Interesting catch

davidlt89 · June 28, 2015, 11:40:34 AM

Was out working today doing checks and I headed to a spot that I was pretty sure was all done. When I got there I noticed the trap out of the frame and this fella was in it!!! I have seen a lot of turtles downstate but maybe 5 in my life up here, and never this big.

I compressed the springs and returned this guy to the water and watched him swim off:grin: Oh, he was not happy in the trap!!! God Bless.

apeters24 · June 28, 2015, 06:21:39 PM

I can't get over how big this guy is!! Super cool!!

I saw a much smaller one walking just on the other side of the white line Friday on my way to town! Slowly making his way west where the DOT is supposed to tend the problem area I told you about. This, even though I didn't see it in person, would be the 4th one I've seen this spring!

Glad you were able to release him without injury to either of you!

gitano · June 28, 2015, 09:30:33 PM

That turtle would have been in the pot in a New York Minute! Snappers are EXCELLENT eating!

No turtles in Alaska, so I've never seen one in a conibear before.

Paul

sakorick · June 29, 2015, 02:43:51 AM

Nice looking snapper. Good eats there!

drinksgin (deceased) · June 30, 2015, 07:10:58 AM

Nice one, the largest I have seen was a 50 lb alligator snapper we caught in Hildebrandt bayou at Beaumont, it went to a good cause, GUMBO!
That appears to be a common snapper, still very good.
The majority of turtles I have eaten have been the leatherback species, still very good, especially when over 18" across.

davidlt89 · June 30, 2015, 05:26:10 PM

why am I not surprised you guys have eaten these!!!! Just had to get the wheels turning didn't ya!!! we can't legally keep these turtles I believe. How does one go about cleaning one and what do you eat? God Bless.

drinksgin (deceased) · June 30, 2015, 07:23:24 PM

You eat the parts that do not bite back!!
There are plenty of recipes on line about using turtle.
So far as I know, the only turtle we cannot keep in Texas is the diamond back terrapin, a salt water species that is famous at the table, so famous it is about extinct.
Some people do not like turtle, it is somewhat fat but the flavor is quite good.
The desert terrapin is often eaten but they are getting scarce, so I no longer eat them.

gitano · June 30, 2015, 07:24:36 PM

Supposedly, turtle meat has "seven types" of meat. I don't know about that, but it is excellent eating!

Now isn't the best time to eat them, but it's better than a month or so ago. They spawn - lay their eggs - in May, and are pretty spent until late in the fall when they have put on a lot of fat for the winter.

"Cleaning" them is no big deal. On snappers, you simply cut the plastron (lower plate) from the carapace (upper plate) using a pair of dikes (big cutting pliers) or a small saw. The guts come out like they do on all critters, and then just get as much meat as you can. Most of it comes from the legs, but the neck and tail have good amounts of meat.

Don has recently tried eggs, and didn't care for them. He can relate that experience for you.

Paul

drinksgin (deceased) · July 02, 2015, 10:12:57 AM

Huffington Post just ran a blurb about an alligator snapper found in Europe, headline was about a dinosaur/turtle monster with spikes.
I was busy laughing my head off at the silliness of city slickers and wondering who had a gumbo pot large enough to take care of it.