Ever Been "Turtled"...???

[fishnNauru]

So guys get sharked and Dolphined...well I got "turtled" this morning

So me and the boy were trolling this morning with a red fire-tiger Halco Max lipless rattletrap(160g) and hooked up on what I thought was a good fish, only to find out it was a turtle!? (green sea turtle at a guess) I saw it as it got closer to the boat, and had hopes of getting my lure back, but he eventully busted me off on 30lb mono.
I don't think I had him hooked in the mouth(but never got him close enough to see), and i'm guessing I had him foul hooked in the flipper or something he was sure hard to move in the water.
So has anyone ever had that happen to them?
Do turtles hit lures or is it more of a wrong place at the wrong time for the poor shelled fellow???
Curious to see what u guys think, or if any turtle biologists know if Halcos are part of the normal turtle dietary intake

[Pistol_P]

Not a real good topic to open for discussion.

If people are talking about hooking Turtles etc ..... We open the door on an open forum for 'Greenie' type groups to read and have access to topics that are damaging for us all.

We really need to think about what we post these days.

Pete

[frankgrimes]

Agree 100% with what Pete has said - Think before you post....Arent just other keen fishos who read these forums.

Mick

[Scott nthQld]

fact of the matter is, when we go fishing, we are in their environment. Eventually, things like this will happen. Just the same those same greenie types could be out boating doing 'research' and hit a turtle with their boat. It happens, the best we can do is try and retrieve as much line as possible so as to reduce the chances of entanglement.

Remember with the amount of people on the water whether fising or whatever, something we don't want to happen will happen, it's not like we go out with the intention of catching turtles or whatever. It's more common than people think, I've done it myself, but only a smaller model, so i was able to pull it in and remove the lure before letting it go.

It's not preventable, anywhere we fish or go we will always be encountering protected animals, you just can't avoid them, its all about reducing the risk of further damage, and i think its something everyone who uses the water should know, regardless of what the 'greenies' might think

[finga]

I don't think it should not be mentioned and in fact if we discuss ways to release the turtle in a way that alleviates pain and suffering on the turtles behalf then it should be discussed.
We all know how to release fish but how about a turtle?

We 'caught' a turtle one day at the Bream hole at Evans. It was hooked in a flipper.
We simply pulled the turtle in as much as we could (about 2m) cut the line as close to the flipper as possible (about 30-40 of line left) and released it.
Is this right? Please tell if it is not. That way I will know for the future and so will other people.

It seemed none the worse for wear as it hung around a while and ate some fresh bait we threw at it.

[Scott nthQld]

Finga, i deally you want to remove the offending peice of fishing tackle completely, obviously though this will be very difficult to do on larger models. Try not to put too much pressure on the turtle as this will just imbed the hook further, or cause line cuts is they are tangled. Use the boat to chase if possible, the turtle will try and run from it, and if it does so, don't try and chase it too long, or you'll tire it out. if the animal is too big, just try and get back as much line as possible and cut it off. Without tension, the hook should come out in a few hours.

[TimiBoy]

I'm glad the discussion can take place - the last thing I want to do is hide from a bloody Greenie, but yes, we do need to be sensitive!

I've been turtled, but only in the following manner - the little buggers seem to like taking your liveys while trolling. I've found them too smart to get hooked, as I've never hooked one, but had quite a few baits nicked. Knew it was turtles 'cause sometimes the whole bait comes back but it's been "beaked".

I've also waited next to a sick turtle for Parks and Wildlife to turn up - for quite some time, I might add.

Cheers,

Tim

[fishnNauru]

Hey Guys,
Thanks for the feedback. I reckon u guys are right on, I'm not going to not discuss a topic just because the greenies may get their nickers in a twist. None of us ever wants to target a turtle, but I reckon its a good idea to know what to do when/if we hook one.
The one this morning really didn't like getting near the boat at all, so I reckon it would be tough to get a hook out unless you're fishing with heavy tackle.
Top effort finga in feeding the poor fella you hooked, you may have encouraged him to get hooked again if he gets a free feed Just kidding.
They say the hooks in fish mouths rust out pretty quick, i'd assume it would be the same for a hook in a flipper right?
Thanks for the input and a profitable discussion i rekon. May all shelled creatures live long a prosper

[SunnyCoastMark]

I have caught a couple of turtles while fishing for Macks around the gneerings. It seems they like floats - particularly green and or orange ones?

In both cases the turtles appeared to be trying to make a meal of the float and got caught up in the hooks.

Both were released in good shape - I chose to cut the eyes off the hooks and pull them through, rather than leave them in.

I must say though that that is two turtles in 25 years of fishing in Qld.

Mark

[no chicken tonight]

Why dont you mention where you caught it. Then we'll see how long it takes before that area gets marked for a green zone!

[NAGG]

I got turtled last week up at Curtis Island .
Sadly - I just put on one of my favorite lures & most expensive ones (cherry blood) I said to my deckie that I was nervous chucking this lure into a gnarly rock bar because I only had a couple ......... well on about the 5th cast I was on Now the last thing I was thinking was a turtle ....as it swam in bursts accross the creek & their was the occassional rattle - so I'm thinking "big jew" anyhow we've thrown the anchor & chassed this thing for about 2 or 3 mins before it popped its head up ....... wearing my bright red cherry blood in its flipper -- DUDE! we got close but it would do the bolt - then eventually the leader knot broke . Bugger!

Chris

[littlejim]

My only experience was on one of those 'island' tours from Shute harbour. I took a small boat rod and some bait. On about the fourth island we visited I sat on the wharf while all the others went look-seeing.
Just before they came back something big grabbed my bait and bent the rod to near busting point.
Then the people I'd been on the boat with for several hours started asking me if I fished there often (??); as the turtle surfaced a few said 'isn't it cruel' just as the turkle opened its gob and the bait and sinker went into orbit somewhere way above the wharf.