Turtle Catching

[Kurt Brutting]

It was a good turtle catching day. We caught 6 painted turtles today. My kids and me go out to local ponds and lakes and try to catch turtles. We always catch and release, it’s a ton of fun. It’s been our thing now for years. I thought it would be cool to share some of our pictures. I do not keep turtles at home  because of the level of maintenance involved, but ever since I was a kid I have loved all things turtles. As a teenager I worked at a reptile sanctuary and it was mostly turtle rescues and turtle breeding projects. They had everything from giant snapping turtles to Fly River turtles to giant soft shell turtles. They had some very rare turtle species that are now extinct in the wild that are only breeding in captivity.
I am trying to get my kids involved in nature and between catching turtles and owning planted freshwater aquariums this has been a perfect way to enjoy nature daily. So in this thread I will post our turtle adventures. 

[Guppysnail]

What an awesome way to involve your kids in nature. 

[Katherine]

That looks so fun! What do you guys use to catch them? We've enjoyed looking for turtles at a local pond but haven't gotten into catching them at all.

[Kurt Brutting]

It is a ton of fun and a challenge they are fast in the water. We use nets to catch them. 
Here is some of our favorites over the years. 

[Streetwise]

I can remember two youthful turtle interactions. As a teenager, I cleared leeches from some turtles in a stream near Lake Champlain. I also pulled a snapping turtle across the road when I had my first car. I put out a branch, which was snapped-on instantly. I dragged it to the other side. I have all of my fingers and toes.

[Baphijmm]

Once, while canoeing the Boundary Waters between Minnesota and Ontario, I believe at the time we were camped on a small island on Lac la Croix overlooking the border, we had a HUGE alligator snapping turtle come up onto our docking area. We nicknamed it Gamera. 😛 Beyond that, as a kid we'd often find red-eared sliders in my grandparents' back yard, and a friend of mine had a creek behind his house where we'd go find little snappers on occasion.

[Kurt Brutting]

Found a crayfish today and frogs and a tadpole! 

[Kurt Brutting]

It was a good day catching critters with my kids! 
My youngest is 7 and he caught his 1st turtle today on his own. He was so excited! He caught a baby snapping turtle, super cute! Everything we catch we let go. 

Altogether we caught 5 turtles and a few crayfish. 3 painted turtles and 2 snapping turtles one was a baby one and one was huge (no pic). 

[Guppysnail]

I want to go play in the mud too! 🤣