For many years, people have sought after the elusive snapping turtle. The most common practices for catching snappers are line and jug setting, prodding, setting cages and traps, and picking them off the roadside in early spring. These amateur methods should not be mistaken for the true art of turtle hunting.

True turtle hunting can most generally be described as wading through slow moving creeks and waterways searching for tree roots, washed out bank, log jams, and brush piles where a turtle may be resting between his nightly feeding activities. Once these areas are found, a turtle hunter will move in for the assault by reaching under the bank, into the tree roots, and through the brush piles with bare hands searching for the 'ever so rewarding' feel of a turtle shell; sometimes a leg, tail, or even a head. Once the turtle is located, it is pinned to the ground until its positioning is determined. It is then pulled from the unforgiving muck and placed into the turtle bag to await its new home.

Turtle hunters are a dying breed. There are only a select few fearless souls that would honorably risk his or her well-being for one touch of the vicious snapping turtle and the adrenaline rush unmatched by any other outdoor activity. Only true turtle hunters can appreciate the experience of conquering the common snapping turtle in hand to hand combat.