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WAPAKONETA DAILY NEWS (Ohio) 16 August 03 Wapak man finds turtle hunting a snap (Tristan Crowe)
Unbeknownst to some, large snapping turtles populate area ponds, rivers and streams, a Wapakoneta turtle trapper says.
Bill Bellman of 11856 Wapak-Buckland Road is aware of this fact having grown up near Grand Lake St. Marys and having learned how to trap the amphibians that sometimes can weigh more than 40 pounds.
"I used to go out and hunt for turtles by sticking my hand inside a muskrat hole," Bellman said. "If a turtle is inside, he has his back towards me, so I can reach in and grab the tail. I also used to go around looking for ponds or tree-lined areas where turtles like to live."
Today, Bellman said hunting for turtles has become more sophisticated, using steel wire traps, purchasing the necessary fishing license and hunting for turtles. The license is valid from June 1 until Aug. 31.
"The large steel wire trap has a 4-by-4 (foot) opening that's large enough for the turtles to crawl inside," Bellman said. "I place spear carp inside for bait and place the trap in the river or lake. The flow of the water carries the scent of the bait toward the turtles, and they crawl into the traps to get the bait.
"I'm also required to leave my name, license number and address on all my traps, but that's about it for the requirements in hunting snapping turtles," Bellman added.
Reasons for his trapping the snapping turtles is not just for sport, Bellman said, but to fulfill orders for area restaurants that use the turtle meat for soup.
"I enjoy going out there and setting the traps, but I don't make this my full-time job since I work second shift at Ford in Lima," Bellman said. "I consider myself an environmentalist, I only take what I need. If I catch turtles that are too small, I release them since they will be a future catch."
Once caught, Bellman said he begins the cleaning phase, depositing the turtles inside large metal drums filled with water, allowing them to sit for five days for internal cleansing.
"It usually takes about five days for the turtles to process out anything they consumed," Bellman said. "Once they're cleaned out, I grab them by the tail and club them on the head."
Bellman then cleans the turtles. As the skin is removed from the shell, Bellman processes the meat, immediately storing it for future sale to several area restaurants requesting his product.
"I also have quite a few shells that I've collected since I started hunting, " Bellman said. "I thought about selling the shells online but I have to contact Dave Sheets to see if that would be legal. Usually I give the shells away to kids and give them to people that use them to make dream-catchers.
"If I were to sell them, I would ask around $30 to $40," Bellman said.
Auglaize County Wildlife Officer Dave Sheets said selling shells online does have a few stipulations.
"The state prohibits the sale of wild game or animals online but allows the sale of finished products to be sold," Sheets said. "I know there are products out there like clocks made from turtle shells that are sold online, which is legal."
When asked about turtle hunting, Sheets replied, "I recommend turtle trapping for every landowner living near ponds or water to keep the population under control."
Bellman does his part as he makes his frequent treks to Grand Lake St. Marys and select locations along the Auglaize River to obtain his prize catch - snapping turtle.
At present, Bellman said he's trapped 1,000 turtles this year.
"Turtles are a dying delicacy," Bellman said. "Catching them is not all that difficult, but there just aren't that many hunters out there.
"There are some risks to turtle trapping, since I did catch a soft shell-leather back turtle one time," he added, "and they can rotate their longer neck around and actually bite."
However, snapping turtle meat remains in demand as Bellman sells his product for approximately $5 a pound.
"I sell the meat to some area bars that serve turtle soup," Bellman said. "I sell to the Alpha Bar in town and the Kettlersville (K-Village) Inn in Kettlersville.
"Turtle soup is more like chili in texture. I couldn't use a leatherback turtle because their meat has more of a fishy taste."
For the past two years, Alpha bar owner Carolyn Steinke has purchased Bellman's turtle meat for use in her soup, which is considered a local favorite.
"I started serving turtle soup around Lent on Fridays, then I added it to the menu because people seem to enjoy it," Steinke said. "Most places offer mock turtle soup, but we make it original here. The meat is all lean and comes frozen, and it tastes really good in soup or even fried."
Wapak man finds turtle hunting a snap

Amphibians....heh. Just shows the ignorance of these people.

I wish he would catch a big 90lb snapper and it bited off his reproductive organs. He keeps the population undercontrol? when was it out of control. Snapper pop. can't realy gte out of control. People like this makes me sick!!
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Justin

Thats what bothered me the most too! Keeps the population under control..... And that he says anyone living near water should help to keep it under control. Using them for food is one thing but the way he views it bothers me. Even the food thing doesn't work for me. About a week or two ago I caught a really big snapper. I saw him in the same area for the next 3 or 4 nights. The next night I went I didn't see him and I saw someone fishing in that same area. I know chances are he just wasn't there, and it is legal to catch them, but it worries me to know he could have been caught. I was really to starting get attached to him, after catching him and seeing how big and strong and impressive he was, probably ruling that area for a long time, to think he could get dragged from the water and clubbed to death is upsetting.

Clubbing a common snapper in the head to kill it bothers me. Snappers can take quite a beating, Ive seen some that have been clubbed survive for days. He really needs to find a more effective way to kill the turtles. I of course am against commercialization of any wildlife, which is what this guy is doing. The state needs to update their creel and possession limits. I think if anyone wants to eat wild snapping turtle, they should have to catch it themselves.
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In my opinion it should be illegal to kill any turtles and eat them. I wish that if you did you would go to prison for 10 years and face a fine of $200,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. Those dumb hicks don't make hat much money killing turtles. My grandpa is like that to. He even used to eat oppossums. i'm the only person in my family that has respect/care/compassion for wildlife.
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Justin

I have no problem with people eating what they catch, I just dont support the commercialization of wildlife. And if the Ohio DNR had any brains, they would realize they would make more money off of licenses if everyone had to catch their own. Also, it wouldnt hurt for people to have to venture into the outdoors occasionally.
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