I didn't get a picture of this thing, but thought I would post it here anyway. I was fishing with Jimmy Everett earlier this week and we saw something very big in the water. I thought it was an old piece of furniture or something and we went on by without stopping to look. After a few minutes, we decided to go back and take a closer look. After poking the thing with a push pole, it started to move! As it turns out, it was an alligator snapping turtle. No joking, it was between two and three feet across and its head was as big as a man's arm. It must have weighed 150+ pounds. It's tail was about a foot long and it had three ridges down the back of its shell. I have never seen one before, but after looking it up on the internet, that it definitely what it was. The site I read said that they are the largest fresh water turtles in the world and they can live a LONG time and grow to 200+ pounds. It was really something to see.

Has anyone else seen one this large?
Ron

I have seen huge alligator snapping turtles on 2 different occassions on Fork. The first time we were in the very back of Wolf Creek with guide Brian Duplechain. Brian grew up in the swamps of Louisianna and this was the largest he had ever seen. This turtle would have filled up the entire back deck of his 21ft. Nitro CDC. I have also seen one of similar size in the back of Birch Creek. A friend of mine saw the same turtle about 6 times this past summer on the same small flat. These turtles are very dangerous if you get your hand near their mouth. They are quite a site to see if you have never seen them before.

I actually saw a very large one on the practice green at Tour 18 golf course near Dallas. It apparently came up out of the pond at night.

It took several very nervous maintenance workers with shovels to prod it back down to the pond.

I'm happy to say no golfers were harmed...

I saw a huge one last saturday at fork too in the back of Little Caney. Guess not only do the bass get huge at fork, the turtles do too

That is jacked up, I was like SWEET Id like to see that....

You should start a Shar-A-Turtle-Lunker program! You could have had the first entry.

So did you catch any fish with Jimmy Everett? I am going out with him next week and it will be my first time on Fork. I hope he can put us on the big fish!

This was my second time to fish with Jimmy - and hopefully not the last. Yes we did catch fish. Jimmy is a nice guy and very helpful. He will put you on the fish.

Years ago when i was a kid, you know, those prehistoric times, I used to regularly see a MONSTER alligator snapping turtle in a slough off the Trinity, where Simpson Stuart Rd ends, in south east oak cliff.

It was in the hundred pound range, and it was hard to miss! That slough used to be full of chunky bass and some LARGE crappie, but the big attraction for us back then was the swamp rabbit and cottontails! We used to come out of those bottoms with tow sacks full of rabbits!

But they are indeed quite a sight to see in their own environment. Awesome.

Rudy

I have never seen an alligator snapping turtle on Fork, but I have seen some MONSTER loggerheads.

Monday must have been the day for turtles. While fishing with Jeff Kirkwood we saw one walking the shore line and it slipped into the lake. My guess is that it was 30 pounds. Big enough to hurt you if it grabbed you.

BassFan

if i am not mistaken, a laggerhead and snapping turtle are one in the same. FYI

There is a big one at Lake Athens. I have not seen a big one on Fork but from what you describe it is one of the biggest in the area.
The one on Athens is maybe 80-100 pounds.

These are very old and very special animals. The big turtles live a long time and maybe 100+ years. Some people think that they may live several hundred years.

I heard stories of an old turtle that was caught that had a stone arrowhead inbedded in its shell.

Txstr

We hooked a regular snapper on Fork once. They get big, but don't have the dinosaur like ridges on the shell.

I set the hook on something and thought it was a log until it moved. It had to be around 50-60lbs and was actually pulling our bassbuster..lol


I saw two alligator snappers in Grand prairie behind the soccer fields. Both were dead with gunshots and stab wounds.
They were bigger than me at the time. I was 14 at the time. They looked like tenage mutant ninja turtles they were so big.
I can only imagine how old they were.
I heard a rumor that one was caught a few yeras ago in Louisiana that had civil war era muscket balls embedded in it's shell.

Me and my son and daughter just caught one the size od a 14" tire on friday at the pond we fish at.It was the scariest thing ever.I tried to remove the hook,but could not get close to it.had to cut the string as close to the hook as possible.