Turtle question??

[32drawlength]

Good, bad, or just ugly?

So my FIL has been catching these turtles from our neighborhood pond. He caught 2 yesterday & another 5-6 today using chicken on a bare hook.

So my question is, are these turtles bad for a 2 acre pond as far as eating up the minnows/sunfish/bass?

Should we catch & kill them?

TIA

[32drawlength]

[Razrbk89]

Soft shells are pretty decent to eat. Not sure about how they are on fish.

[Bowhuntamistad]

You should catch and cook them.

[hog_down]

I don't think softshells eat fish, but I could be wrong.

[32drawlength]

We definitely thought about cooking one up

I’ll bet he’d catch some & we could give them to anyone interested

[Drycreek3189]

Don't know about softshells, never ate one, but snapping turtles are very good to eat. They're a little stinky to dress though, especially the big ones. I would say if you had a bunch of turtles in a small pond, you might want to take some of them out, but I can't see them hurting your fish population much.

[Kmart49]

I can’t imagine the soft shells posing a threat to your fish but I’m in for a more informed answer.

[txhunter90]

Google Says:

Spiny softshell turtles are mainly carnivorous, and they eat any aquatic life small enough to capture. They can eat crayfish, insects, fish, and even aquatic plants. They either search for food actively or bury themselves in the sand, mud, or gravel, waiting for unsuspecting prey to swim by.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzxFwBoSAW8"]My Softshell turtle eating fish. read description before commenting - YouTube[/ame]

I guess if there were a bunch, they could do some damage.

[LWC]

Used to catch quite a few softshells on live and cut bait.....running trotlines. So they definitely eat fish. Don't know how many they eat, but if you have several I'd be trying to thin their numbers.

[wytex]

They are great to eat, fried or a soup. Probably good many other ways too.

[CEO]

Not sure on the table fare but I was listening to the Pond Boss podcast not long ago and someone asked him about turtles eating fish. He said any fish that gets caught and ate by a turtle deserves it.

[Man]

I don't believe they are as bad on fish population as I was told they were growing up. I think it was an excuse to make you feel better for wanting to shoot them for nothing. All turtles get a pass from me.
Softshell and alligator turtles are good eating.

[okrattler]

I've ate a snapping turtle. I've heard softshells are better. I don't know but you have the opportunity to try one. I would.

[Artos]

I've always heard they are hard on your tanks if you are wanting to keep the eco system set up for your bass catching...I know they can take them over!!