MyFishFinder Forum
MFF US Northeast => Massachusetts => Topic started by: Fishermantim on Sep 16, 2020, 10:06 AM
-
I was fishing a local river (well, local by my standards) on Saturday and after a really fun day of fighting monster pickerel and some dink bass, I was paddling down river and saw something surface about 20-30 feet in front of me.
Now I know what swims in this river: Bass, pickerel, pike, carp, snapping turtles, beavers, muskrats and (heard about but not seen) otters.
Whatever this creature was, it was big, REAL BIG. It breached the surface, looking like when a whale or dolphin comes up for a breath of air, but only there was no showing of head or limbs. All that showed was a shiny dark gray object that moved like when a whale/dolphin does.
My only conclusion was a huge snapping turtle. Seeing that it's a muddy-bottom river, it's shell would be covered in mud which would account for the color.
What really impressed me was the size.
Based on my POV, the top shell I saw (from front to back) would have had to be somewhere around 3-4 feet long. The closest size comparison would be like a loggerhead turtle.
I mean, most adults could have ridden this thing!
I laugh now because when I'm kayak fishing this particular stretch of river I have turtles rise up to check out what I am constantly, and some of them are big ones too!
Am I worried? No, because they are curious, not aggressive and I have no desire to screw with them anyway.
Hope you all have had the chance to get out and have your own outdoor adventures!
-
Turtle or...
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5e/Hoaxed_photo_of_the_Loch_Ness_monster.jpg)
-
Or, if you were on Lake Champlain, it might have been "Champ."
-
I saw a snapping turtle of similar size in the main body of Wachusett reservoir once. Had to be 3-4 feet across and covered in moss and algae. Very cool animals. And can get very big with a good food source
-
3 to 4 feet... 8)
I agree with Jethro.... ;D
The common snapping turtle is a large turtle, ranging in size from 8 to 14 in (20-36 cm) with a record length of 19.3 in (49 cm). Their average weights range from 10 to 35 lbs (4.5 - 16 kg), with a record of 75 lbs (34 kg). Their color varies from tan to dark brown to almost black in some specimens. Common snapping turtles have long tails and necks and rough shells with three rows of carapace keels.
45-pound monster breaks old record by 13 pounds
PRATT -- On Oct. 6, two Haven men caught a new Kansas state record snapping turtle on the Arkansas river near their home town. The monster weighed 45 pounds and was 16 inches long. The previous largest Kansas common snapper was caught by Ian and John Bork on April 23, 1992, in Barton County. That specimen weighed 32 pounds. The world record for this species (Chelydra serpentina) is 86 pounds, 19 ½ inches.
-
Does this river run down to the ocean? Maybe a Sturgeon.
-
Does this river run down to the ocean? Maybe a Sturgeon.
Or a seal?
-
back in the 70s my friend and I caught a snapper out of a pond in Charlton while fishing in a canoe. put in an old galvanized tub and it weighed 48 lbs. big one for sure.
-
Or, if you were on Lake Champlain, it might have been "Champ."
I've been looking....all I find is lakers!
-
Or a seal?
Oddly enough that's (or a whale) was what it looked like when it surfaced. It didn't rise up like turtles do, but rather "porpoised" without showing head or limbs.
The surface was smooth, not anything like a snapping turtle shell.
If it was a turtle, but not a snapping turtle, it was a huge painted/box/bog turtle.
The river may reach the ocean, but sturgeons can't make it up, as could stripers, bull sharks or any ocean creature that can survive in fresh water.
I know there are some mammalian creatures that inhabit this river, but again it was too big to be a beaver, muskrat or otter.
Here's the dimensions , as best as I could gauge from where I was sitting: It would be roughly 24-30" wide and 3-4' long (front to back).
I WILL be back again to fish that river, but I won't be playing Ahab looking for the white whale.
-
Oddly enough that's (or a whale) was what it looked like when it surfaced. It didn't rise up like turtles do, but rather "porpoised" without showing head or limbs.
The surface was smooth, not anything like a snapping turtle shell.
If it was a turtle, but not a snapping turtle, it was a huge painted/box/bog turtle.
The river may reach the ocean, but sturgeons can't make it up, as could stripers, bull sharks or any ocean creature that can survive in fresh water.
I know there are some mammalian creatures that inhabit this river, but again it was too big to be a beaver, muskrat or otter.
Here's the dimensions , as best as I could gauge from where I was sitting: It would be roughly 24-30" wide and 3-4' long (front to back).
I WILL be back again to fish that river, but I won't be playing Ahab looking for the white whale.
There was a sturgeon caught in the CT river above the Turner falls dam and just below the Vernon Dam in Vermont back in 2017. How did it get above the Turner falls dam?
I've seen them before on the Merrimack River up to the Lawrence Dam. Could small ones have gotten above the Dam? Years ago they were even in the Concord river. A female can live up to 150 years. That is exceptional.
-
Reefer is legal in Mass right? ;D
Sorry could't resist! ;)
-
I once saw a beaver that was an easy 90+ lbs (Quabbin). I saw it out of the water and back then I was helping a trapper skin them so I had sizing down pretty good. Just a thought that it might be some rare overgrown specimen... Huge otter or the like. Just a thought.
-
I once saw a beaver that was an easy 90+ lbs (Quabbin). I saw it out of the water and back then I was helping a trapper skin them so I had sizing down pretty good. Just a thought that it might be some rare overgrown specimen... Huge otter or the like. Just a thought.
I've had beavers that were an easy 70 pounds in my freezer.
-
school of carp or other school pushing water like bluefin do maybe
Sad we will never really know- Need Leonard Nimoy to do "In Search Of"
-
Perhaps it was my ten year old eyes, but I saw a snapping turtle in Maine as kid that was close to 3’ long. It’s head was sticking out of the water around a bunch of floating islands. My dad and I assumed it was a log, casted from our bass boat, and the log stuck it’s head under water..... it head was the size of a dinner plate, that much I’m sure of.
It swam under the boat in 5’ of water and was massive. I wouldn’t go swimming for the rest of vacation, lol.
-
I've seen some huge turtles in my days. Some that would scare many who didn't know how big they can get.
Keep in mind that the reason you don't see many HUGE snappers is because they are reclusive, slow moving and depending on where they live, they haven't been hunted (yet).
Like carp, given an unlimited food supply and little/no fishing/hunting pressure, they WILL grow to amazing size.
This same waterway contains numerous carp well above the 20lb range. I've seen enough jumping out of the water to know they are monsters.
Unfortunately the only way to really target them is from a watercraft. (River has almost no shore access for fishing, so no pressure.
I'm thinking of hitting the river again tomorrow, as the cooler temps should spur the fish to feed more.
-
Reefer is legal in Mass right? ;D
Sorry could't resist! ;)
;D ;D Wise guy. It was caught in Vermont. I don't know if it's legal there.
-
I've seen some huge turtles in my days. Some that would scare many who didn't know how big they can get.
Keep in mind that the reason you don't see many HUGE snappers is because they are reclusive, slow moving and depending on where they live, they haven't been hunted (yet).
Like carp, given an unlimited food supply and little/no fishing/hunting pressure, they WILL grow to amazing size.
This same waterway contains numerous carp well above the 20lb range. I've seen enough jumping out of the water to know they are monsters.
Unfortunately the only way to really target them is from a watercraft. (River has almost no shore access for fishing, so no pressure.
I'm thinking of hitting the river again tomorrow, as the cooler temps should spur the fish to feed more.
Bring a harpoon with you. ;D ;D ;D ;D
-
I've had beavers that were an easy 70 pounds in my freezer.
Which suggests you've eaten beaver.
What does it taste like?
And do you have any recipes to share?
-
Which suggests you've eaten beaver.
What does it taste like?
And do you have any recipes to share?
Actually no. I'm a taxidermist.
-
Actually no. I'm a taxidermist.
Ah, got it. I knew you were a taxidermist (hence your username), but the "freezer" reference made me think of food rather than specimens.
Although, I have to say, I've never heard of anyone having a beaver "mounted" before.
-
Ah, got it. I knew you were a taxidermist (hence your username), but the "freezer" reference made me think of food rather than specimens.
Although, I have to say, I've never heard of anyone having a beaver "mounted" before.
I mount and eat beaver all the time. ;D
-
Ah, got it. I knew you were a taxidermist (hence your username), but the "freezer" reference made me think of food rather than specimens.
Although, I have to say, I've never heard of anyone having a beaver "mounted" before.
Not that uncommon for the taxidermists that do mammal mounts and beaver are common. I'm pretty much a fish guy although I used to do game heads. I ended up giving them to a fur house as I never got to them (they were given to me) and they took up a lot of freezer space.
Here's a pic of a mount I pulled off the Internet. Courtesy of All American Taxidermy Northern Illinois
(https://i.imgur.com/sBsZjeRm.jpg)
-
I mount and eat beaver all the time. ;D
I should have posted "wait for it." :rotflol:
-
Taxid:
I'm curious.
You say (and I believe you) that you've plenty of customers who've paid to have their beavers mounted.
Aren't most beavers "harvested" (if that's the right word) by trapping (as opposed to shooting them)?
It just seems odd to me to mount something you've trapped.
I "get" the idea of mounting a big buck that you've shot - - it's a trophy. "Here's my 20 point buck . . . I stocked it for 2 hours, etc."
But trapping always seemed a more utilitarian pursuit - - you're doing it to harvest the pelt (or get rid of vermin).
What do you say about the mount of a beaver you've trapped? - - "I set my trap on Monday and went back on Friday, and here's the beaver I caught?"
The only time I've seen something like a beaver mounted has been in a museum - - The "private" mounts I've seen have been of animals with "sex appeal" like deer, bear, bob cats, coyotes, etc.
Again, I'm not trying to be a wise guy, just honestly curious, WHY do your customers have their beavers mounted?
(And, yes, I did realize I was "setting myself up" with remarks from the peanut gallery by using expressions like "eating beaver" and "mounting" - - but I couldn't think of any "politically correct" way to ask the same thing without using those "dirty words" LOL)
-
Bigtrotter,
I think some people have them mounted for the novelty or just to have one mounted on display. I've mounted so many fish for people their house must look like a museum!
-
I was fishing the same river last week and saw what I believe was proof that my mystery creature was a huge turtle.
Saw 2 real big snapping turtles fighting in shallow water and when one rolled over at the surface it was the same basic shape as the "monster" that I had seen weeks ago.
Not as big, but the same shape and color.
Now on to more interesting "sightings"...This is no mystery. The Sudbury River does have river otters!
I've fished this river for well over 10+ years, and the only critters I've seen were a beaver or muskrat. Scarce at first, but increasing in numbers and sightings.
Now there is a new critter in the region.
Add that to the list of increasing wildlife that is moving back to our waterways (eagles have been back for a couple of years) and the outdoors are getting more and more interesting!
-
Otters are really cool animals but I hope I never see one in my fish production ponds. They can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time and can come in during the night. Just like us they kill fish for fun too.
-
Yeah, I know they are fish killing machines.
Fortunately this river has a LOT of meal sized fish to pick from!
A fellow angler showed me a pic he took of a 3-4 lb. bass that something hit and took a chunk out of while he was fighting it.
The only 2 possible culprits in this river with the "personality" and ability to do so would be either a big pike or an otter.