I wonder where that video was taken. With this cold snap those turtles might not be used to the type of cold that freezes the surface. I'd have probably knocked a hole in the ice to allow them an open area to grab a breath. I don't know that they'd have used it or it would have stayed open long enough to be useful but couldn't hurt to try.
I have cleaned many snappers. I take pliers and grab the bottom jaw and stretch their neck over a stump or block of wood and use an axe to de-head them. The trick to stop them from fighting after de-heading is lay them on their back and pour a pan of boiling water over them. Works great. Then cut around the edge of the belly shell and remove it then split the skin on the legs and remove them.
After I get the legs and neck out I soak in salt water til next day, then I de-bone and cut it in small chunks and roll in your favorite batter and deep fry. Mighty fine eating.
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I have cleaned many snappers. I take pliers and grab the bottom jaw and stretch their neck over a stump or block of wood and use an axe to de-head them. The trick to stop them from fighting after de-heading is lay them on their back and pour a pan of boiling water over them. Works great. Then cut around the edge of the belly shell and remove it then split the skin on the legs and remove them.
After I get the legs and neck out I soak in salt water til next day, then I de-bone and cut it in small chunks and roll in your favorite batter and deep fry. Mighty fine eating.
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He did say they’re decapitated first, the scalding is used to stop residual muscle movement.Sounds pretty brutal. Hopefully when you die, you get some better treatment.
They have a decentralized nervous system such that the body will continue to move even after the brain is removed. How is beheading them more brutal than any other way of killing them?Sounds pretty brutal. Hopefully when you die, you get some better treatment.
That said, if I'm fishing and a turtle is on the line, I lose the hook/lure/whatever. Waaaay to much hastle.
They have a decentralized nervous system such that the body will continue to move even after the brain is removed. How is beheading them more brutal than any other way of killing them?
In my opinion, anyone willing to put in the work that it takes to dress out a snapping turtle is pretty damn dedicated to the idea that if you kill it you eat it.
My Grandfather taught me that turtles had an easier time getting a hook out of their mouth than I would fighting them and it sure seemed to be correct to me. About the only time we ever hooked them was while using minnows for crappie or bass and we used small gold hooks. If we caught a turtle we'd just cut the hook off and more often than not they'd pop back up a few minutes later without a hook in their mouth. Strangely they would stop chasing the bobbers.
Snappers aren't all that hard to catch. I learned by accident that smacking a turtle in the head with a bobber while it is on the surface is a surefire way to guarantee a bite and hook up. Oddly they seem to go for the bait instead of the bobber and it works every single time. Softshells, on the other hand, are much harder to hook.
Trapping turtles is much easier than actively fishing for them. Unless you know a spot is hot with them, it's much easier to set and forget. Be careful about area regulations, and species; but it's my understanding that with a small game/ OR fishing license you're able to collect UP TO 2 of each species as a daily limit SO LONG as you're hunting/fishing. If you're trapping, that requires permit.
Forget trapping them, it is even easier to simply pick them up when they start traveling via land in late summer! I've seen minor traffic jams caused by multiple people trying to wrangle big snappers crossing a highway.
I've smelled the inside of all kinds of critters over the years on the farm and after i smelled the innards of a snapping turtle, I'm darn sure not gonna eat one.
I've smelled the inside of all kinds of critters over the years on the farm and after i smelled the innards of a snapping turtle, I'm darn sure not gonna eat one.