Part 3
Welcome back sports fans. I bet you thought I had given up. To that I say "Nay Nay".
Let me catch you up to speed (with LOTS of photos). Since my last entry I have been back out half a dozen times and only caught a young Musk Turtle. They have been taunting me every step.
This stand of Elephant Ears no longer exists because of the relentless "hunting" of it by the deadly turtles.
And as soon as they know you are there, they dive to the depths of the murky water.
06/28/08
I was a Saturday. The sky was overcast and you could feel the threat of rain in the air. The lake was calm and quiet like a lion preparing to pounce on its prey (do I sound like a 50's detective yet?). Actually, it was the day that we were taking my goddaughter on her first fishing trip. The homeowners were nice enough to grant us permission to fish on their lake. So naturally I brought bait with me. So first thing, I baited the trap.
No who could resist fish, mice, AND chicks? Certainly not a Snapping Turtle. Of course they won't come up here to get it, so lets see if we can get it in the water without getting wet for the day. After all, I have alot of fishing and being "Uncle Brian" to take care of today (yes, that is what the "B" stands for).
OK, maybe I got it a little deep on one end. But how is this for foresight? Not only is it attached to a rope so I can drag it back in a bit, but I have a string attached to the door so I can make sure that it is free swinging from the shore.
Trap set. Now we fish. After all, if there is going to be a turtle trapped, it will be withing the first 24 hours. That is just how it goes with bait and so forth. So we fish from a nearby dock while the Snappers surface offshore to investigate and taunt me.
Sunday:
No freaking turtles. Oh well. Maybe I will get back out next Saturday to reset the trap and rebait it.
07/03/08:
Thursday? Yup, it is Thursday. I am off work because Wed was my last day at my old job and I start my new job on Monday. So I am just hanging around the house. My wife only worked a half day and had just gotten home not long ago. We are planning our afternoon and about to head out to see a movie when my phone rings. "There is a turtle in the trap" the pleasant voice on the other end says. Change of plans Honey, no movie yet. And we set out on our 45 minute drive to the lake. Oh good lord, if another one breaks out I am taking to that trap with a sledge hammer. The drive seemed endless since I knew there was a large snapper waiting for me.
Just as we are almost to the entrance to the subdivision, my phones beeps at me. A freaking voicemail? I never even heard it ring! It is the home owner. "I hope you are close because this turtle is getting agitated and is like halfway out of the trap". CRAP!! CRAP MONKEY!!! CRAP ON A STICK!!! HOLEY CRAP-ITTY CRAP CRAP!!! My wife is driving her new car (another story). I should have known better than not to drive myself out there. Even if the traffic was the same, at least I am in control and can use my uncanny ability to create new profanities to yell at other drivers.
So we finally get to the long concrete stairs that lead to the lake. I am out of the car before she even stops and gliding down the stairs in a close in a distinct horse-like fashion. As I close in on the trap, I see a large snapping turtle's head about 6" in front of the door of the trap. CRAPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Son-ofa-freaking-cow-slapping-crap-monkey-bastage-hole!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, never mind, the turtle is still in there just extending its neck out between the wall and the door.
VICTORY IS MINE!!!!!
So I carefully pull the trap out of the water, untie the rope, and drag it onto higher ground (dodging the attempts at my fingers).
So I flipped the trap over so that the door stayed open and dumped him out. Grab that tail fast and come in from the back so you don't lose a couple fingers! (
no comments from the peanut gallery)
ooooooooooh, you are a nasty little fella
Now I have played with plenty of snapping turtles. I have never had one that was striking so hard that it kept knocking my front hand off its shell! Of course, it IS used to eating ducks! This is one of the smaller ones. So we loaded it up and headed home.
One down. Three to go.
The trap is re-baited and set for the weekend.
