crabing/turtles id?
 

Hit the barnagat for some crabs this morning with the uncle due to a lovely day of weather. Looked around a couple of my land spots and found a bunch of no ttrespassing signs witch of course didnt please me! Finally ended up at a early season bass spots. Set up shop 6 trap and 8 handlines and right from the get gohand lines were taking off about 9am we had a half bushel traps were catching 6 and 7 at a time with a keeper mixed in. Then the ultimate watching the traps line go pulling down the beach my uncle dives on it i thought blue fish but as he pulls it up we see this turtle. Only him! Now i was wondering a)what kind of turtle? Im prety sure a snapper but is it common for barnagat? I know weve caught them up here in the Raritan but there no real creeks in the area down there

Re: crabing/turtles id?
 

Would need picture but could be either a snapping and or more likely diamond back terrapin.

Re: crabing/turtles id?
 

Re: crabing/turtles id?
 

B

Re: crabing/turtles id?
 

Definite diamond back.

Re: crabing/turtles id?
 

Inquiring minds want to know- those markings should be a dead giveaway , but I don't recognize it as any common nj turtle- would love to know, my only guess it's one unusually clean and marked common snapper

Re: crabing/turtles id?
 

Diamond Back Terrapin x2

Re: crabing/turtles id?
 

I was going to say diamond back but I don't see the layering on the shell, the head and skin really look like one but I never saw a shell like that... Maybe the pic...- crab and tortoise soup?

Re: crabing/turtles id?
 

Go over to the south side of island beach state park, near the restricted area and you can see all that you want ( see their head out of water that is- we kayak around and they are everywhere)
Some good studies have been done on them by the kids at MATES

Re: crabing/turtles id?
 

Thanks guys! The shell was super smooth and the under side was a extremely clean white couldn't get a pict didn't realy wana mess around to much with him he wasnt the most patient turtle.

Re: crabing/turtles id?
 

Hey Kmaty, When I was a kid growing up on LBI, we used to help those terrapins across the main boulevard in their quest to get from the ocean to Barnegat Bay. They were always in a hurry to get there, but got turned around after we picked them up, and often wanted to go back into the street. Now days behind my house at a brackish feeder creek into the Manasquan, the snapper turtle comes for the killie trap. He can crush it with his strong jaws, but wants to drag it out of the water first, so they don't swim away. One of these bad boys is as big as a cocktail table, and loves baby swans and ducks, also. I always have a watchful eye when the labs go swimming. If he goes near the dogs, he's soup!

Re: crabing/turtles id?
 

I thought by definition, all turtles are patient ?? :D

Re: crabing/turtles id?
 

It is really smooth for a diamond back. Not sure if that is uncommon. But the spotted skin and head shape is dead give away. And if it was a snapper it would be hanging off that guys toe in that picture lol.