Just finished up another check yesterday. I've got 50 marten boxes out right now and the results have been pretty slow this year so far. I seem to have an abundance of weasels and squirrels getting in my sets, and after a weasel is caught another one is right behind to chew on him.
Ended up picking up my first cat of the year, 2 marten, a fisher and a half dozen weasel. Not a bad check other then I usually would have gotten 6-8 marten. The Lynx was taken on a blind trail set with a snare. I just made a trail into the alders and set a snare on the way out (as seen on the Wild North
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I also have a trap/marten thief that hit a new area I set up this year. I checked the first box in the new area and everything was gone but the box. No trap, no wire, no bait or bait wire, nothing. The snow is crusty and had a fine dust on the trail but no tracks anywhere leading away. Only thing left at the site was a small tuff of marten fur stuck in the marten magic lure on the box. So I'm thinking maybe a foul catch that broke free and ran away, it's never happened with this set up before but things happen. So after having a good look around we find nothing. Nobody else had walked in or driven on my trail so I ruled out a human. So we finish the loop and on the way out at the last box (which is only 600 yards as the crow flies from the first box that had the trap missing) and the same thing. The trap is gone with the wire that secures it missing. No tracks on the crusty snow and the same fine dust fresh on the trail covering up any other evidence. After having a good look around nothing. Now one time I can see it but twice that close together is just plain strange. Since switching my sets to this style 4 years ago I've taken close to 100 marten and 12 fisher without ever losing a trap. I've had two fisher that broke the wire but were laying dead at the base of the tree and I've never had a marten even disturb the box. Both of these traps were 2001-5 sauvageau so they are very strong, nothing usual moves a whole bunch after getting caught.
Any ideas on what may have took them ? There were Lynx tracks not too far away but I've never had a Lynx touch any of my marten before, and there are tons of rabbits around this year so I can't see them being too hungry
Here's a few pics from the line.
