Re: NANFA-- catching snapping turtles

R. W. Wolff (choupiqu_at_wctc.net)
Thu, 7 Sep 2000 00:46:01 -0700

Here in the land of giant common snappers I would say they always eat under
water. I can't say much about whether they eat live or dead food, have had
them take live bait as well as cut bait. Most of the huge snappers I have
seen crossing the roads were dark stormy nights, but one large one that
stopped traffic on the highway when a semi hit it was a bright sunny hot
summer day, perhaps its home had dried up? This snappers shell was as high
as a Cadillac's bumper of an older lady heading to the casino was parked
against it ( picture ended up in the paper, but I never got the copy). The
largest I have seen crossing one night when heading home from work when I
was in high school was so long, had it not been going diagonal across the
road, I would have surly clipped its nose and tail tip with my full size
truck, since I straddled it to avoid killing it. To say how large it was, I
thought when I first saw it that it was a dog walking across the road. I
have been video taping our fishing trips to the marsh the past several
years, and have not seen any large ones to document them. I keep hearing
how I am hallucinating, but I am not. These animals have to be very old,
and should not be killed, as the law now states here in Wisconsin, take only
snappers 12- 16 inches ( a little small to me, could atleast take ones up to
24 inches, oh well) and the season is closed from winter ( when they are too
easy to catch) up through breeding and laying season. I saw two large ones
breeding in shallow water this spring, it was awesome, too bad I did not
have the video recorder. they were good size, one had a 28 or so inch shell
and the others shell was near three feet. Cool monsters for sure! Should
get crocodile hunter here to video them, might finally be his getting bit by
something ha ha.
Ray

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