Trapping Snapping Turtles

As a new guy to trapping I am hooked. I'm dying for fall to arrive already.

So in keeping with the trapping theme I'm going to trap snapping turtles this summer.

Any advice, tricks, tips, etc...?

Of course I'll have to build a few traps. So any advice tricks, or tips about them is also appreciated.

Check out some of wolfdog's old posts. He had some on making traps and such. Maybe there is some thing there that will help.

I like to set in quiet sloughs/oxbows. Beaver ponds are usually great places.



I build my own. The quickest and easiest ones that I’ve built are made with concrete reinforcement wire. I make them 24”x24”x42”. I take 8 feet of mesh, fold it on the corners and then attach the two edges. I sew a throat in with webbing, but wire throats can make good throats too.


One of my favorite turtle traps is made entirely of crab trap wire, but there’s a good chance you don’t have any, and they take up a lot of space anyway.


The best traps/nets for carrying a lot are the D hoop nets like beaverfoot sells imo

Just cause they are turtles, keep your same trapping principles...know what the wind is doing and what the current is doing. Turtles have good sniffers and oily fish does the best for bait.

Respect the turtles as they can give ya a nasty bite if you're not paying attention.

Newt has a good video on snappers, Turtles by the Ton.

Get heavy trotline, tie heavy hook on trotline, bait with chunk of fish or hotdog, tie line to tree or stake and throw a few feet off the bank, catches turtles easy

Be safe. Don't get bit.

I sell PA.legal turtle traps.Also buy LEGAL (commercail license)cought turtles from all states.

snareone.com

Thanks everyone, I appreciate all of your comments.

If you're on facebook, check out : American Turtler
If that won't set you straight on using hoop nets, nothing will !

Thanks LT, going to go check that out now.

If you have access to farm ponds jugs are pretty easy to catch em with. Milk jug with two foot of line and a treble hook with some chicken liver.

Ohio has a size limit on snapping turtles.
You can't safely release a turtle that is throat caught and under sized. Cutting the line and expecting a hook to 'rust out' is a joke.
Ever skin out a turtle with it's throat infected from a rusty hook ? You should've just killed the turtle.
That said, you'll never out perform using a hoop net using hooks, regardless of how many you set.

I support selective harvest !

Understood LT.

Tomahawk makes a good repeating Turtle Trap, available in one door and two door. Use some salted ground fish in a nylon stocking and save your nose from the stink this summer. I catch my biggest turtles in the Tomahawk model, but also like the mesh net hooped turtle traps. Both allow you to let turtles go if you wish. Thank you LT Grey for sharing as hooks are not cool for turtles.

Fresh fish will out perform salted fish or tainted fish.
Panny hose won't hold up, as a bait holder.
Leaf guard screens, cut to size and rang into a sleeve will offer a bait holder , even a big snapper can't get the bait out of.

I use Skip Jack Herring, common carp as a second choice. Most professional turtle trappers just use the cap of a carp's head, as that's where the oil gland is and it doesn't rot

These are the wire nets I use.

Nice looking wire nets wolfdog.


I see you got on some snappers too. Way more meat than those sliders!


Good job!

Yes Wolfdog, those are some nice looking traps. I don't have a lot of money to spend so I was either going to just buy 1 trap to play with this summer or make one or two from plans that I've found on the internet.

thank you kindly ! Still goaa bet before I'm at your level though lol. THEBIG1 if your interested in make them like I did heres a video I did on the throats. Sorry j never got around to explaining how to the the covering but hope it helps. Sorry though it's a bit on the long winded side lol

Wolfdog, thank you Brother! I began watching it but will be sure to sit down and watch it completely soon. I love doing things myself when it's not an impossible task.

Wolfdog, I was going to message you but thought that others might want this info too. It's a little hard to hear exact items.

1. Brand name of needle and size specifications?

2. Twine information?

There's two main tyoe of needles and they have like 50 different names but I prefer the normal style for smaller twine but I prefer the H style for larger stuff like 550 cord.
Anyhow I order all my stuff now from the fish net company in Jonesville Lousinia,their shipping is kinda expensive but their service is beyond amazing ! Actually made an order then had one of the clerk's call the next day and said he saw my order and figured what I was as making and told me what I ordered wasn't what I actually wanted and gave me the correct poportions and even saved me some $$$. Jannsnetcraft is good too but they seem a lil more pricy and less selection.

So if you order from the fish net company what I used is called a Duro needle and my favorite is like a medium size I reckon. Though I'm starting to like their super star 8 a bit more though,though it can be a pain when starting the fist set of meshes due to it's size.



Now good thing about janns is you can order a whole basic set of needles if you want.



Now as far as twine I'mma go ahead and save you a massive migraine and tell you to stay faaaaar away from Mason twine and that bank line crap from Wally world. It's tared uneven and it's twist is loose and crappy at best, it will work but it's not something I wanna work with if I had a choice.

What I use now is the Superbrand twine that the fish net company stocks. Now they have alot of different kinds but the bonded green and black tarred is what I've deleted with and I like both. The bonded has kinda a slight waxy type coating that helps it keep knots from slipping like Mason twine will. It's also real nice in your hands . I have a few knots slip but how ever but not enough that I'd consider it a problem. It's just great to work with in general.

Their tarred twine is great as well. If you check out the cheaper crap you find it often has globbing and "zebra striping" where the tar didn't. Coat well and this can caun bad knot holding,that being said it "will" work. But the mighty brand has a wonderful even coating. It's a little on the stiff side so your gonna need to put the ole man hands on it when you tie you knots but once that tar bonds and works a little those knots will be like concrete. The tarred twine can be a little round on the hands at times though.

As far a sizes your gonna get alot of different things. For fish most will recommend size ,#9-12 and turtles 15-18. Personally from the snappers in the 10-30 lbs range I've messed with #15 is about perfect for me.that being said for much areger ones or for trap your gonna work all the time #18 won't hurt a thing. In fact I thing beaverfoot who makes some of the best D style hoop nets around uses #18 last time I checkeded and ive never heard a bad thing about his nets !

Ok, to recap what you said.

You need a Duro 7" needle, and Bonded (tarred) twine size 15 to 18. Is this correct?

And then of course the patience and knowledge to make it all work.

I prefer using tarred twine, because it sticks and holds where I want it to while sewing. Many net makers scoff at the thought of using tarred twine and prefer to use uncoated. They dip their nets that are entirely white into the net coat. Still, I prefer uncoated mesh with tarred sewing line. To each their own

basically yes but on the needles I recommend you buy a couple different ones just to see what works best for you.also if your like me they're prone to being lost lol

snaggem with a fishing pole you can clean out a decent size pond in a few hours and only keep the big ones! And you never harm the turtle. Most trappers have walked thru a mudd bottom ever notice the bubble trail? turtles leave the same trail on a calm day its like jet exhaust in the sky faint trails 15-20 minutes later. Cast in front of those trails and be ready for a good fight!LOL Bring plenty of extra hooks and sinkers cause you will find ever snag as well! It gets exciting when you bump one! They take off running lol you will need to lead them when you cast! I recommend all turtlers to try it once you will be hooked!

Snagging = Harming in my book!!!! Not a good way to practice catch and release!!!

Net neddle size
Depends on the size of the twine. Say your using streched mesh of 1" your gona have to use a narror neddle than if your working with 2 1/2" mesh.
I wouldent use twine size less the #18 for common snappers. Alos like 2 1/2" mesh size for turtles.

I was looking at your site Newt and noticed that you sell all of that equipment. I was going to wait until the rendezvous, hopefully I'm able to make it, and sit down with you if you have time and talk.

I'd thought about buying one from you so that I can get started but then also trying my hand at making one.

You should do a seminar on how to make a trap. Make the seminar so much money and include all of the material. Heck, I'd come to something like that. Either way it goes, net making is a good survival technique to acquire.

If you need supplies to be delivered at a convention. You have to pre order. I am not gona have a large set up. Just a tail gate place or two.
Thats for any convention that I will be doing this year.

I've saw turtles survive being run over by automobiles! No little treble hook is going to affect there health.

Would you want to eat that turtle in a few years with the damaged tissue from infection?

I used to snare sliders all the time, some kinda fun in a pond full of em and a medium action spinning outfit. The rig was usually a bell sinker with smaller treble hook about a foot or two above the sinker . Cast over their backs and reel in the slack some and give her a good snatch. Never got anything more than a shell catch or some of the skin on the back leg. Alot of time if you didn't keep good tension they would get off.

I keep my bait frozen, water will thaw it in no time. Then use a little fish oil left from trapping season and give a squirt to get the film on the water and get them headed your way. Not very difficult to trap. I use nets, all d-shaped ones and have 3/4 inch pvc down the sides so I don't have to stake both ends.

I've saw turtles survive being run over by automobiles! No little treble hook is going to affect there health.

Dont bet on that.

I ve never once saw a blood spot on the meat skinning a turtle that's been snagged! 90% of the time you hook their shells and occasionally a foot but nothing vital or risk of infection they hurt them selves worse fighting with each other! I would think catching them in 330s would be more detrimental than a size 8 treble hook with no barbs! And I understand the point of infection if I saw any proof of it harming the released ones. I would quit for sure but ive never once saw any sign of long term affects or even short term affects Even the ones released from 330s never showed up dead come spring. You'll have a hard time convincing me they are that easily damaged!Ive only found one sure fire way to kill a turtle that's released break it nose then they will drown!

Just start buying and selling turtles.On a large scale.
You will soon learn that they are not "bullet Proof"

Looking to buy some frozen turtle heads anyone have some for sale ?

What they said.

As far as a bait holder I use the green suet feeders for birds. If you buy the better quality ones they last a long time. The only thing that hurts them are the really big Alligator Snappers and Alligators.

I also use cheap chicken quarters for bait when I can't get carp. When using chicken quarters I'll let them marinate in fish oil before freezing.

I am gearing up to do some turtle trapping now. If it wasn't so hot I would be more excited...

Bleached white skulls ? Yep, I have 'em. $20.

I got away from hooks after skinning turtles and finding hooks embedded in the throats of turtles and seeing the infection.
Many turtles had 'appeared' to have lost weight.
We have a size limit here, so there's no way to safely remove a hook from an undersized turtle's throat, without harming it, or you !
Hoop nets are far more selective and a much better deal when harvesting turtles in numbers.
One on one, a 'hooker' can't match a man with a hoop net !

I'm new to turtle trapping this year I built 2 traps modeled after the tomahawk 410 single door repeating trap I have had the traps out for a week now and have changed locations a few time without any luck I have tried fish chicken liver and chicken thighs as bait the location I have had the traps at the last 2 days is a slow flowing muddy river I know there are plenty of snappers and soft shells in the area even had a guy fishing tell me as u was checking the traps there was a huge soft-shell sitting on a rock right next to the trap about an hour before I got there .......so my question is what do you guys look for when you are searching for a spot to put your trap any advice would be much appreciated as our season ends September 15 and the kids really want to catch one to eat. If I can find a pic of one of my traps I will post it soon maybe I did something wrong IDK the doors swing open freely and they seem like they would let a turtle in easy enough thanks for any and all input my boys and I appreciate it

Not the best pic but here it is

Looks too small to me, but we are only allowed hoop nets here. I would guess you are not setting in deep enough water. Find a tree you could wire the trap to that would set it angled with the door end just under water and maybe an inch or 2 of the back end above water(so the turtle can breath after it gets caught. In a spot the water around the trap would be 2 or more feet deep with a little wind or current pulling the scent to deeper water. Bait with fish and wire or tie it in the back part of the trap. I sometimes use fish oil to squirt on the surface to create a scent slick.

The trap is 42L x 23W x 12H. I am setting in a river that has a constant slow currant and so far every place I have set it has been at least 2 foot deep most times the door is deeper than that. I finally have a few days off starting Monday so me and the kids are going to load up the canoe and check out some new spots including a small bay off the river that is full of Lilypads so far we have just been setting spots we can access from shore because I been working 12 hour days for the last 3 weeks. We will be sure to try the fish oil. Thanks for the tips it's much appreciated.

http://www.snareone.com/videos.html Scroll to bottom of page........Turtles by the Ton taught me loads