I was watching some food show last night that had a segment about eastern North Carolina and snapping turtles.

So give me some ways on how to catch and process these things. I hear of local fishermen catching them on accident all the time so I know they're around here.

snapping turtles are evil.i'd rather wrestle a pit bull.they lay in wait in the mud and will bite your achilles tendon so you can't run then they have all their buddies over for a sit down meal. me hatem snappers.i don't hurt them i just go way out around them.don't know where my phobia came from.

LOL!

Master escape artists. Somebody always had one. Usually in water tank for livestock until one day it just ain’t in there. Poof...gone

Toughest creatures I’ve ever seen. Shell shaped like a dumbell wearing a 330 or 220 across the throat, trap jaws nearly touching, remove trap and they’re in business. Awesome creatures, delicious as well

Only thing you need to know is they are Delicious! Turtle trap, hunk of carp, ...best thing to do is buy the DVD https://www.wildlifecontrolsupplies.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/Turtles_A_to_Z_med.gif

......and another shell appears on the side of my barn.....bwaaaaahaaahhaahahah!

We always had a piece of 16gauge wire hung on our belts when trapping turtles.If one ever got a hold of you all you need to do Is shove It up their nose and they will let go. Glad I never had to use It.

Mephis net and twine makes a wi leagal hoop net trap. I run 1 up here in manitowoc county. I trap tributaries to lake michigan generally so I use a salmon carcass for bait. When I set inland waters I usually catch a couple small gills for bait. If I have time I like to run some fish scraps through a grinder for bait along with the carcass(hang it in a sock or bait bag, the carcass goes in a hardware cloth cage)
We have a slot size in WI so know the rules. I have set inland on a lot of small lakes right at the side of the boat launches and caught, but I dont set the trap till just before dark and pick it up early morning. I do better in the river where I can set away from curious people and can leave a trap for full 24hr checks.

Butchering is nothing special I only do 5 or 6 a year so Im not to fast takes me probably 45min a turtle. I prefer to completly debone all the meat. I make turtle nuggets and turtle soup.
I learned how to butcher them on youtube.

Jerry Schilling puts out a nice DVD. It covers start to finish, a really well put together dvd.

Doh! Lol

I catch mine with a fishing pole. On hot summer days any time they move on a muddy bootom they leave a bubble trail. Cast in front of the bubble trail and snag them! I use a medium size treble hook with a bait casting sinker attattached to one arm of the treble hook! Another easy fast way is walk around a frozen pond on a sunny day they sit snug to the bank sunning just under the ice! we make what we call a turtle rod it a 3/8" round rod with a small hook on the end its used to hook a shell and pull your turtle from the water. a miniature gaf kind of. Don't count out dry ponds either they have a sink hole they will bury in . Use your turtle rod to probe for them it makes a distinct bonk when you find one! then its just a matter of snagging it and dragging it to the surface

Trapstickman could tell you about snapping turtles but he would rather just show you:

awesome info...thx

My dad, kinfolk and neighbors have caught a world of turtles wading the creeks in the spring. They use their hands. Find a hole in the bank back under a tree root or rock and pull them out. Walked many a mile packing burlap sack of turtles. They get real heavy real quick if there isn't enough water to let them float along beside you. Always enjoyed it. Nothing beats a good meal of fried turtle, fresh wild greens,mashed taters,gravy and biscuits

Two weeks ago I was pulling a dam out and something bumped my leg, he was a big ole po'd dude. Jesus ain't the only one that can walk(run) on water.

As a kid in SE USA I learned about snapping (loggerhead) turtles by poking small sticks for them to bite in to. Extend a finger if you no longer need it. In the Fall I found them where they buried in soft mud near lakes to spend the Winter. I would look for air holes then probe with a metal rod to verify.

Don't eat them; they are at the bottom of the food chain and can be full of chemical contaminents

They are actually safer to eat than chicken, there was a study done on this in Minnesota. And they are very tasty!

Seriously?