Snapper!

[tjwilhelm]

Driving home this evening, I saw a large, dark lump in the road. I slowly swerved around it; and, as I passed, I exclaimed out loud, "Turtle!"

I stopped, threw the tranny into Reverse, and carefully backed up, pulling off onto the shoulder and starting the emergency flashers.

As I approached, I could see she was not able to pull her body into her shell, she had huge claws, and her shell was covered with moss. Yup, all signs that this was indeed a large, female, "Common Snapping Turtle." I walked around behind her and gently tapped on the back of her shell...S-N-A-P!!! Wow! Her neck stretched way out, rapidly swept back toward my finger, and SNAP. Wisely, I had tapped far enough away from her head that she didn't take my finger off.


She's a biggun! I wish I could tell how old she is. Yes, I did confirm she's a she. I wanted to get her off the road. I had a small shovel in the back of my truck and I used it to move her. In the process, I had to flip her onto her back. If I remember correctly, the males have a concave underside. This allows them to mount the female and stay more stable against the rounded back of her shell. The females have a flat underside, I believe. If my memory is accurate, this specimen is definitely female..

Snapper 01 by tjwilhelm148149, on Flickr

Snapper 04 by tjwilhelm148149, on Flickr

[woodyz]

Best way to pick the up is to find a strong stick and let um bite it, they won't turn it loose til you go away.

i imagine the rain in ok and tx have chased a lot of the out of their "normal" habitat

in SE KS, SW MO and NE OK we used to fish for them specifically along with catfish.

after a big rain we would drive the back roads looking for them crossing

anything bigger than a dinner plate went home

then they went into a barrel about 1/2 full of water for a week to get all of the mud out of their system.

then they were butchered, put into a pressure cooker, then fried with some milk gravy and immensely enjoyed as supper

different cuts have a different flavor, fish/shrimp/chicken/etc.

Might not be legal in all states now, but back then there was no shortage of them

judging by your foot compared to "her" is isn't very old, she would be on the throw back scale.

we have caught some that wouldn't fit in a 55 gallon barrel and had to go through clean out in a stock tank, meaning a big concrete box

but we learned the harDway to wire over the corners cause they can crawl out that way.

thanks for posting brings back good memories

[woodyz]

[USCGME2]

Bout doo-dooed in my waders once fishing one of my favorite local creeks. Almost stepped on one as big as a man hole cover. When that "rock" splashed off I was surprised to say the least! We cant touch the alligator snappers but soft shells and common snappers are ok to hunt. They is good fried like you said Woody.

[USCGME2]

Jun 3, 2015 19:55:26 GMT -7 woodyz said:

After seeing that, definately Woody over Norris!!!

[woodyz]

don't know what that means?

i have ate the soft shells too but much prefered the alligator snappers

i would imagine the people dealing with them in OK and TX right now would argue they are endangered, probably having to protect their dogs and cats from getting ate.

we would use a 2# bass for bait on a trot line for the big turtles and big cats

[huntinguy]

Nice find TJ! Good call on getting her out of the road.

Woodyz that's a pretty solid alligator Snapper!

I encountered this little fella on a farm I manage in Arkansas the other day.

[missasip]

All I can say is YUMMY!!!

Jimmy

[orly152]

You should of called turtleman

[cajunlady87]

TJ that is one kewl looking turtle. Her moss covered back gives her a camo look all her own.