Wolfdog 91
Thank you for your reply! I am building a wire turtle trap right now. I will be working on the entrance in a few days.
But you got me thinking. I will be trapping shallow ponds. The ponds will have a lot of weeds and duck weed etc. Most of the hoop are hi maintenance from what I have read and seen. I may try the netting to start if it becomes a problem, I can always switch to wire.
I anyone else using netting throats and wire bodies?

Thank you in advance! Getting There

Good to hear from you my friend. You make posts about wanting to trap red ear slider turtles with your nets. Here are some pictures of sliders and cooters caught with wire traps on a turtle removal job last summer.

Yes. The trap design that Eric space uses to catch thousands of pounds of snapping turtles have wire bodies with net throats. That’s proof enough that they work if you ask me. I’ll see if I can find pictures of his traps this weekend


I also build them as wire bodies with webbing throat at times. Turtles are not difficult to catch and hold. They’re not like fish where the design of the trap is critical imo

Thanks Aix:
As the old saying goes" A picture is worth a 1000 words. I am working on building a trap right now. Still cold out today, 24 degree. Working in a un-heated garage.
Thanks for the pictures!
Getting There

These are pictures that Eric has shared on Trapperman. I really like them, and I appreciate their value if someone were able to legally set turtle traps below the waterline

Aix where do you buy you aqua mesh ?

I buy it from crab trap wire suppliers down here. If you’re looking for Aquamesh by brand name, it’s not as easy to get as it once was, because some suppliers chose to switch to imported wire instead. Most people want cheap, they don’t care where it came from.

A person could just as easily make these traps with standard cage wire. In freshwater environments, galvanized wire will last quite a while.

This is what I make and sale they are 30 inches across and about 2 feet tall

I would recommend those.

I have used them. Collapsible hoop nets are the way to do it , if you're running a lot of nets

LT
In Michigan the turtle season starts July 15th. On June 20th I was drilling out the holes used to put old glory in with a drill and hit a stone or something and twisted my wrist. I hope to get some trapping in before the season closes in Sept. I have to have a new heart valve put in. Not a good summer so far. The traps look like they would get the job done. In Michigan you can only have three traps set at one time.
I hope everyone has a good season.

G T
I know all about that heart surgery. I'm recovering from it myself.
Still, doin' a little trapping, turtles included.

( little , being the operative word )

I've got 15 of these. Awesome turtle nets

Quarles Quality Turtle Trap is a great trap if you don’t want to make them yourself. PM me if interested and I’ll get you information to purchase. They’re hand made about 20 miles from my home. Somewhat similar design that Beaverfoot showed in his picture.

Aix , I can attest to that riverdale wire, it’s great stuff! We build commercial aquaculture gear out of it. It’s the best wire to put in water, especially salt water! Good lookin traps btw

John

Yes sir, Aquamesh is the beginning and end of quality coated mesh in my opinion. In freshwater, it’ll last forever. Freshwater bait traps made with aquamesh are almost lifetime purchases it seems. I hated to hear my supplier stopped carrying it in favor of imported mesh. I ended up using the imported mesh for my chicken coop, because I refused to build holding cages and traps with it. The overall diameter was approximately the same, but it was less wire with more coating. It wouldn’t hold nice, clean 90 degree corner bends, and the coating would mildew soon after opening. The primary consumers of that particular wire were crabbers, and apparently they were satisfied with it for the price. I chose quality and had to go without. Riverdale Mills won’t sell directly, so I have to go through their distributors.

How are your traps filling with weeds? Are you not setting them so the current/wind goes away from the trap?

Find the weeds, find the turtles !

That's a known fact !

Snapping turtles eat as much vegetation as they do meat and fish in many places.

Depending on whether you are talkin' : Pond Scum or Pond weed , ( two separate species ) or some other weed.
It can be dealt with as far as using hoop nets.

Quarles makes a pretty good trap that floats

In a pond situation? Cant think of a scenario tbere unless theres a creek feeding the pond and setting in the inlet that would result in weeds in the trap. I dont even get my boot wets in ponds most of the time.

Aix, how do you build the inverted V for the throat of your solid cages? Are the sides clipped tight except for the bottom of the V? I tried making a spring-loaded throat on my cage so it would close as soon as the turtle entered the cage.

Yes they are clipped with clips along the length of the ramp. You can see in the picture with the black trap photo. Each throat has a top ramp and a bottom ramp. Both ramps have 4 or 5 clips per side.