Unfortunate Whopper Plopper Catch

[Koz]

I was fishing a small lagoon behind my father's house today and landed a nice 4 pounder on a chatterbait with a Rage Tail craw trailer. Later, even though their was a small nuisance gator patrolling the water I tossed a Whopper Plopper 130 for a little bit. I'm familiar with this little 3 foot juvenile gator and I usually have to flip flop back and forth between the different ends of the lagoon when he takes notice of any topwaters I throw.

 

Today, he wasn't much of a bother. But on one cast I noticed a little rolling swell come up from behind my lure. It definitely was not a fish or an alligator that caused my line to get heavy. A second later I saw it - a turtle. Oh no.

 

It was a painted turtle about 10-12 inches long. I got him in and one of the trebles went right through his lower jaw. Of course, after I landed him he retreated into his shell. When I tried to pull on the lure to get to the treble I was surprised how strong the turtle was, both his legs and his neck muscles. I flipped him on his back and grabbed my multi-tool. I really did not want to just kill him, so we had a little tug of war as I tried to get his head far enough out from the shell to grab the hook.

 

I felt awful. But I figured if I pulled on the lure a bit and released he'd eventually get exhausted. After about 20 minutes of him hissing and us going back and forth it worked and I was able to pop out the treble. I didn't see any blood, but he ducked his head back in and I couldn't get a close look at any potential damage. I brought him down to the edge of the water, and he immediately popped his head back out and swam away.

 

There were a few other similar sized turtles out there, so it was hard to tell if he was one of them. Anyway, I feel awful. Normally I see the turtles going after the lure and burn it out of there. But this guy came up from underneath and I never saw him. I sure hope the little guy is OK.

[Oregon Native]

 should be just fine....he probably thought it was just a sharp fin of a fish and some big ug trying to take it away.

[lonnie g]

at least it wasn't the gator!, I know I would have just lost that bait

[Bigbruce]

I’ve found turtles also like swim baits. Luckily I’ve always got them off very easy.

[Graham]

I had one summer before I got big into bass fishing where I caught more turtles than fish. My friends still joke on me calling me turtle man now and then, hard one to live down...needless to say I always got a clean release on em. I commend your persistence and respect for wildlife.

[Koz]

3 hours ago, lonnie g said:

at least it wasn't the gator!, I know I would have just lost that bait

 

Actually, last year a baby gator came crashing up through the slop and hit a frog I had cast. Luckily the hook wasn't set too deep. He spun around for a few minutes and then let go. If a bigger gator hits I'd just cut my line. No sense messing around.

 

[blckshirt98]

You people fishing the bank with ponds filled with gators are out of your f'ing minds.  That is all.

[Koz]

5 hours ago, blckshirt98 said:

You people fishing the bank with ponds filled with gators are out of your f'ing minds.  That is all.

 

Mostly they are just annoying hanging out just off shore waiting for you to catch something. If you move they usually slowly move your way after a few minutes. The juveniles are a pain because they think every splash is food.

 

Occasionally it can get a bit more exciting. I've had one try and hide along the bank and slowly stalk my position. During mating season they get more territorial and I've had a few chase me up the bank. The scariest was when for our five starting crashing a concrete fishing pad we were on after I caught a fish. We got out of there and a few minutes later they had climbed on that pad.

 

A few things I keep in mind when heading out:

 

1. Check the banks as we approach. Stomp the ground as you approach (gets rid of snakes, too).

2. Use polarized glasses and check under the water near the banks.

3. If a gator even hints at being aggressive go fish the next lagoon.

4. Never turn your back to the water when alligators are nearby. They cover water and ground pretty darn quick.

5. Even if you don't see a gator, assume one is around. Keep scanning the banks and water when you fish.

6. Personally, I NEVER bank fish at night. Too scary. Those orange eyes are creepy.

7. Don't do anything stupid. Don't tempt fate.

 

I'll admit I've been scared more than once out there. I'm too chicken to kayak fish as well. The alternative is to give up bass fishing, so we learn to live with it.

[N Florida Mike]

7 hours ago, blckshirt98 said:

You people fishing the bank with ponds filled with gators are out of your f'ing minds.  That is all.

Try wade fishing in the river with them! Did it for years. 

Many , many more people are killed by lightning than gators.

I'd just about as soon deal with a gator than a cottonmouth personally.

[soflabasser]

1 hour ago, N Florida Mike said:

Try wade fishing in the river with them! Did it for years. 

Many , many more people are killed by lightning than gators.

I'd just about as soon deal with a gator than a cottonmouth personally.

I have wade fished in waters with alligators as well. Also dived in lakes, canals, and Northern Florida springs with alligators and not once has one caused me problems. I make sure to give them their space and not swim if I see one over 5 feet. They are beautiful animals and feel fortunate to live in Florida where I can see alligators any day I want.

[FishDewd]

Yeah, gators get a bad rep. Prior to hurricane Harvey, we had a nature park here with miles and miles of trails and acres of fishable water. To say it was "infested" with large gators was an understatement. They were everywhere, in the water, and sometimes even on the tails. As a kid I used to go there to ride my bike. More than once I had to pass a large gator on a trail and never got so much as a snap from one. Perhaps they just weren't interested in eating kids lol. I suspect the were kept well fed too. Afaik, no one ever got injured or killed from a gator in that park. Was just part of the scenery.

 

On the subject of turtles, I've caught this year so far. One was a 10 lb. juvenile alligator snapper out of my pond. Regrettably, that one "had to go" as they are fish eaters. Lot's of other red eared sliders in there that don't bother the farm fish, so they can stay far as I care. I caught a red ear at a park a few weeks back while catfishing with hotdogs with a small circle hook at dusk. Saw my line moving across the pond but I waited cause I didn't think it had it yet. Once I felt the weight, I set it and started reeling in. At first I thought the fish got away cause I saw this big weedy mat come up from the abyss towards the shore. Then I saw the shell. Turtle. And this one had been through some hell and back. Missing both front feet, scars on the face, chips missing from around the shell. No wonder she was hungry for hotdogs! I tried for a while to get the hook out, but like the OP said, they are amazingly strong and stubborn. Even flipping it over didn't get her head out from her shell. She hissed a little but was not aggressive. A few times I managed to get a good hold on the hook with my needle nose pliers but the hook was through a hard part of the lower jaw and I saw that her mouth was full of blood. I just could not get the circle hook out. I ended up cutting the hook down pretty low. She'll be fine, turtles are very tough. No doubt the rest of the hook is out by now. Did feel bad though and I never did catch any catfish afterwards lol. Morale is: the turtle you caught will be just fine.

[Koz]

A funny thing happened this morning...

 

When my son took our dog out for a walk this morning there was a smaller (not as big as the one I hooked) painted turtle on our doorstep. I went to check it out and the turtle looked in my direction.

 

At that moment all I could think about was the turtle saying something like, "You hurt my Daddy!" Then the turtle turned around and headed back out across the yard. Ironic and funny!

11 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

Try wade fishing in the river with them! Did it for years. 

 

Not in a million years would I wade or swim in gator laden waters. That's especially true now that I am older and a parent.

[Koz]

And yet another irony: today is World Turtle Day.

[Gundog]

18 minutes ago, Koz said:

A funny thing happened this morning...

 

When my son took our dog out for a walk this morning there was a smaller (not as big as the one I hooked) painted turtle on our doorstep. I went to check it out and the turtle looked in my direction.

 

At that moment all I could think about was the turtle saying something like, "You hurt my Daddy!" Then the turtle turned around and headed back out across the yard. Ironic and funny!

 

Worst part is they now know where you live! Expect random unsolicited salesmen at your door, lots of junk mail and the occasional bag of flaming poop. ?

[soflabasser]

8 hours ago, Koz said:

And yet another irony: today is World Turtle Day.

Didn't know today was World Turtle Day but its nice knowing a day exist for them. Turtles are among my favorite animals with the sea turtle being my favorite animal to see when I am diving. They are very majestic creatures and videos of them do not compare to seeing them in person when diving.

[Kenn Page]

Was fishing with a spinner at Ross Barnett in MS. This place is full of gators. I threw the spinner out and this guy popped up between me and it. I tried to skip the spinner past him but hooked his leg.  Needless to say, I wasn't about to lose a $9 spinner or leave it hooked in him.