Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

Turtles

eiowaarcher

eiowaarcher

Member
I noticed this year that our pond has way more turtles than last year. Some nice sized ones too. I'm wanting to take some out and eat them. Ive cleaned turtle but never been apart of catching them unless it was by mistake. How and what do you guys use to catch snappers? Is jugging legal in iowa?
 
We use tide or milk jugs (lids on).. tie about 3ft of braided fishing line on like spiderwire or fireline. Put a trebble hook on the end small enough for a turtle to swallow.. For bait, use a dead bluegill or ive had really good luck with chunked up carp. Burry the trebble hook in the chunk of fish.. throw the jugs out and you can either tie them off or we just throw them out and grab from a boat.. i dont know what regs are on public waters but you shouldnt have anything to worry about in a private pond
 
I would also go the jugging route. I would let some free float and would also rig a few up with a couple ounces of weight going to the bottom to prevent the jug from blowing on shore.
As far as bait, any fresh fish will work, but I prefer beef liver. If you contact your local locker you should be able to get some. Also you don't need treble hooks, I have used single hooks and it works also.
 
Jugs seem to work the best. With bank poles being a close second. Fresh cut fish or chunked groundhog meat are the best baits. I also only use a single shank hook. Treble hooks are nearly impossible to remove and I like to keep my turtles alive for up to 6-10 days. Purging them with clean water for atleast a week before butchering.
Just be careful handling them. Turtle bites are nasty and can lead to some wild infections
 
I rarely remove the hook but a treble hook usually ends up in their throat and can kill them before they are ready to butcher.
I've removed a few hooks and it isn't easy or safe.
 
My gpa and I have removed allot of turtles for people over the years. Dont let one get ahold of ya. From experience its not a good feeling and they dont let got. A guy that used to got with us is actually missing a thumb from one. Beef liver and nylon trot line works great tho.
 
In Iowa you can only use a trotline/floater baits but can only use 2 on a trotline or 2 floater baits. You have to be actively fishing them if I remember right. You can't leave them over night.
 
TeenageHunter said:
In Iowa you can only use a trotline/floater baits but can only use 2 on a trotline or 2 floater baits. You have to be actively fishing them if I remember right. You can't leave them over night.
Click to expand...

Is this true even on a private pond? I know some old timers who used to catch dozens every year and then have a huge turtle feed in the fall. They used some sort of turtle trap. Bet you can google it and find a dozen variations.
 
jugs

You CAN use jugs and it is legal. No more than 2 jugs per person and they must be kept in sight at all times. These do count as if they were fishing poles though. So don't think you can throw out 2 jugs and fish with a rod and reel.
 
spencer52356 said:
You CAN use jugs and it is legal. No more than 2 jugs per person and they must be kept in sight at all times. These do count as if they were fishing poles though. So don't think you can throw out 2 jugs and fish with a rod and reel.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure it's the same law for private ponds guys. Not just rivers.
 
Just for the sake of discussion, if i paid to have my pond built (no state or federal money involved) and I paid to buy fish to stock it (no state stocking), and I paid for fish food to augment their nutrition, I can probably harvest the fish with a seine as a "fish farmer", but I can't set more than 2 jug lines without running afoul of the DNR??? Something wrong here... Not saying that I do, but I feel I should be able to if I darn well please.
 
This is all I could find in the regulations. Doesn't say anything about how many lines or having to watch them. Unless its hidden somewhere else in the regs.

Turtles: A valid fishing license allows you to take and possess a maximum of 100 pounds of live turtles or 50 pounds of dressed turtles. You must have a special license to sell live or dressed turtles. If you are a nonresident of Iowa you can only take common snapping turtles, softshells and painted turtles from the Missouri, Mississippi and Big Sioux rivers. Nonresidents cannot take any other turtles or crayfish anywhere else in the state. The taking of turtle eggs from the wild is prohibited. Residents can take common snapping turtles, softshells and painted turtles. You can take turtles only by hand, turtle hook, turtle trap or hook and line. Turtle traps must have no more than one throat or funneling device. All turtle traps must have a functional escape hole provided with a minimum diameter in all directions of 7-1/2 inches to allow passage of fish and small turtles. On hoop type traps the 7-1/2 inch escape hole shall be located in the last hoop to the tail-line. Any unattended gear used to take turtles must have a metal tag bearing the owner’s name and address. All turtle traps must be lifted and emptied of their catch at least once every 72 hours. DNR Home | Site Policy | Adobe Reader | Contact Us | Signin Leading Iowans in caring for our natural resources.
 
TeenageHunter said:
In Iowa you can only use a trotline/floater baits but can only use 2 on a trotline or 2 floater baits. You have to be actively fishing them if I remember right. You can't leave them over night.
Click to expand...
Wrong. Read the regs. I'm pretty sure what you are referring to is for actually fishing, not for turtles. You can have bridge lines and jugs for turtles as long as you have your name and address on the line. Was told this by my local CO.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom