it isnt always about the money. sometimes you feel the need to give back. i confess we have caught and released (even relocated) far more turtles than we ever kept. at times we get a tip that a pond or lake is being drained. some of which have been around fifty years or longer. these watersheds have turtles in them that may have migrated there since there beginnings so who knows what turtles may lurk there and for just how long.
such was the case this august when we stopped by a farm that had recently been sold to developers. a one acre pond that had been been drained over a month ago but still held a little water. the water of course was less than two feet deep. even more frustrating was the fact the muck around the pond wouldnt allow us a close approach without sinking up to ones knees. it was very frustrating.
the good news? we were able to see sign of turtles crawling out of what little water was left behind. where had they gone to? we had no idea. maybe they had returned. but the sign obviously showed tracks and belly drag marks from larger turtles than we had taken all summer. a small pool of water at the opposite end of the pond held a hope that they had only gone that far. it was no more than 6 inches deep and thirty feet across. a mere fraction of its former self. no more than a mud puddle really. yet evidence indicated the turtles had stayed behind and possibly buried themselves in the mud. slide marks indicated some had decided to leave. did they return? try to travel across land? we had no way of knowing. with no ponds or lakes in the area the risk of dying of dehydration was a real risk. snappers can last about two days out of water with the sun this hot.
with the august heat there was no time to waste. time was of the essence. if any turtle were here it was now or never. these larger turtles seem to have been buried in the mud through the hottest weeks of august but as the rains have cooled things down it seems they are again feeding the last days of summer. if it cooled down in a week or so the turtles would stop feeding. it was nearing september. our nets would be nearly sitting in inches of water. not ideal to be sure. the muck held us at bay. pondering on just how to handle the situation a large snapper reared its head out of the moss and lazily moved toward the middle of the pool. at that point we knew there was no turning back. it was a long shot but we felt well worth the risk.
whats left of the pond after it was drained.
picture shown:
evidence of some large heavy snappers. how many had left? how many were here? we could only guess. in the below pictures shown only six inches of water remained on one end of the drained pond. about thirty yards away at the deeper end there was less than two feet of water in a small pool. the hot august sun would evaporate it even more. many people would have passed it by. but experience told us there were still turtles here. in the hot sun the water temps were rising and we figured the heat had caused the larger turtles to bury in the mud to cool their body down. big turtles because of their mass can easily overheat. in such heat the bait will spoil fast but heavy rain storms were coming. its now or never we said. many would have passed this place up. but we re not many people.
time to set the nets !
with the muck conditions of the banks a 2x10 plank allowed for a closer approach. a four prong hook on a long rope would allow us to be able to retrieve the nets with a simple toss as our nets were not out very far at all. with the heavy turtles caught and dragging it toward us the muck would ball up and at times outweighed the catch. to be sure it was no easy task and we were usually covered in mud when it was all said and done. but isnt all trapping at times challenging?
mousie
