Turtle Trapping.

[fishermccann]

I take a couple every year, taste great, but can be chewy if not slow cooked.

[Species8472]

My youngest son (14 when this photo was snapped) likes to dive for them. Makes it a little more challenging. Occasionally he gets scratched up but usually he comes out on top:

[flytyermiller]

I admit that I don't know anything about turtles or turtle-trapping . --- My question is : Why bother? --- Am I missing something by not eating them ? --- I always saw them as a "SANITATION-CREW" ; cleaning up our waters . To the best of my knowledge , they are one of the few carrion-feeders around . --- I'm not judging people who "harvest" them , I just wonder .

I think that's mostly just in your head, i don't mean that rudely (please don't take it as such), but so are bears right? they eat anything and everything in the bush, we have no idea what rotting corpses or garbage they've been dining on before we shoot them and eat them? Same with all fishes we consume, if you're eating a big pike, there is no telling what nastiness it's been consuming, that fish may have survived on rotting fish and dead floating ducklings for the last year, or there may be a dead moose floating around bloated that it's been eating shreds of. there's no harm, but i do get that some things can just sorta "gross people out" for lack of a more appropriate term. All omnivorous/carnivorous animals will feed on carrion, for you it might be turtles. Me, i hate dill, and i don't like peanut butter.
We like to think that our wild game is entirely animals that survive on wild, fresh, organic everything, but the truth is, they don't.
I once saw a bear run from me between Timmins and Foleyet that had half a black garbage bag hanging out it's butthole, and i bet he was someones tablefare the next fall...
not sure why i went on such a rant. my point was just that turtles are the same as other animals we eat, we don't have a clue what their diet is, and it mostly doesn't matter.
this stuff all becomes more and more true in the south of our province, fishes in the great lakes, or major rivers of the south are likely constantly eating garbage and living in dirty waters. and our animals down here are constantly eating garbage or greens filled with chemicals.

[rick_iles]

I think that's mostly just in your head, i don't mean that rudely (please don't take it as such), but so are bears right? they eat anything and everything in the bush, we have no idea what rotting corpses or garbage they've been dining on before we shoot them and eat them? Same with all fishes we consume, if you're eating a big pike, there is no telling what nastiness it's been consuming, that fish may have survived on rotting fish and dead floating ducklings for the last year, or there may be a dead moose floating around bloated that it's been eating shreds of. there's no harm, but i do get that some things can just sorta "gross people out" for lack of a more appropriate term. All omnivorous/carnivorous animals will feed on carrion, for you it might be turtles. Me, i hate dill, and i don't like peanut butter.
We like to think that our wild game is entirely animals that survive on wild, fresh, organic everything, but the truth is, they don't.
I once saw a bear run from me between Timmins and Foleyet that had half a black garbage bag hanging out it's butthole, and i bet he was someones tablefare the next fall...
not sure why i went on such a rant. my point was just that turtles are the same as other animals we eat, we don't have a clue what their diet is, and it mostly doesn't matter.
this stuff all becomes more and more true in the south of our province, fishes in the great lakes, or major rivers of the south are likely constantly eating garbage and living in dirty waters. and our animals down here are constantly eating garbage or greens filled with chemicals.

Actually, turtles don't eat rotten meat. In my early years, I trapped turtles with an uncle. If you didn't change the bait every day, you didn't get any turtles. We used fish guts. Bass cleanings were the best. We made our traps out of 2x2 corn crib wire, with a funnel at one end. We were able to have 25 or 30 traps in the boat, once they were collapsed. In those days , there was no regulations with respect to selling the meat or numbers taken. We trapped a pile of turtles over the years. There was a group of guys from the States that came up every summer to catch them. They used a huge hook and nylon line. They would have them tied up under their campers until they loaded them up for the trip south. I never did agree with using hooks. I'm glad to see that isn't permitted now.

[flytyermiller]

Actually, turtles don't eat rotten meat. In my early years, I trapped turtles with an uncle. If you didn't change the bait every day, you didn't get any turtles. We used fish guts. Bass cleanings were the best. We made our traps out of 2x2 corn crib wire, with a funnel at one end. We were able to have 25 or 30 traps in the boat, once they were collapsed. In those days , there was no regulations with respect to selling the meat or numbers taken. We trapped a pile of turtles over the years. There was a group of guys from the States that came up every summer to catch them. They used a huge hook and nylon line. They would have them tied up under their campers until they loaded them up for the trip south. I never did agree with using hooks. I'm glad to see that isn't permitted now.

Good info. I use carp, gives me an excuse to catch some or bow hunt them, they are still fun to catch, especially in a strong river. freeze them chopped to bait size, heads etc are all good.

[rick_iles]

We got a few of the hoop traps made from heavy mesh, but the turtles tore them to shred, or tangled them up so bad we couldn't salvage them. The box traps solved those issues. It was common to get 6 or 8 big turtles in one trap. We saved a lot of ducklings and goslings !!

[rfb]

Turtles are in serious decline world wide. From harvesting for food to habitat loss to collection for the pet trade there aren't any positives right now.

Give it enough time and the snapper will follow suit. Their populations can't sustain constant harvest. They mature late, about 20 years of age, and few offspring survive.

It's only a matter of time before harvest is banned.

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[rick_iles]

Turtles are in serious decline world wide. From harvesting for food to habitat loss to collection for the pet trade there aren't any positives right now.

Give it enough time and the snapper will follow suit. Their populations can't sustain constant harvest. They mature late, about 20 years of age, and few offspring survive.

It's only a matter of time before harvest is banned.

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I would agree....possums, coons and skunks are a primary cause for their decline !

[rfb]

I would agree....possums, coons and skunks are a primary cause for their decline !

Not true at all. Habitat loss, food consumption, highway mortality are the main reasons

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[trappermatt]

Not true at all. Habitat loss, food consumption, highway mortality are the main reasons

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Where is your proof that the snapping turtle in Ontario is in this position?