My personal best growing up was a 35lb. beast I caught right under a small waterfall on a creek back in Iowa growing up. We used to catch a lot of spiney softhshells also, with females being close to 18" across and somewhere probably 6-10lbs. I don't target turtles anymore, unless just for fun to show a big snapper to my kids, but we used to do a number to them back in the day.
i quit messin with snappers when a buddy of mine got one in and it latched onto my shoe and wouldnt let go! it missed my toe and had me draggin him till he let go. NOPE DONT DO SNAPPERS NO MORE.
My second wife got a 25 pounder in a gravel pit near Correctionville Iowa back in 1991 we weighed it at Fisherman's Haven in Sioux City then had a fish fry and ate him. We learned that turtle ain't good fried fresh it has to be cooked slower.
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