Turtle caught, released

[SamFamAustin]

This isn't Abaco although there are planty of turtles in the area, but yesterday I caught a turtle on a rod and reel. I think it was a Kemp's Ridley but I'm not good at the turtle ID thing. I thought it was a whale! The fellow next to me at the South Padre jetties caught a little one, too. Both were maybe 12 inches on the shell.

Have you ever heard of such a thing? I've caught snapping turtles before, as well as those "cooters" in Florida, but a sea turtle? Anyway, they were released unharmed and seemed OK. Many were seen cruising around the jetty area but whenever the'd show up, of course the camera was out of reach.

I was fishing with a "mooch rig" with a tarpon fly on the first hook and a dead mullet on the second. /Sam

[FarmerBob]

I snagged a large turtle, over 100 lbs (variety ?), while trolling of Guana Cay. Was in 300 ft of water and couldn't figure out what I had. At first I thought it was seaweed. Then it went straight to bottom. I kept tension on it about a half an hour and finally began to gain some line. When I got it to the surface I don't know which of us was the most surprized. We took one look at each other and it went straight back to bottom, taking most of my line and half of my rod! I had snagged it in the front right flipper. Sure hope it made it okay.

[Abaco Skippy]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=royalblue]Back in the late

[SamFamAustin]

Wow, cool story and it is always a thrill when offshore to see unusual stuff. I did some more research and it turns out that most turtles are vegetarians (Green), like sponges (Hawksbill), or eat jellyfish, or some combination (Loggerhead). The Kemp's Ridley, a small dude, is the only sea turtle species that is carnivorous in US waters. It also it the only one that nests during the daytime, according to my local sources.

Interesting, and that explains why the big turtle incidents are mainly gear conflicts, such as getting wrapped up in the flippers.

I don't know if many Kemp's are found near the Abacos, since they are mainly a Gulf critter. If you see any, they are highly endangered. Thanks for your concern. /Sam