Rouge Snapping Turtle

Story from Agate Lake-year approximate 1963:

The summer I was 12 or 13 we had a huge snapping turtle in Agate Lake-gone rouge. By huge I mean the shell was about as big around as a large metal garbage can cover. Well, this turtle realized there was a better way to get fish than to catch them, he could just wait until evening, swim to the dock and eat all the caught fish off the stringers. It was a variable seafood smorgasbord!

All the resorters were getting very upset and the fishermen were talking about trying to kill the turtle. There were two boys my age who were staying in the cabins that week. We had been fishing together everyday. (One of the turtle's snacks had been on our catch of the day.)

The boys had been coming to the lake since they were babies so between him and I, we knew the lake well. So we three musketeers decided we knew how to get that turtle ourselves and devised a plan. We three would take out a small row boat, right at dusk, and have our catch of the day dangling overboard on a stringer. We would each be armed with a bow and arrow. When the turtle came up to eat it, we would all shoot at his head - surly one of us would hit it!

With plan in place and telling no adults, we met just before dusk and rowed out about 40 yards into 15 foot deep water near where we usually saw the turtle, and waited. It was getting pretty dark and still no turtle but just when we were about to give up, it reared its ugly head.

We all got excited, stood up in the boat and leaned over for a good shot....................................... and oops--tipped over the boat! We were scared sh*tless that the turtle would bit off one of our toes and we swam for shore like a shark was after us!

The aftermath:
The turtle got away with our fish. Our bows and arrows went down with the ship.
The moral of the story was don't be dumber than the critter you are chasing!

Our parents were very mad-we were landlocked for punishment. My big brother had to go after the capsized boat in the morning and dive for the bows. He wasn't too happy as one of the bows was his. Everyone laughed at us...it was humiliating at the time, but it does make for a fond memory to look back on.