The idea is to catch the turtle, put your finger by one’s mouth see if he’s worried about you

That looks tasty! Want to share the recipe?

Ohio has a stupid size limit now on turtles. Smaller turtles have to be released unharmed. It's a totally pointless law in my opinion .

Keith

It was changed because turtle harvest it was starting to attract attention from antis and there wasnt enough commercial turtle guys around to make loud enough noise .

In my youth I used to snag snappers with trebble hooks.If I could get them to shore it definitely hurt them.They were toast.

One of the largest limiting factors for populations of snapping turtles is adult snapping turtles, which eat young snapping and other turtles. I caught turtles out of the same bodies of water for many years and the population of smaller snappers and other turtles wend dramatically up. I took out large snappers and left large, breeding age painted turtles. Female turtles can store sperm for years. I took and sold mostly sub adults and males to the pet trade. Their removal benefited the total numbers that survived. There was less predation on young turtles and less competition for food and basking spots. Recruitment from the young of the year greatly improved. The big females produced larger and more frequent clutches of eggs, when competition with excess males was lowered.

Turtles, like other wildlife, are more productive when well managed.

Keith

The problem was that it was seen across the country that states werent managing the turtle population. Which is why turtle harvesting, mostly the commercial side, was being shut down across the nation at the time. This was done to prevent the total shutdown.

In MN it's illegal to trap them. You can take them by hooks or dip nets, or picking one up crossing the road after July 1st, I think it is. But, to do that you must have a turtle recreation license and a fishing license. Softshell turtles can't be taken by any means. Apparently, they feel turtles are becoming an endangered species in MN.

Same as Illinois

sure, flour fried turtle leg meat then i put creole seasoning on it then slap in sandwhich with chik fil a sauce

Hey keithC, what gauge wire would be good to make them turtle traps you talked about

Heavier galvanized, before and after welded, chicken wire works better, but probably almost all chicken wire would work for at least a few years. Other fence wire will work too. I prefer smaller holes to make it harder for smaller turtles to rob the bait. Also, back when I was catching large numbers of turtles, I had a better market for small turtles, for the pet trade. I sold to around 40 stores, mostly Jack's Aquarium & Pets. I often didn't even take the turtles home. The most saleable turtles I caught in a day was 284. I used to get $5.00 each for painted turtles, Sabine map turtles, red eared sliders, small softshells and in limited numbers of stinkpots. A bait cage, with 1/4" mesh would keep your bait from being robbed too.

Keith

alrighty, thanks