I typically see them at the edge of the pond digging a hole to lay eggs in.I see a ton of sliders in all the ponds but have yet to see a snapper. Do they generally hide in the water or do they hang out I land and logs?
Back in the day, my son and his buddy had their daisy red ryder bb guns at his buddies house in the country. They went to the pond to shoot what kids shoot at ponds and got muddy hands in the process. Son stepped on what he thought was a rock to wash his hands, and almost lost the last segment of his social finger as he was standing on the back of a snapping turtle. Just a piece of skin held it on. They ran to the house, dad took our son to the ER where we were called. They successfully reattached it, and it looks pretty good to this day forty or so years later.
Meanwhile while we were at the ER, buddies dad goes back home, then to the pond with a .22. He could not penetrate the shell as it was a very big turtle. He came back with a 30-30 and that was it.
Noodling is fun although haven't done it in years.
Good luck!