Whitesbog frogging

[turtle]

Today Gloria and I headed up to Whitesbog to meet Tom. The purpose of our trip was to spend some time listening for frogs and exploring an unfamiliar area. Here are some pics of the day.

In the barrel house.....

Distubingly, we came across a turtle trap filled with 15 or so red-bellied turtles and a snake. We emptied the trap and rescued what Gloria determined was a Fowlers toad tadpole, returning it to the open pond. Unfortunately the rest were goners. There was no tag on the trap, but I will notify someone tomorrow in F&W about it's existence. It was apparently only big enough to hold smaller turtles, not snappers. Are traps of this size common? Would folks using these be collecting turtles to sell? $@*&%

Otherwise-
What a great day to be out. Friends... food... a chauffer who does double duty as a bog-stomper .... Bob, we thought of you when we found the old Pabst can..... frog chorus....

Oy ya sumi nasai

 

[dogg57]

Did the trap look like any of these?
http://www.turtle-trap.com/

 

[RednekF350]

Turtle,

Jeez, I thought you guys actually went frogging, as in gigging frogs.
You would have been in violation right now as the season is closed and will reopen July 1. I did a lot of gigging growing up in Gibbsboro on the old golf course at night and there was no closed season back then.


Unlike snares, body grippers and cage traps used for furbearers during the regular trapping season, turtle traps do not have to be tagged with an owner ID.
NJ Fish and Wildlife regulations do have a wanton waste prohibited clause and the owner, if found, could be nailed with that. The person could also be in violation of Whitesbog's own rules if there are any governing hunting fishing and trapping on their lands.
Snappers are the only turtle permitted to be taken in freshwater and the season is set to close on April 31 and will reopen June 16.

I am attaching the 2012 regs.


Scott

 

[turtle]

dogg,
The trap was a turtle-tunnel without the floater. Probably about 8 inches in diameter and 2 ft. long. It had been there without being checked for awhile. One of us noticed the edge of it sticking out of the water. Didn't seem big enough for snappers, unless they were catching small ones.

 

[turtle]

Turtle,

Unlike snares, body grippers and cage traps used for furbearers during the regular trapping season, turtle traps do not have to be tagged with an owner ID.
NJ Fish and Wildlife regulations do have a wanton waste prohibited clause and the owner, if found, could be nailed with that. The person could also be in violation of Whitesbog's own rules if there are any governing hunting fishing and trapping on their lands.
Snappers are the only turtle permitted to be taken in freshwater and the season is set to close on April 31 and will reopen June 16.

I am attaching the 2012 regs.

Scott

Thank you Scott,
I guess it seems that someone set the trap and forgot to come back for it. They were literally squeezed into this trap like sardines and then could not move. The trap being submerged was the end for them. There was also a can of catfood/tuna in the trap.
Interestingly, I never realized that there is a season on frogs.

Terry

 

[RednekF350]

Interestingly, I never realized that there is a season on frogs.

Terry

The regulated season started in the late 80's or very early 90's.
When my sons were little, my sportsmen's club held a father-kid campout every Fathers Day weekend and frog legs were always on the menu. There was no closed season on bullfrogs then. As my boys got older, the closed season was instituted for the breeding season which coincided with our campout.

We would go out gigging on Friday night on our club's lake and we would send a gig-wielding battalion of men and kids to the golf course. We would gig about twenty and then return to our outdoor kitchen.
We would clean them and saute' them in olive oil with mined garlic and a little teryaki. The kids would devour them after realizing they tasted like chicken.

If anything tastes like chicken, it's frog legs ! Mmmmm, mmmm good.

 

[dogg57]

Turtle thanks for sharing the Story and Pics. Rednek thanks for the Info,never knew that about the trapping of frogs and turtles

 

[PINEY MIKE]

We would go out gigging on Friday night on our club's lake and we would send a gig-wielding battalion of men and kids to the golf course. We would gig about twenty and then return to our outdoor kitchen.
We would clean them and saute' them in olive oil with mined garlic and a little teryaki. The kids would devour them after realizing they tasted like chicken.

If anything tastes like chicken, it's frog legs ! Mmmmm, mmmm good.

Haha.. sounds like the duck commander.

 

[RednekF350]

Haha.. sounds like the duck commander.

You saw that episode too I see Mike

You don't know how much that show reminded me of my early years sneaking around the golf course and the father-kid campouts at my club.
Our club still holds the campout every year minus the frogs.

 

[dragoncjo]

x

 

[glowordz]

Thank you, Terry, for these beautiful photos. You truly have an artist’s eye! I’m glad you captured the delectable budding ferns, the rugged barrels, and the miniature house we longed to own (without the bee swarm).

I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that you—brave Turtle!—were the one who noticed the trap, hauled it to shore without falling in, opened it (per Tom’s instructions) and dumped out the soggy shiny-black corpses.

The tadpole you rescued will have quite a story to tell his grandkids . . . and I’m wondering whether he might appear in one of Pibbin’s adventures someday. Kind of unbelievable, though.

I must also mention that the stench was terrible, and since you TOUCHED the trap, the aroma wafting off your hands became the subject of considerable comment for the rest of the evening.

Tom, thank you for the tour of human & amphibian habitats, and for gathering the red-winged blackbirds to greet us, and for arranging the magnificent heron lift-off. Best of all, to my frog-besotted mind, were the leopard-carpenter chorus and the Fowlers who whined the sun down.

Domo arigato, y’all!
Glo

 

[oji]

Turtle called F&W and an officer contacted me at 10:00 and we met at 12:30. I took her out to the area and she said it was the third such incident in that same general area. Sorry to say all the turtles were dead, there was only enough room for about 2 to get air and once it got crowded they didn't have a chance.

 

[oji]

Thank you, Terry, for these beautiful photos. You truly have an artist’s eye! I’m glad you captured the delectable budding ferns, the rugged barrels, and the miniature house we longed to own (without the bee swarm).

I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that you—brave Turtle!—were the one who noticed the trap, hauled it to shore without falling in, opened it (per Tom’s instructions) and dumped out the soggy shiny-black corpses.

The tadpole you rescued will have quite a story to tell his grandkids . . . and I’m wondering whether he might appear in one of Pibbin’s adventures someday. Kind of unbelievable, though.

I must also mention that the stench was terrible, and since you TOUCHED the trap, the aroma wafting off your hands became the subject of considerable comment for the rest of the evening.

Tom, thank you for the tour of human & amphibian habitats, and for gathering the red-winged blackbirds to greet us, and for arranging the magnificent heron lift-off. Best of all, to my frog-besotted mind, were the leopard-carpenter chorus and the Fowlers who whined the sun down.

Domo arigato, y’all!
Glo

ahhh, southern Japanese!

 

[glowordz]

PS -- Yes, we missed you, Bob. You could have solved the raging violet-lupine dispute.

Glo

 

[oji]

PS -- Yes, we missed you, Bob. You could have solved the raging violet-lupine dispute.

Glo

Turtle was correct!

 

[PINEY MIKE]

You saw that episode too I see Mike

You don't know how much that show reminded me of my early years sneaking around the golf course and the father-kid campouts at my club.
Our club still holds the campout every year minus the frogs.

Yah, its my new favorite show. I've loved the cammander calls as well as their dvds for a while now. Maybe next year we can hook up for a hunt if you're still on the ducks.. maybe frogs as an appetizer?

 

[glowordz]

Turtle was correct!

Ever the gentleman, Tom! I learned a lot about plants from you.

Glo

 

[turtle]

Hi all,
as an update.... largely because of the existence of this forum and the community of folks within, the issue with the turtle traps at Whitesbog is being addressed by multiple persons and resources. I learned some good stuff too. It's nice when it all comes together. Thanks Tom, Gloria, Scott, dragoncjo.

Ah oji, you indeed rock!

 

[oji]

It takes a great band to rock!

 

[Teegate]

I missed this thread completely until now. Sorry to hear about the turtles! Great photo's Turtle!

Guy