Snappin Turtle Soup

[justfishin]

When I was young the guys used to set " Bush Bobs " for snappers which consisted of the old black Dacron line tied to tree brances along the local river and ponds with cut bait added to the hook. We use to make two kinds of soup. One was like a potato soup and one was like crab soup. I have not had any in years. They used to put them in wire cages and lower them in a old hand dug well to purge them for a week or so. I do remember they looked like a pain to clean. I thought maybe you southern guys still made it. Anyone?

[Maxximus Redneckus]

I still do occasionally  i just cant stand the smell after cleaning um its stays on ur skin for days .But they are yummmy .I always wondered what kind of nutritional value they have !!!

[Catt]

I got a receipt around here some where but it aint exactly one of my favorites, too much work to catch & clean. Some of the local butcher shops still sale turtle meat if you can find a butcher shop.

[skillet]

 I remember my Momma talking about it. During the Depression she lived on a log raft with a big tent at the mouth of the Yazoo R. right North of Vicksburg Miss. My Grandfather fished the Yazoo and Mississippi and sold it in Vicksburg when he could. She said it was really good. She would tell the story about how he caught one in his nets that you couldn't set a no.9 wash tub over. Never had any myself hope to remedy that one day...

                                             As Ever,

                                              skillet

[Daniel My Brother]

My brother in law has a surefire way to catch snappers.

He takes a long narrow stick and attaches a small hook to the end of it. After the first frost he finds a bend in the creek where the roots of a tree are exposed in the sandy bank. Then he pokes around in the sand until he taps the shell of a turtle, then he simply hooks the turtle under the shell and pulls it out of the sand. They're so dazed that they don't struggle a bit.

He and my sister will catch all the turtle they can eat in a winter in under 2 hours. He swears they are in every creek in Iowa.

Here's a pic of Tom with his catch...and if you look close you can make out his turtling stick!