El Daveo Posted September 21, 2007 Report Share Posted September 21, 2007 Okay…so you’re fishing with your son one day. Just a simple little kid’s rod with a cheesy little closed-face reel. Throw a worm on a little hook and presto; you have everything you need for a fun filled afternoon catching dozens of little smallmouth bass and sunfish. You share the rod with him because there ‘s no use using your own what with all the constant fish you’re catching on his. He casts it out…catches a fish within about a minute…reels it in…has you take it off…plays with the fish while you re-bait his hook for him…throw the fish back…repeat… After a while your son tires of the ‘casting & waiting for a bite’ part and makes you do that with instructions to just give him the rod once there’s a fish on there to reel in. So you go ahead and follow his instructions…what the hell…its all good. You feel a nibble…pull to set the hook…nothing…feel a nibble again… pull to set the hook…nothing…(bloody sunfish!)…again a nibble…pull to set the… “damn”! snagged! So you pull on the snag and notice that there is something strange about it…the snag is coming up…it’s heavy as hell but at least it’s moving up…bloody log no doubt…well at least you’ll be able to salvage the hook and you won’t have to re-tie the line… Pull… Pull… Pull... Waaaaaait a minute….that ain’t no log!!! This was the biggest snapping turtle I have ever seen in my life! I caught it on the dock of Lake Opeongo in Algonquin Park a few weeks back. It surfaced and hissed at us…literally scared my boys a bit who said it looked more like a sea monster than a turtle. The thing had hands the size of mine! Look at the claws on it! My best guess is 50 lbs or so. Believe it or not my wife reached down and cut the line near its mouth to let it go. Best fishing memory in a long time for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misfish Posted September 21, 2007 Report Share Posted September 21, 2007 Seeing that, it brings back the movie,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,NEMO.LOL That must of really been something cool/freaky to see, once you got it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuchikubo Posted September 21, 2007 Report Share Posted September 21, 2007 Yikes!! I think my kids would have had nightmares if that happened to us. And then I wouldn't get many more chances to bring the kids fishing. Good on you all for snipping the line, the hook will eventually rot out. Hopefully, next time it will be a muskie. Tight lines (as long as it's a fish on the other end ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toronto_Angler Posted September 21, 2007 Report Share Posted September 21, 2007 That's some strong line you got on there if it brought that thing up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Daveo Posted September 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2007 That's some strong line you got on there if it brought that thing up! Oddly enough the line was that cheap, crappy 6 or 8 lb test that came prespooled on the kids fishing reel when I bought it a couple of years ago. It just came up from the bottom ever so slowly, then just surfaced like a submarine. Once it saw us it got angry and fought a bit but old crappy line did the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dozer Posted September 21, 2007 Report Share Posted September 21, 2007 Nice! Ya, pulling one of those puppies is is like pulling in a log! For any members who have neever been around a snapper, beware, although it may look slow and stupid, they can snap their heads REALLY fast and with lots of pressure too, easily open flesh and break bones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfisher Posted September 21, 2007 Report Share Posted September 21, 2007 Holy crap, that's an ugly mug shot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatherof3 Posted September 21, 2007 Report Share Posted September 21, 2007 my kids would have freaked bringing that thing up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greencoachdog Posted September 21, 2007 Report Share Posted September 21, 2007 (edited) If you think that's scarey, you ought to try running a 50 hook trot line (it's legal here) in the wee hours of the morning by moonlight with everything completely calm and quiet around you. You can feel some thing big on the line and you're taking the 1 and 2 lb. catfish off the hooks wondering where the big one is, and all of a sudden one of those Snappers the size of a #3 wash tub will surface and hiss at ya with a hook in his mouth! If that doesn't make you soil yourself, nothing will! Edited September 21, 2007 by Greencoachdog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnF Posted September 21, 2007 Report Share Posted September 21, 2007 Nice! Ya, pulling one of those puppies is is like pulling in a log! For any members who have neever been around a snapper, beware, although it may look slow and stupid, they can snap their heads REALLY fast and with lots of pressure too, easily open flesh and break bones. And I remember from snapper encounters on the river as a kid that their stubby little necks get a whole lot longer when they're upset. I learned not to leave any fleshy bits (of me) anywhere close to a snapper's mouth. JF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muskieman Posted September 21, 2007 Report Share Posted September 21, 2007 That happened to us a few years back in the spring while jiggin' for lakers we tought we had a record until the spare tire surfaced... your turtle looks bigger than mine... If you catch it on a line it's not yours to keep ... but if you trap it you can keep it[see ontario fishing regulations] but who would do that nowadays? Unfortunately mine was hooked deep in the throat and probably died as a result.. yours fortunately was hooked on the beak..and our old armoured buddy will survive. amazing what you'll catch , my son 10 yrs old caught a Loon this spring while jiggin for Walleye. It died. ...did you know that loon tasted like fish? My buddy plucked&cooked it back at camp as you would a duck.. honestly ...In a million years will NEVER eat another bite of Loon meat. I once caught a crayfish while trolling for lakers and hitting bottom in 110 feet of water.. be prepared next time it might be a beaver.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greencoachdog Posted September 22, 2007 Report Share Posted September 22, 2007 be prepared next time it might be a beaver.. I LOVE the Beaver!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyhook Posted September 22, 2007 Report Share Posted September 22, 2007 caught one about the same size last year on a zara spook! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carp Posted September 22, 2007 Report Share Posted September 22, 2007 Could that be the Opeongo monster everyone sees ? There's probably bigger than that one in the lake. I hooked a couple in Georgian Bay that would be at least the size of your catch. Heck of a time pulling them in. I was fishing from shore. When they got close, those claws dug in and stopped any forward movement. One broke the line, the other we had to cut loose. Nasty, hissing buggers. Exiting catch though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
addict Posted September 22, 2007 Report Share Posted September 22, 2007 awsome catch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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