So... I think it is illegal to mess with another persons "Set Lines/Limb Lines." My wife and I went fishing this past Tuesday and came across an enormous snapping turtle hooked on one and it was tangled up in some brush where it could barely stretch its head to the surface to breath. When it did, the hook would literally pull its mouth open as it stretched for the surface. Nothing deserves to suffer like that... so I cut the line as close to the turtles mouth as possible and untangled him from the limbs. I don't think what I did is completely legal but I just couldn't stand it. Getting soft in my old age... Right or wrong.
Almost every set of limb lines I run across aren't marked with the person contact info. Or they have them somewhere where they shouldn't. That and if they are running lines they should be checking them daily. I would have had no problem turning the turtle loose either way as limb lines aren't typically for catching turtles.
I sometimes set them myself and usually check them every 3-4 hours. In winter, I may set them in the afternoon and check them the next morning at daylight. I remove them when I am finished. Personal info is not required here.
No... Most people never remove them when they are finished. Bass fishing can be a pain sometimes around here because people leave them hanging, leave jug lines all over the place or leave unused trotlines. This is not the first time I have found something like this.
You're right that nothing needs to suffer like that, but I'm not so sure about letting snapping turtles live. I hate them. I've known a couple of formerly good fishing holes get completely overrun by snappers. Last time I went to one of them we hooked more turtles than fish. Plus, snappers on the shore line+kids = trouble.
With what you're going through right now Muzzy ... anything suffering would have your full attention. You did right man!
A lot of people feel that no deer "deserves to suffer like that" when it comes to bowhunting. Will you be okay with some of them cutting down your treestand? Blocking you from recovering your deer? What would you do if you came upon a coyote in a trap? Do turtles on trotlines suffer more than fish?
I'd KILL that som'*****... in a New York heartbeat! pssst... I do understand where you're coming from though Christine
I am not sure but last I checked, fish don't drown. Coyote in a legal leg hold or loop trap... Legally, I guess I'd have to leave it alone though I would probably check back in 24 hours to make sure it had been removed. If not I'd probably kill it and leave it there. If it was hanging and suffocating, or had an obvious broken leg, I'd definitely kill it I get your point about people's feelings about deer. Ethical dilemma for me, big time and I even like turtle soup.
Gar drown. Guys that catch them on hooks often just snap the gar's jaw off. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
Fish suffocate to death when you put them on ice don't they? As for gar. Man I had one that kept biting my bait but it wouldn't catch. I hears you have to make a noose or something
Legally here they have 48 hours to check their traps unless they recently changed that law. I never did like that and always checked mine every day. I have had deer hunters shot fox in my traps. I don't care if they felt sorry for it or not. I would turn you in if I caught you and I didn't know who you are. If I know who you are... you would be paying me for the fox or I would turn you in. Every fox that was shot was destroyed with the fur being ruined. They real kicker was when I was checking traps one morning. A group of deer hunters were walking some land. I had a trap set on the adjoining land right by the boundary and I had permission for that land also. I didn't want to wreck their hunt so I didn't check that set and went to check other traps. I came back after they left which was about an hour later. My kindness was rewarded with them stealing my trap and the fox that had been in it. They didn't have permission to be on the land the trap was set. That one still makes my blood boil to this day !!! I will not mess with anyone else's things. I don't like people messing with mine. It does suck that there are a lot of slobs that don't do it right. While I can understand why you did it... I wouldn't have. If I knew that they weren't checking their lines or traps during the legal time allowed... I would report it to the warden. Tim
fish absolutely can drown. Many fish need to keep moving to keep water flowing over their gills. But as Nirvana said, "it's OK to eat fish, cuz they don't have any feelings." Like I said, I hate to see any creature needlessly suffer. That doesn't mean I'd have set that turtle free. Their are other options available.
