Wolf snaring

[caustin]

I am a junior partner on a line in northern Alberta. My senior partner and I have been using the same bait station for 4 years now. We are getting very little results. 3 weeks ago we managed to pick up 1 wolf. There was probably a dozen or more in the pack with all the tracks they had in the area. They tore our bait pile to shreds and combed through every inch of our bait station. They had tracks for miles in every direction of our bait. With all the tracks around we should of cleaned that pack right out. They side stepped approximately 25 snares in our set up. Like I mean there heads had to be in the snare and they backed out. Last week during our routine check again, the same thing had happened. They are just destroying all of our bait and not getting caught. This is very frustrating!! My senior partner smokes lots and I'm wondering if this has anything to do with it. They have to be smelling something! I use separate gloves to touch the snares and they are just walking up to the snares, stepping around them and continuing on the same trail. Although the 4 wolves we caught in the last couple years have been in my snares. My partner just uses bare hands and smokes while setting snares. I tell him not to but he refuses. Just wondering what everyone else's thoughts are on this? What could we do different to catch these smart critters?

[D4l3k]

the trapper i junior for has always told me from his experience:

wolfs in packs are very smart, they learn very quickly what to look out for, especially if they have seen one of their own get caught in a snare

if you catch one wolf from a pack on a bait set, it is very hard to catch another one from that pack on the same bait for the rest of the season or in the future

I have heard that 'educated' packs will travel single file thru a heavily trapped area, and even take turns switching off who leads, and once out of the trapping area, spread out like normal

I bet a couple of foot holds around the bait would catch em by surprise, as they are used to being safe around the bait itself

i have heard of guys doing this and have caught 5 wolves in snares on a bait at once, when the one in the foot hold close to the bait starts freaking and the rest throw caution to the wind and fled... right into the snares

[Thunder Elk Hunter]

Try a pee post foot hold set

[H380]

Originally Posted by D4l3k

the trapper i junior for has always told me from his experience:

wolfs in packs are very smart, they learn very quickly what to look out for, especially if they have seen one of their own get caught in a snare

if you catch one wolf from a pack on a bait set, it is very hard to catch another one from that pack on the same bait for the rest of the season or in the future

I have heard that 'educated' packs will travel single file thru a heavily trapped area, and even take turns switching off who leads, and once out of the trapping area, spread out like normal

I bet a couple of foot holds around the bait would catch em by surprise, as they are used to being safe around the bait itself

i have heard of guys doing this and have caught 5 wolves in snares on a bait at once, when the one in the foot hold close to the bait starts freaking and the rest throw caution to the wind and fled... right into the snares

Good idea , makes sense.

[Douglas N]

Scent control is everything. Boil your snares, wear rubber gloves, and rub the snares into tree bark.

When you catch one wolf they will usually return. Set snares on trails well away from the bait and catch them running away or into the bait site. Wolves are pigs and will grab bait and run away to eat it.

If you catch an Alpha male or female, they most certainly will return and you will have multiple catches if conditions are right.

When we catch one, we most often catch 2 or more.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by D4l3k

the trapper i junior for has always told me from his experience:

wolfs in packs are very smart, they learn very quickly what to look out for, especially if they have seen one of their own get caught in a snare

if you catch one wolf from a pack on a bait set, it is very hard to catch another one from that pack on the same bait for the rest of the season or in the future

I have heard that 'educated' packs will travel single file thru a heavily trapped area, and even take turns switching off who leads, and once out of the trapping area, spread out like normal

I bet a couple of foot holds around the bait would catch em by surprise, as they are used to being safe around the bait itself

i have heard of guys doing this and have caught 5 wolves in snares on a bait at once, when the one in the foot hold close to the bait starts freaking and the rest throw caution to the wind and fled... right into the snares

Spot on.

And move that bait, those wolves know every branch that might hold a snare by now.
You are making it too easy for them.

Never underestimate their ability to learn and to teach each other, and to remember.
They'll pass on what they learn through several generations.



Most likely they are detecting faint traces of steel or oil scents on the snare. Traces so faint you won't get rid of them and so faint that in any other location they probably wouldn't elicit any response.

If it were stronger scent they would back out sooner, so I doubt it's smoke scent or human scent.
I know they can detect faint traces and they can add two and two and come up with four.

The best way to teach any living creature anything is through repetition.

[F Mandolin]

The more you snare them the tougher it gets. Some get so they avoid any bait and keep the pups away too.

[caustin]

Thanks for all the info. I'll try and mix things up a bit to see if I can confuse them a little and maybe catch a couple. Fingers crossed!!!

[Thunder Elk Hunter]

here is wolf # 4 off a small line that a few years ago never hardly had a wolf track. 48 inch snare 1x19, 5/64 wire, kill spring and BAD. Tied short with doubled # 14 wire. Three times around the tree and done. She tipped the scale at an even 100 pounds.

[HunterDave]

Well done, TEH......Congrats!

[Huevos]

If they have already established trails for miles like you mentioned, try setting up a quarter to half mile back on the tracks. They probably wont be looking there. As was mentioned before, try a pee post foot hold along one of the trails and hang some snares close by in the bush. May be able to turn one wolf into two or three because the pack will probably hang around for a bit by the wolf in a foothold. Just some thoughts. Keep on trying, you will figure it out.

[husky hunter]

Originally Posted by caustin

I am a junior partner on a line in northern Alberta. My senior partner and I have been using the same bait station for 4 years now. We are getting very little results. 3 weeks ago we managed to pick up 1 wolf. There was probably a dozen or more in the pack with all the tracks they had in the area. They tore our bait pile to shreds and combed through every inch of our bait station. They had tracks for miles in every direction of our bait. With all the tracks around we should of cleaned that pack right out. They side stepped approximately 25 snares in our set up. Like I mean there heads had to be in the snare and they backed out. Last week during our routine check again, the same thing had happened. They are just destroying all of our bait and not getting caught. This is very frustrating!! My senior partner smokes lots and I'm wondering if this has anything to do with it. They have to be smelling something! I use separate gloves to touch the snares and they are just walking up to the snares, stepping around them and continuing on the same trail. Although the 4 wolves we caught in the last couple years have been in my snares. My partner just uses bare hands and smokes while setting snares. I tell him not to but he refuses. Just wondering what everyone else's thoughts are on this? What could we do different to catch these smart critters?

Anyone that smokes while setting Wolf snares and touches the snares with his hands will not catch anything ever. I hang my snares well before the season opens and just leave them closed and out of the way. When it is time to set you can do it with minimal disturbance and time at the site. I make sure to be very near to where the Wolves normally travel and do not use a bait pile but bury a small amount of bait in about three places with 25 to 30 snares in the area of about 5000 sq.ft. The alpha male or female will go in first to check it out and if you can catch one of them all hell brakes loose and I have caught 6 or 7 on more than once. Catching Wolves is a lot of work and you can't set for one or two, but for the whole pack to make it worth while.