Marten

[jeffreys 21234]

Hey first year trapping marten have lucked out caught my first one cpl weeks ago an my first fisher just wondering what u veteran marten trappers see for movement this time of year an with these cold temps I've noticed last few cheaks havnt seen much sign around as there was a few weeks back any info or tips would be really appreciated

[Big Grey Wolf]

Marten do not like the extreme cold. They have very little fat reserves, thats why so nice to board up and scrape. They tend to stay under the snow and hunt voles when extreme cold. Fisher are much tougher, higher fat reserves and tend to still walk around searching for food or a marten.
Only us crazy trappers walk around in -30oC weather checking empty trap boxes.

[jeffreys 21234]

Hey thanks for the info will keep that in mind

[slough shark]

Originally Posted by Big Grey Wolf

Marten do not like the extreme cold. They have very little fat reserves, thats why so nice to board up and scrape. They tend to stay under the snow and hunt voles when extreme cold. Fisher are much tougher, higher fat reserves and tend to still walk around searching for food or a marten.
Only us crazy trappers walk around in -30oC weather checking empty trap boxes.

That would explain why I was finding both empty boxes and freezing my butt off earlier this week, still new enough at the trapping game to still be learning about their habits and movement. Until I started trapping never really knew much about marten because you rarely see them in the wild.

[jeffreys 21234]

Yea that's for sure always something to learn which is the fun part lol

[KegRiver]

Marten hunt rabbits a lot. When it gets really cold they stay put close to where there are rabbits. They do move when it's cold but only what is necessary to get food.

If you can find a willow swamp bordered by Spruce you have a good chance of catching a Marten or two during these cold spells, if there are Marten around.

Set just inside a dense Spruce stand within sight of the swamp.

But you have to go into the thick stuff to find them, They won't be traveling their usual routes that they use during warmer weather.

Keep in mind, it takes a lot of energy to stay warm in this cold, and they have no fat reserves. If they don't eat they die of hypothermia pretty quickly.

[jim summit]

Northern Alberta is experiencing very low marten number this season as we are at the low end of the cycle. I have 144 square miles of trapline and I rarely see a marten track now, same with lynx. Couple more years and we’ll see the rise again and the cycle continues.
You can’t catch whats not there.

[jeffreys 21234]

Good info jim

[Big Grey Wolf]

Jim you are probably correct. My theory is the rabbit cycle, results in a massive increase in lynx numbers. The lynx then do a number on the marten when they run out of bunnies to eat. Then without rabbit or marten for food lynx die off.

[sourdough doug]

My martin head for the tall timber, climb a tree and are safe from those rascally lynx...when my martin get hungry they get under the snow and feed on mice..

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by sourdough doug

My martin head for the tall timber, climb a tree and are safe from those rascally lynx...when my martin get hungry they get under the snow and feed on mice..

Yeah I don't think Lynx would be much of a threat to a Marten, I watched a Marten go after a Squirrel once. It matched that Squirrel move for move running up trees, jumping from tree to tree, I can't see a Lynx doing acrobatics like that.

Here there aren't a lot of mice in the bush so I don't see any evidence of Marten hunting them, but it makes perfect sense that they would where there are enough mice to make it worth the effort.
And here they would have stiff competition from Weasel and Shrews going after the same food supply.

It almost looks like Shrews outnumber mice around here. We sure catch a lot of them when they go after our fur.
Easy little dudes to catch too, just drop a small piece of beaver meat in a beer bottle and lay it on the ground close to the set. It'll have a Shrew in it in a few hours.

I kinda hated to catch them but they do such a number on fur one has to do something about them or you don't make any money.
I did release them if I found any alive but they starve to death in a few hours if they have nothing to eat so I didn't find live ones often.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Saw where a lynx chased a squirrel from top of three 6 inch poplar trees spaced about 6-7 feet apart. The lynx launched from the top that then bent way back, they would have no problem chasing marten through trees for supper.
Most trappers that go hard on fisher and lynx have marten numbers go way up.
However food is big factor for marten, need lots of red backed voles, mice, squirrels, rabbits and grouse.

[jeffreys 21234]

I appreciate all the info one other question how far do you guys like to keep boxes apart

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by jeffreys 21234

I appreciate all the info one other question how far do you guys like to keep boxes apart

I didn't follow a set pattern, I let the sign tell me where to make sets, however, I preferred to keep sets at least half a mile apart.

However in some locations I put in two sets about a hundred yards apart.

Toward the end of my full time trapping I developed a pole set for Marten and Fisher that had two traps on it, thus eliminated the need for two sets.

It was that set that took the only Wolverine I ever caught. My line was not preferred habitat for Wolverine, At most I would see one track a winter, and that one passing through to more appropriate habitat.

When setting an area I had never trapped before I set where I saw tracks, or in likely looking spots such as dense Spruce bluffs close to good rabbit habitat.

I hear that in some areas Marten, and Fisher hunt Squirrels and I have seen both pursue Squirrels but on my line the areas with the most Squirrels were void of Marten sign and the few sets I made in such locations never produced any Marten or Fisher although I did catch a fair number of Weasel in such locations and so continued to set them over the years.

I set for everything I could. I know some guys who set only for one or two species, I was not one of them.

My line was not a high value producer so I had to take everything I could to make it worth my time.

My line was roughly half spruce swamp and half sandy Jackpine highlands.
The productive areas were where the two met. That area was mixed woodlands and beaver ponds.

[jeffreys 21234]

Ok thanks keg Thai was my first year trying had a cpl boxes set maybe cpl hundred yards apart an connect on one in first 24 hours set