Ontario Shore Fishing Forum

Hey,

Even though there may be a declining overall population of turtles in Ontario, my experiences on the Grand the last 2 years indicates they are doing well in the areas I fish. In fact they seem more abundant.

Last fall on several outings we had our baits chewed up by snapping turtles. My lady actually landed a small one with about a 12” diameter shell……. De-hooked and released in excellent condition.

This year I have hooked 3 so far (landed 1 huge beastie with a 20” shell), and believe that I may have had a few more on the hook due to the slow motion runs and inability to stop them before the line parted.

These events happened mostly on cut bait, but also on corn, worm, and live minnows.

I thought I’d pass along my thoughts on knowing when it’s time to fish another spot since the turtles will spoil the day.

Telltale signs turtles are around:
- 1 – You see them…………duh! ………..They do come up for air and you’ll see their dark heads just poking through the surface. Where there is one – there can be many.

- 2 – A lot of annoying small twitches on the line, with no real take…. And when you set the hook- it seems that there’s nothing there, and your bait has been taken or chewed up. With cut bait – many times you’ll get back the skin with all the flesh gone but still threaded on the hook.

- 3 – A hook up to something that does not run but moves slowly away with impressive power just before you’re cut off.

- 4 – Bubbles. I’m not kidding here – really. We all know that the lake beds of ponds and rivers do expel methane gas produced by the rotting vegetation on bottom, or buried in it. However - Snapping turtles are prone to significant flatulence because of their diets. Unusual bubbling activity, or trails of bubbles can indicate the presence of turtles (or carp).

We are allowed to take snapping turtles, and turtle soup is tasty, but trust me – cleaning one is something few will enjoy doing.

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Cheers,

OldTimer

Another sign is unusual minnow activity when using live bait. I had my minnow running around like crazy before I saw this guy.

A large snapper with a healed crack in the shell from a couple of years ago.



I have noticed the bubbles too. I followed a bubble trail at dows lake for five minutes thinking it was a large foraging carp until I saw a large snapper go under the dock.

Interesting side note. I was doing a bit of reading a couple of years ago talking about Americas changing food tastes.... Someone doing some research collected some menus from fancy hotels in new york for around 1900-1920. The common theme? Turtle was on most of the menus. It appeared to be a common staple at the time.

An old consumption guide for snapping turtles:

Quote:"Snapping Turtles
Snapping turtles may contain high levels of contaminants in their fat, liver, eggs and, to a lesser extent, muscle. If you plan to consume snapping turtles, trim away the fat prior to cooking the meat or preparing soup. Also, avoid eating the liver and eggs of the turtle. Women of childbearing age and children under 15 should avoid eating any part of snapping turtles, including soups made with their meat."

Also snapping turtles have been added to list of special concern in Ontario.

I was just recently wondering what would I do if I hooked up with a turtle or even a bird. I was fishing in the Hamilton harbour, and there are a ton of comorant birds? That seem to swim quite a bit under the water. It would be a disaster if it took my bait and swallowed the hook. A snapping turtle, I don't know how I'd get the hook out of him either.