I have a job for this summer where turtle removal is to be selective.
My usual successful method is baited hooks with a float on the line attached to a tall stake in good habitat locations. This method does not allow for selective removal.
Does anyone have experience with the Tomahawk 404R cage type turtle trap?
I have never used a cage trap for turtles.
I have used the net with hoops type trap without success.
Any suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks!

Net hoop type traps have been very effective in my experience. Not sure why they didn't perform for you. Like trapping other animals location, setting the upside wind areas of ponds and lakes and proven baits most any stinky/fishy type flesh should give you results in short order. They would be the best choice for selective catch and release as you are describing. Newt , Louis Quarrel's and Jerry Schilling all have good system hoop traps. You also can't catch turtles if there aren't many there or none like fur trapping.

Never used the Tomahawk trap.

Not sure what else you might be trapping or how many turtles are at hand, but I do know the swim through beaver traps work fine for turtles too. They are a trap with many uses, beaver, otter, turtles, fish, even coyotes, bobcats, raccoons, fox, badgers, woodchucks on land at times. Of course they are a single catch trap, but we have taken thirty pound snappers incidentally and intentionally. The other day I ended up with a bunch of painted turtles in them when set for beaver, which I couldn't figure out as there was nothing to attract them with no bait or lure in use, just set for beaver. There was only one small channel when I popped the beaver dam, but it looked like mating season. I sometimes think turtles were attracted to beaver castor or perhaps just cruising the shoreline since there was no real reason for them to end up caught, no bait again.

FRESH BAIT .Change bait at least once a day.
Set nere Lilly pads,Arrow head.
Look for a V cut in the plaint leaves. Its a sige of turtles feeding

Leave a small female turtle in the trap.Its the best bait for male turtles.

Suggestions from 3 experts - thank you.

Bob - I used the net / hoop traps in good locations where there was a good population of turtles. Not sure why no interest. I used the same bait on hooks and caught plenty of turtles.

Jim - I wondered if my Comstock beaver traps would work for turtles. Use bait and open the end left on the bottom. Close the end placed higher for air?

Newt - I will change bait every day. Do you use fresh bait or fresh tainted bait?

They will definitely work for turtles baited and unbaited in channels. Sometimes get frustrated catching too many unwanteds when beaver trapping. They will hold any size turtle I'm sure as the trap is 18 inch wide. I have put them in 9 inches of water with one door open, bait hanging in the back. Worked fine.

what turtle species are you after?

Somewhat joking: Just pretend like your doing a beaver job step one. step 2 set the most perfect 330 sets in channels to catch your "beaver" then you'll be happy when you catch your non targets turtles. I've done warm weather trapping couldn't keep snappers out of my sets in ponds when doing beaver work now rarely even use 330s after April 1st till it snows again in fall.

Willy, FRESH
I use fish
Beaver,muskrat ,chicken also work. KEEP IT FRESH

A few times I have had so many turtles I had to get some help to get the trap out of the lake to sort them out. Those were the good days. I learned to use some chum liquids/paste I always have left over from making Trout oil. That sludge gives a good slick scent trail. I put it in some old panty hose and tied it up to the top of the netting. Always worked for me.

I have been successfully catching snappers for decades using bank set lines and staked lines on jugs.
I gave the hoop net method a good try before catching them with hooks.
Plenty have strangely shown up in 110s set for muskrats at bank dens in the second half of November.
At this job I want to use cage traps so I thank you for the suggestions.