By Duane Bailey

Ugly, ill-tempered but good eating. That, in a “tortoise shell,” is the description of the well-known snapping turtle. The looks of a snapper certainly belies its eating qualities. Turtle meat is white and delicious and resembles, somewhat, the breast of chicken. Old-timers will tell you there are seven different flavors of meat in a turtle.

There are several different ways of taking turtles. The old-timers also say “noodling” is the best. The “noodler” works along a stream and runs his arm into muskrat holes and root tangles. When he locates a snapper, he merely pulls it out by the tail.

A similar, but far safer, method involves the use of bank lines. Bank lines are most successful on long river and creek banks and are particularly effective during the summer.