Snapping Turtles Season - Game On!!!

[Sam Ubl]

Today, July 15th, the Wisconsin Snapping Turtle season has opened and will remain open until November 30th. During this time, if you are to harvest a turtle, bare in mind the size requirements. The turtles must be no less than 12" in length and no larger than 16" in length. Below is how to measure...

I'll post pictures of my captured once attained... Setting line tonight off the dock.

[lungbuster]

Keep in mind also that it is not legal to shoot a snapper with the bow because of the size limits.........Too bad, it would be fun to bowfish for them.

[Wrinkleneck]

Cool I hooked a BIG one in the front leg pan fishing when I was up north in wisconsin over the 4th of July here is a picture off my cell phone (not a good picture but none the less a picture)

[muddy]

Wrinkleneck, judging by your "safety shoes" I'm assuming that the toitle stayed in the water?

[Wrinkleneck]

Wrinkleneck, judging by your "safety shoes" I'm assuming that the toitle stayed in the water?

Those are my "treestand" shoes, if you know what I mean

[muddy]

Those are my "treestand" shoes, if you know what I mean

I'm picking up what you're putting down.

[Sam Ubl]

Turtle Commanders! Perfect slot tortoise at 14".

Was a fun night, caught 4 in total, but this was the coolest one. A couple at 10 and 11 inches and a another legal, but he escaped us.

[dan]

Nice!

[Sam Ubl]

So we caught a total of 9 all weekend. Kept two so far. Bag limit is 3 per person.

The best catch yet straightened out the snap on a wire leader!! It was about a 15" softshell... Again, length is based off front to back of shell. This thing was awesome! Such a neat turtle and cool shell, plus, I hear they taste the best. Well, I had him on again last night - hooked just by the beak. I'm giving them a rest this evening and then back at it tomorrow:)

Season goes until November 30th, so guess how we're passing the loll of mid-opening day of duck hunting? Fishing for marsh bass/pike and turtle set-lines!! Plus, we always bring a little grill in the boat to grill venison tenderloin and brats!

[Sam Ubl]

We've caught somewhere around 40 turtles this season in total right from my pier, sometimes catching 5 to 6 in a night. While many are under the slot, we have also released many legals. A few have pulled hudini moves and escaped from the tubs we were keeping them in. One second you'd be hanging out and the next someone would be asking, "Who let the turtle go?" as it made it's way slowly to the waters edge.

Well, finally I sealed the deal after keeping one from Saturday and let me tell you, that was the FIRST time for me, and it WILL BE THE LAST time for me.

There is nothing more disgusting than cleaning a snapping turtle. First of all, you feel just wrong lopping his head off, but it isn't as easy as one would expect. To ensure accuracy I used a cleaver that was as sharp as can be - a Wustoff. It took a couple swings to break through, and while the head was departed, just like dad said, it would snap if you tapped the nose with a stick.

The body, although continuously crawling headless across the lawn, was tied by the tail and hung in a tree for 2 hours to bleed. 8:30 rolled around and I told the wife, "I'm going out there. If I don't do it now, it will be waisted tomorrow."

It appeared done when I untied it from the tree, but once on the ground, 2 hours after hanging upside down with its head cut off, it KEPT ON CRAWLING... So I cut off his feet like the directions suggest.

The ENTIRE TIME I was skinning this monster, it never once stopped moving!! It's footless legs swung like stumpy arms and I felt like although the brain was gone, it's body was trying to protect itself. I mean that when I gripped a stumpy leg to cut it off, it moved with a lot of force until I could find the muscle source allowing all the movement. It was a battle to cut main muscles to slow it down, but even detatched and in a bowl, they would convulse.

I thought to myself, "How can this thing have any predators? What could actually deal with this in the wild?"

Get this. Skin and legs (front and back) are now removed, so I remove the tail and breast plate of shell. I then carve out the insides from the shell... There is a membrane inside the shell that if you pull, it guts the thing like grabbing onto a wind pipe of a deer when gutting and pulling the whole package out.

Now, with the guts seperated from the body completely, the HEART CONTINUED TO PUMP!! I am totally freakin' serious! This thing was disgusting and had me ill. I couldn't even filet the meat off the bones - I'll do that tonight.

So next time someone wants to keep a turtle out of my group - I'm not cleaning it!

On another note, the directions were easy to remember and other than having the living thing fight me the entire time - literally - it was very basic to clean, just odd.

[Black Squirrel]

That's one tough turtle!

[hotterthantiffany]

that is crazy!!! let me know if that thing is still moving after you cook it!!! Good thing deer don't do that

[Sam Ubl]

Still in a bowl in my fridge... I'm still a little grossed out. Need till end of day after fishing tonight to wrap it in freezer paper. I'll clean the meat from the bone once it's thawed. I should have plenty of time to get over it by then, I suppose.

Dan, I think even you would have been queezy after this.

[dan]

Sam,
So did you ever eat this thing?

[Dor]

Not for me. I like dead stuff "dead". How did it taste?