I've got one or more very large Turtles in my pond. Whats the best way to eradicate them. I do not have time to sit there with the 22 and wait for their appearance. Any advice on a proven method will be appreciated.
Tom.
Tom.
Turtles
- Thread starter kerley
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
They catch them with a fish hook and heavy duty line here using chicken livers for bait. You'll need steel leaders as well. They bait up several toss them out and stake or tie off the line then go get something to eat or drink and come back to check for turtles. It's not uncommon for them to catch a couple dozen out of smal ponds. Snapping turtles are supposed to be really good eating too although I haven't had the opportunity to try it myself. I know a guy locally that clean the snappers out of ponds all around here just for the meat.
HOSS
Well-known member
I have a 4 acre pond that is loaded with snappers. I enjoy controlling their population with a lawn chair and a scoped .22 rifle. That may not be your cup of tea though. I have to control the population of turtles because they are very hard on the ducklings. I have several nesting wood ducks and I have seen snappers come up and chow down on the ducklings. I have seen some ducks with a missing leg probably from a snapper. My granddaddy used to take them for meat this way:
He would take two planks about 4 foot long ( 1" x 10") and sandwich a piece of styrofoam between them to allow it to float. On top he would drive a couple of fencing staples almost all the way down. He would tie a 4ft piece of heavy braded fishing line to the staples and attach a large trebble hook to the other end. He would add an anchor rope and weight to the board. He would bait the hooks with chicken liver and place the hook on top of the board and float it out with his little flatbottom. The turtles would climb on the board to sun and pick up the liver thus hooking themselves. He would retrieve them with the boat once he saw they were hooked. He always put the hooked liver on top of the board to keep catfish from taking the bait and hooking themselves. I think he used thread to tie the hook onto the top of the board to keep it from falling into the water when the turtle mounted the board.
He would take two planks about 4 foot long ( 1" x 10") and sandwich a piece of styrofoam between them to allow it to float. On top he would drive a couple of fencing staples almost all the way down. He would tie a 4ft piece of heavy braded fishing line to the staples and attach a large trebble hook to the other end. He would add an anchor rope and weight to the board. He would bait the hooks with chicken liver and place the hook on top of the board and float it out with his little flatbottom. The turtles would climb on the board to sun and pick up the liver thus hooking themselves. He would retrieve them with the boat once he saw they were hooked. He always put the hooked liver on top of the board to keep catfish from taking the bait and hooking themselves. I think he used thread to tie the hook onto the top of the board to keep it from falling into the water when the turtle mounted the board.
Calman
Well-known member
When I was a youngin I had a 51 chevy pickup and was parked by the pond shooting turtles with a 22.
On the way back home my truck started to get hot,and when checking it out I found that a couple of 22 bullet holes were in the radiator.
Cal
On the way back home my truck started to get hot,and when checking it out I found that a couple of 22 bullet holes were in the radiator.
Cal
brandonm_13
Well-known member
They make turtle traps. Other than that, you might put out jug lines or limb line like fishing for catfish with liver. If a pond has a good number of turtles, you can usually catch some that way.
