After setting up their reels and their fishing spot, Broomhall cast his line hoping to catch a catfish, when he noticed an unfamiliar stillness in the water.
“When we were out there fishing, the catfish just, like, vanished,” Broomhall said. “When it goes quiet like that and you go away, there’s normally a predator around.”
Another boat was heading in their direction and Broomhall said he thought maybe the predator was a large catfish. So, he threw in a fishing line with bait and it wasn’t long before he caught the unexpected.
“The line went tight and when I set the hook, I realized it wasn’t a catfish because it didn’t move,” Broomhall said. “When I started reeling in on it, come to find out it was a big turtle. We were fighting for a good 15-20 minutes and by the time we got him up to the shore, he broke the line.”
Broomhall estimated that the massive alligator snapping turtle weighed around 170 pounds and was likely over 100 years old. Just to pull it to shore required strength from Broomhall and his father.
“I didn’t want him to swallow that hook or it get infected. So, I slid off in the water and grabbed him and my dad grabbed me,” he said. “[The turtle] was old enough that he was starting to go blind in his eyes. His eyes got a hazing over and he had a bunch of big, old scars on him where he’d been fighting to survive from other predators.”
This dude knows wildlife and respects them. Need more like him.
“This dude knows wildlife and respects them. Need more like him.”
Willing to betcha that this guy’s type gets killed now and then. Nature isn’t always kind.