# Opening Day for Snapper July 1st



## OptOutside440 (Feb 3, 2019)

This will be my first year ever going after snappers. I'm going to add a steel leader between the line and the hook. Any advice for bait or tactics? Hoping to keep it simple and inexpensive. I'll be putting lines out in a river and swamp area.


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

Don’t use stainless hooks in case you get under sized turtles.


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## joekacz (Sep 11, 2013)

Man that’s getting pretty modern,use to be a 4/0 hook with chalk line and 1x1 stakes along with some burlap sacks. I don’t even know anybody that turtles anymore. Heck I didn’t even know that there was a season on them. Good luck and watch your fingers.


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## joekacz (Sep 11, 2013)

Sent you a PM.


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

I usually take one or 2 a season to eat, I use cheap dollar general/aldi steaks. make sure to check them every day no matter what and yes, don't forget the shell size limit. you're going to want something thicker than that powerpro too IMO, when the old boy digs in you will have a hard time pulling him in with your bare hands with that thin line. I use plain old white braided line. here is 10 year old video I made.





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youtube ezbite1 - Bing video







www.bing.com


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## bluegill bill (Mar 18, 2017)

ezbite said:


> I usually take one or 2 a season to eat, I use cheap dollar general/aldi steaks. make sure to check them every day no matter what and yes, don't forget the shell size limit. you're going to want something thicker than that powerpro too IMO, when the old boy digs in you will have a hard time pulling him in with your bare hands with that thin line. I use plain old white braided line. here is 10 year old video I made.
> 
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 I take a couple a year and catch a few little bluegill cut and put on hook always works


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## OptOutside440 (Feb 3, 2019)

@ezbite that was a good size turtle, do you have a recipe you recommend for them?


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## wolfenstein (Jan 6, 2014)

Watched video, only change i have, is i use as short of line as possible. Lost a few dragging slack into trees and underwater structure


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## Bluegillin' (Jan 28, 2009)

Used to get turtles with my neighbor back when I was a teenager. He always used groundhog as the meat for bait. Maybe a 3 inch "ball" of meat on a pretty substantial hook. The line he used was almost like a clothes line thickness. It did not seem to affect the catch. I think the larger hook and bait resulted only in bigger turtles. We never caught any small ones that I remember. 

After catching them. I would suggest putting them in a big tub or something to let them cleanse them selves for a couple of days. Change the water each day. It obviously needs to be covered and weighted down so they can't get out. Turtles have a variety of different meats in them. Good luck and enjoy. 

.... And the most important tip, do not stick your fingers in front of his mouth 😂


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## BucK GU (Jun 18, 2009)

Ezbite, that was really well done video. Thanks for sharing!


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

When we were kids, whenever we caught a snapper we would take it to our one buddy's house. His Mom was an old country gal who knew how to clean and cook turtle. 

When she was done he'd invite us over for a feast of turtle stew. OMG, it was so good!


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

I bought my first gig this weekend. Going to give froggin a shot this week. I love frog legs


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## tim sapara (Apr 6, 2019)

OptOutside440 said:


> This will be my first year ever going after snappers. I'm going to add a steel leader between the line and the hook. Any advice for bait or tactics? Hoping to keep it simple and inexpensive. I'll be putting lines out in a river and swamp area. Big shrimp and garlic salt . Let that shrimp sit in a bag full of garlic salt for a day in the hot sun. Catch snappers all day and night!
> View attachment 471697


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## tim sapara (Apr 6, 2019)

OptOutside440 said:


> This will be my first year ever going after snappers. I'm going to add a steel leader between the line and the hook. Any advice for bait or tactics? Hoping to keep it simple and inexpensive. I'll be putting lines out in a river and swamp area.
> View attachment 471697


Caught this at west branch last yr. 4 that night. Shrimp and garlic. Easy as hell! Watch your fingers.


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## Carpn (Apr 5, 2004)

I used bluegill when I used to catch em . Needed rebaited each day . Run the hook thru the gill the back thru them a hook length behind the gill so the eye of the hook stayed under the gill plate and the shank of the hook played flat along the body .

Probably better ways to do it but caught enough to keep things interesting. .


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## stonefly71 (Apr 14, 2004)

Pork liver works good for snapping turtles! If you have boat set out some jug lines along moss or weed line if there is one.


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## H2ofowl (Jun 7, 2010)

I catch about 40 a year. Use roadkill deer for bait. Donate alot to churches in area that have wild game banquets. Grandchildren love to go with me. Use jugs and pool noodles cut in thirds


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## loweman165 (May 15, 2015)

ezbite said:


> I usually take one or 2 a season to eat, I use cheap dollar general/aldi steaks. make sure to check them every day no matter what and yes, don't forget the shell size limit. you're going to want something thicker than that powerpro too IMO, when the old boy digs in you will have a hard time pulling him in with your bare hands with that thin line. I use plain old white braided line. here is 10 year old video I made.
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Nice video ezbite but I could have used more Glock.


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## karp.20 (Mar 4, 2015)

I used to target turtles a lot. My favorite method was to take a canoe into shallow water, 2-3 feet deep and watch for bubble trails. Once I saw one I'd get in the front of the canoe and lay with my chest on the bow of the boat and follow the bubbles. Once I could see the turtle either while it was on the bottom or it came up for air I'd reach down and grab the tail. It was a ton of fun and quite an adrenaline rush reaching down into murky water to grab a small dinosaur! The picture was from father's day. I was drifting slowly while fishing and had one swim by. As soon as he was within reach I grabbed him! I put him back after the picture.


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## joekacz (Sep 11, 2013)

Just wondering if the OP opt outside ever made it out for the turtle opener??


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## joekacz (Sep 11, 2013)

karp.20 said:


> View attachment 472299
> 
> I used to target turtles a lot. My favorite method was to take a canoe into shallow water, 2-3 feet deep and watch for bubble trails. Once I saw one I'd get in the front of the canoe and lay with my chest on the bow of the boat and follow the bubbles. Once I could see the turtle either while it was on the bottom or it came up for air I'd reach down and grab the tail. It was a ton of fun and quite an adrenaline rush reaching down into murky water to grab a small dinosaur! The picture was from father's day. I was drifting slowly while fishing and had one swim by. As soon as he was within reach I grabbed him! I put him back after the picture.
> View attachment 472299


Hey karp20 I see that it looks like you still got a handful of fingers on your left hand…… lol lol! Hopefully the right one to! Only way I’m grabbing one of them is in a bowl of soup.


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## karp.20 (Mar 4, 2015)

Yep never been bit! Also I'll x2 on the ground hog meat. That's what I always used when I set lines. It's tough meat and stays on the hook. My favorite way to cook them is to boil/simmer all the meat until tender, 45 minutes or so then bread it like you would for fried chicken and fry it. It's just like eating fried chicken maybe with a hint of swamp to it!


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## wolfenstein (Jan 6, 2014)

I keep following this post. I'm about to try for some myself, I'm hoping to see some pics of what everyone catches. Unfortunately I usually catch small ones. Wonder if they actually survive with those hooks in them. I've been considering buying big hoop traps to be more humane, they're expensive.


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## FlyFishRich (Feb 3, 2016)

My son Riley checked his lines yesterday and released a 11 inch snapper lol....


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

ezbite said:


> I usually take one or 2 a season to eat, I use cheap dollar general/aldi steaks. make sure to check them every day no matter what and yes, don't forget the shell size limit. you're going to want something thicker than that powerpro too IMO, when the old boy digs in you will have a hard time pulling him in with your bare hands with that thin line. I use plain old white braided line. here is 10 year old video I made.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


As others have said, that's a good, informative video. I have one question. What is that headlamp you are wearing? Man! That thing throws a beam!


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

Fenix.. just a beam of light


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## FlyFishRich (Feb 3, 2016)

Riley my son got a 14 inch yesterday lol.....


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

ezbite said:


> Fenix.. just a beam of light


Thanks. Gotta take a look at those!


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## Red1 (May 3, 2011)

I haven't grabbed one for a while, but here's a pic of the last one my buddy and I got - this was more than 10 years ago. 

View attachment 472462


It was so tough it was still like leather after hours of simmering. After one too-chewy batch of soup, my wife figured out what to do with it: turtle cakes, like crab cakes but with snapper instead of crab.

I'm gluten-free, so she used gluten-free bread crumbs instead of crackers. Mix about 3/4 c. of that with 1/2 c. mayo, 1 t. dijon mustard, 1/4 c. diced onion, 1 stalk celery, diced, 1 t. Old Bay seasoning, and 3/4 lb. of finely minced (or ground) cooked snapper meat. Mix it all well, shape into patties and put them on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little additional Old Bay and hot Hungarian paprika, then broil for about 8 minutes on each side. We loved these with cocktail sauce, like shrimp.

BTW, have you ever tried St. Elmo Steakhouse Very Spicy Shrimp Cocktail Sauce? When they say "very spicy," they ain't kidding. That stuff will clear your sinuses!


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## Red1 (May 3, 2011)

Sorry, here's the image that didn't upload before. This was a 50-pounder, caught in April 2011.


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## Redheads (Jun 9, 2008)

I keep checking back to see if a white one has been caught yet.

I have a wetland by Mosquito thats full of frogs and turtles that needs my attention, and this thread remindes me that its time


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## Bluefinn (Jan 26, 2007)

Red1 said:


> View attachment 472463
> 
> 
> Sorry, here's the image that didn't upload before. This was a 50-pounder, caught in April 2011.





Red1 said:


> View attachment 472463
> 
> 
> Sorry, here's the image that didn't upload before. This was a 50-pounder, caught in April 2011.


That's a biggun.


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## fishless (Sep 18, 2014)

I have a real small pond . I saw a snapper in it the other day .I wanted to remove it so it wouldn't eat my small fish .I caught it on a nylon line and single hook with bluegill .Of course it swalled the bait .I cut the line off as close to turtle as I could .Do you guys think it will live ? I realeased a mile or so from pond


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## Bluefinn (Jan 26, 2007)

It should live. Turtles are tough.


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## fishkiller (Feb 6, 2007)

There used to be a place near Sandusky that would buy turtles. They would only buy trap caught ones, the ones caught with a hook would develop gangrene.


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## kingbaiter13 (Feb 24, 2014)

Chicken gizzards work great for bank lines. Cheap and it doesn't come off the hook easily.


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## FlyFishRich (Feb 3, 2016)

Down here in Florida you're not allowed to keep regular hard shell snappers due to people don't know the difference between those and alligator snappers, which are protected. Only can keep soft shell......Rich


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## joekacz (Sep 11, 2013)

Did you try any alligator yet…?


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## FlyFishRich (Feb 3, 2016)

Not yet but there is a place not far from me that sells it.....


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## joekacz (Sep 11, 2013)

We had some great gator on the east side of St.Cloud on the main drag but I don’t remember the name of the place.I’m sure there’s places around you that have it. We enjoyed it, I think it came in some sort of basket combo.


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## Moo Juice (Jan 20, 2021)

My nephew works at our local twp. road dept. Went out Friday on a call for backed up water. Found two dead snappers clogging up the pipe.


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