A friends showed me how to catch snapping turtles years ago. You take a dead fish, maybe a perch, and hook it on a fishing pole. Clip a large (3 inch) red and white bobber onto the line right next to the fish and cast it out into the pond. Jiggle it around a bit and before long, any snappers in the pond will come around. When one grabs the fish the bobber will disappear, and you just reel it in very slowly. They won't let go of food once it is in their mouth, unless they get spooked. Once it is at the shore, you may have to get wet to grab it and drag it out, but it can be worth it. We used to catch turtles up to about 30lbs like that.
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