken in the previous summer and me being me I was out walking and I found the shell and in it was a whole bunch of eggs. They were still intact and where still fairly solid even after a year. He had encountered that turtle one morning after cleaning out mud and sticks in a culvert the beaver plugged. The turtle came his way and kept trying to bite his feet so he got his axe and took her head off, brought her to the house and cut her up. I really wish I could get back to that pond because I used to watch the turtles walk along the far bank, they were some of the biggest I have ever seen.

 

[LazyKB]

Real men don't need a trap

The Turtleman - YouTube

 

[CajunBass]

There are some commercial turtle fishermen on a couple of the rivers I bass fish. They way they do it is with a long, flexible bamboo/cane pole, a length of good stout line, and a big hook. They stick the end of the deep into the mud or shoreline, and let the baited hook dangle out over the water. Kind of like those gator fishermen do on TV. The turtle comes along, bites the bait, gets hooked but can't pull the flexible pole out of the mud. The pole will bend but won't give, like a willow tree in a windstorm.

One fellow who was in my bass club said his family used to do it when he was a kid. He too mentioned keeping them live in a "turtle house" but I got the impression that was just to keep them either until they had enough to take to market or until the prices got better. Perhaps they had to wait until the packing house could take them too.

 

[Stevens]

My old Cajun neighbor used to say "when a turtle bites it don't turn lose 'til sundown or it hears thunder".
One, not a snapper, bit my daschund on the ear (you can imagine the howling and squealing) we had to pry the turtle's jaws open with a screwdriver.
Steve W

 

[armadillo]

When I lived in Louisianna, my house backed up to a small pond that was infested with all kinds of turtles. I built a floating basket trap with a board they could climb and fall into the basket (they can't back-up). It worked great - I cleaned out all the big ones and relocated them to a remote bayou.