# Do bass and turtles mix?



## Gentleman4561 (Mar 13, 2011)

I went back to a local golf course pond that i haven't fished since last spring.  My buddy and i caught 4 in a few hours. There are TONS of turtles.  I saw a few snappers but most are box turtles(i think).  Probably saw close to 40 in 2 ponds.  The fishing was not that good I am sure this could be due to the colder water temps.  But back to my main question...how do the turtles effect bass?  For the good or bad?  Also, any tips on fishing a pond infested with turtles?
Thanks
Luke


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## Gentleman4561 (Mar 13, 2011)

bummmmp


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## Fishlipps Revisited (Mar 13, 2011)

all i can tell you is this.....'

when i was young (7-8 years old), my dad had an aquarium with a lot of tropical fish in it....he was VERY proud of it..

 i caught a VERY small snapping turtle down at the river one day....it couldn't have been 2" long....anyway, i needed a place to keep it....sooooooooooooooooooooooooo................

that little sucker killed EVERY LAST FISH in my dad's aquarium.....it didn't EAT all of them, but, it sure sure tore 'em up.....

sorta like what my dad did to me....

so, my answer would be no....not in a small environment....whether it be a fish bowl or a small pond....those turtles are gonna eat....


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## dannyoneal68 (Mar 13, 2011)

I fish alot at a park near my house that has a bunch of turtles. But it still has a healthy population of Bass, Catfish, and Crappie.


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## Son (Mar 13, 2011)

Meat eating turtles, such as alligator snappers can certainly knock the fish population down in a pond. I once watched a large snapping turtle ease into a shellcracker bed. He hunkered down in the bottom silt and waited. The first big shellcracker that came by, he got it. It happened so fast, the strike couldn't be seen. But what I did see was a cloud of mud/silt explode. Then watched the turtle swim off with the fish.


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## Gentleman4561 (Mar 13, 2011)

I remember catching a bream at scout camp and the snapper bit it in half.  So im sure they are messing stuff up.  Do yall think the box turtles are?  Also, what are the rules on removing snapping turtles in GA?


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## Gentleman4561 (Mar 13, 2011)

Fishlipps Revisited said:


> all i can tell you is this.....'
> 
> when i was young (7-8 years old), my dad had an aquarium with a lot of tropical fish in it....he was VERY proud of it..
> 
> ...



whooooops 

Thanks for the advice


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## stasher1 (Mar 14, 2011)

FWIW, I have a 6" slider turtle in a tank that will kill and eat anything she can catch. I've seen her eat 24 2" comets in less than 20 minutes. Now, this is a hand-fed pet who eats on a regular basis. I would expect a wild turtle to be even more aggressive when surrounded by potential prey.


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## porkbelly (Mar 14, 2011)

Get permission to kill all you can. A 22 scoped rifle will do the job well. There's probably one in there that can eat you. I've see some large ones in small ponds and they will eat large bass. I had one destroy a fish basket with brim in it once. A guy put out a trout line baited for it and got it. You could do the same and help those ponds.


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## NCHillbilly (Mar 14, 2011)

Snappers or big softshells in a small pond can do some damage, but probably don't make a lot of difference in a bigger pond, they would probably be beneficial in a bigger pond by keeping the bream and crappie from overpopulating and getting stunted. Bass and turtles have been living together a lot longer than we've been here. A small pond is a different story. I've seen small trout ponds here in the mountains about cleaned out in a short time by a couple big snappers. I doubt if you have box turtles in the pond, they usually live on land, not in the water. Those are probably sliders, cooters, or mud turtles. I doubt if they'll hurt anything.


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## trickworm (Mar 14, 2011)

probably in a soup but not in a tank


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## edinbowen (Mar 17, 2011)

Bob Lusk, a fisheries expert and founder of triple w dot pondboss dot com will tell you that any fish that gets eaten by a turtle deserved it. I don't think turtles impact the fish biomass of a pond or lake to any degree worth worrying about. I have a number of turtles in my 3 ponds and enjoy them for adding diversity. Plus, they are funny to watch around feeding time.

The suggestion regarding killing them is wrong unless you plan on eating them, which would require a trap and not a rifle. Killing turtles will add rotting meat to the bottom of the pond and if you take out all the turtles, you'll have no scavengers to clean up the mess (unless you have some monster cats that don't mind a crunchy snack).


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