well, I found out what has happening to my ducks !

[#41]

I'm sure glad they don't have those nasty things here. They kind of freak me out.

Can't leave anything outside here under 10-15 lbs unattended or uncaged. Coyotes, eagles, and hawks get everything.

 

[ricks_RR]

nice snapper you got there

 

[AR67GTX]

I was always a person that had a position that could affect people and things. It was strange because deep down, I'm a tender heart. I have most always lived by the water and still do. When a few of those were killing our ducks, there's one quick way to get rid of them. It involved a 12 gauge and a shovel. Say goodnight Irene.

Unfortunately our lake is in city limits and I somehow got shanghaied into being the lake POA rules chairman (literally). I tell everyone I got kidnapped into this position because I’m pretty certain I’ve broken more rules than anyone else on the lake. We do allow the carry of firearms on the lake in accordance with State laws but discharge of firearms in city limits for other than self defense is not in our purview. Not that I haven’t rid myself of a few varmits in the middle of the night with a well placed .22 subsonic short. But hunting alligator snappers in the middle of the night with a .22 is a little to adventuresome for me. I feel sorry for the ducks but they’re just gonna have to get smarter.

 

[khryslerkid]

Hard animal to kill. We had a two acre pond, about 12 ft deep at its deepest point. Every now and then you would start to see one, then two, then three. Time to get out the trout lines and some chicken neck. You have to tie a milk bottle on the line so when they get hooked they can't get ahold of the bottom to pull themselves loose. They will straighten a large hook.

Another thing I discovered dealing with these snappers is if you have one floating out in the pond you can shoot them at the base of the neck where it goes into the shell and they won't be able to submerge. They will swim right to the nearest bank and crawl out. Then you can grab them. 22 with a good scope was my choice. You have to remember that the bullet can skip off the water and end up who knows where. Our pond was down in a valley, surrounded by forest, which made a good back stop.

One experience I had was when fishing. I had cast my top water lure out and around some cat tails. Here comes a snapper after it and got hooked in the foot. I managed to bring him in close enough to grab. I took a pair of pliers and grabbed him in the mouth. Then put my one foot on his back, pulled out his head and cut it off. His front legs were dead but his back legs were very much alive. His detached head was very much alive also.

I rolled his shell over on it's back and with my knife I tapped on the one side of his shell and both rear feet would move over to that side like they were trying to grab it. The same thing happened doing the opposite side. I looked at its head lying there on the ground and wondered if it was watching me!

You're not killing something that borrows down in the mud to hibernate for the winter and it's heart beat is one beat every ten minutes.

 

[Hey-O]

Unfortunately our lake is in city limits and I somehow got shanghaied into being the lake POA rules chairman (literally). I tell everyone I got kidnapped into this position because I’m pretty certain I’ve broken more rules than anyone else on the lake. We do allow the carry of firearms on the lake in accordance with State laws but discharge of firearms in city limits for other than self defense is not in our purview. Not that I haven’t rid myself of a few varmits in the middle of the night with a well placed .22 subsonic short. But hunting alligator snappers in the middle of the night with a .22 is a little to adventuresome for me. I feel sorry for the ducks but they’re just gonna have to get smarter.

I had 6 1/2 acres and 5 of it was lake in the middle of town. When I found him in my back yard he was mine. First thing I learned was, if provoked they can run. Once he was grabbing the stick I was poking him with I changed up to the 12 gauge and when he chomped down on it, you guess what happened next. That happened twice. A cop drove by the second time, but it was weeks between the first and the second one and he didn't stop. Those things are dangerous prehistoric MF and will fight to the end. Makes the hair on my arms stand up just thinking about it.

 

[WileERobby]

Snapping Turtle Turks ?

 

[ricks_RR]

mother nature will take care of it . she has been for more years then we have been around. if the people didnt feed the ducks they would know there surrounding better. its not the snapping turtles that are the problem its the ducks have gotten used to the food and the turtles know where they will be ever day .

 

[Southbranch]

Common snappers weigh up to 40 lbs, alligator snappers can be 50- 100 lbs. I've read the Chicago zoo has 2 over 300 lbs. The largest unofficial was 409 lbs with a shell 4' in diameter, caught in the Mississippi about 1900.

 

[AR67GTX]

Most of the turtles in our lake are a more common water terrapin with a smooth, low dome shell and small head. We have so many that in the spring when it starts warming up a little, I can walk down to the lakes edge and there may be 30 - 40 of their heads sticking out of the water In a relatively small area. If one of the floating cypress logs in the lake gets close to shore it will be covered up with them from end to end. I’ve even seen ducks and turtles sitting on the same log together. I’ve seen a dead snapper wash up near shore and one day my wife spotted a big - gonna guess alligator snapper as it was bigger - lumbering across our yard, shell full of ridges and humps, huge old head that looks twice as big as it should be. We left it continue wherever it was going. But a big mouth bass also loves those baby ducklings. They just move up under one and inhale and swallow it in one gulp.

 

[Sahara]

Up here we have huge northern pike, or jack fish. It’s common to find ducks, frogs, baby muskrats or whatever in them. Attached is a photo of one from last year with a fish in it. What’s surprising is the size of the fish in it. Scared the crap out of me; it stuck my knife in and a fish popped out. Crazy Mexican cat to show scale.
On a side note, this fish would be the perfect size for smacking Rosie O’Donnell right in the pie hole, as mentioned in my signature line at the bottom of this post. Crazy Mexican cat is the best cat ever.

 

[408Swinger]

Up here we have huge northern pike, or jack fish. It’s common to find ducks, frogs, baby muskrats or whatever in them. Attached is a photo of one from last year with a fish in it. What’s surprising is the size of the fish in it. Scared the crap out of me; it stuck my knife in and a fish popped out. Crazy Mexican cat to show scale.

View attachment 1385797

View attachment 1385798

Now that’s a duck eater !