fisher sets

[chinchaga]

Hello trappers.
I'm looking for some ideas for trapping fishers. Box sizes, trap size, different set ideas. Any information is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[pickrel pat]

Tie a pole across from one tree to another tree. In the middle put a good hunk of beaver meat and some lure. On each side of the pole put a 220 conibear. Snares work too. If theres known wolverine in the area you can up it to a 330.

[TRAPPER92]

That sounds like a good marten setup! Fisher usually don't like to climb if they don't have to. Best be putting the set on the ground, or close to the ground, in an area frequented by the fisher in a little cubby.

Just to be sure, You do know that you must be a registered trapper in order to trap a fisher? And that they also have a quota for them?

[moose maniac]

Originally Posted by TRAPPER92

That sounds like a good marten setup! Fisher usually don't like to climb if they don't have to. Best be putting the set on the ground, or close to the ground, in an area frequented by the fisher in a little cubby.

Just to be sure, You do know that you must be a registered trapper in order to trap a fisher? And that they also have a quota for them?

Never had a problem getting fisher to climb I caught 17 last year in boxes set 4 feet off the ground, I set them vertically with the entrance pointed down.

[trapper m]

All mine are taken 4 to 5 feet off the ground boxes faceing down.

[MB_Nick]

#220 or #160 conibear in a box or bucket. Bait with beaver meat, and a piece of deer hide with skunk essence on it.

[KegRiver]

A running pole set can be effective, but they are tricky to describe properly.

You can see one of the traps in the next shot, but not the method of holding the trap. Now that's the tricky part!



And, although they will take Mink, Marten, Fisher and Wolverine, no one set works well for all. This set location showed Fisher sign so I used 220s on this pole, with these results. Yes it caught the Marten, but it was not a good catch in my books.




A few weeks later the same type of set took this Wolverine. With a 220.
This Wolverine had raided and destroyed several Marten boxes employing 160 Northwoods traps, just hours before winding up hanging from one of my 220 pole sets.




These days this is the only set I recommend.
Once you know how to make it, it's easy enough, lasts for years and years, simple to reset, keeps the catch out of reach of Shrews and Mice, never catches Whiskey Jacks, and it has the potential to make a double catch.
I never made a double catch on a pole using traps, but I've seen a couple of double catches using snares on the same set.

I would offer to draw up plans for making this set but right now I don't have the time. I'm about to start a week of night shift.

Besides, it would be a whole lot better and easier to demonstrate the set, which I'd be happy to do if I were close enough for people to drop by for a visit.

[pickrel pat]

Originally Posted by KegRiver

A running pole set can be effective, but they are tricky to describe properly.

You can see one of the traps in the next shot, but not the method of holding the trap. Now that's the tricky part!



And, although they will take Mink, Marten, Fisher and Wolverine, no one set works well for all. This set location showed Fisher sign so I used 220s on this pole, with these results. Yes it caught the Marten, but it was not a good catch in my books.




A few weeks later the same type of set took this Wolverine. With a 220.
This Wolverine had raided and destroyed several Marten boxes employing 160 Northwoods traps, just hours before winding up hanging from one of my 220 pole sets.




These days this is the only set I recommend.
Once you know how to make it, it's easy enough, lasts for years and years, simple to reset, keeps the catch out of reach of Shrews and Mice, never catches Whiskey Jacks, and it has the potential to make a double catch.
I never made a double catch on a pole using traps, but I've seen a couple of double catches using snares on the same set.

I would offer to draw up plans for making this set but right now I don't have the time. I'm about to start a week of night shift.

Besides, it would be a whole lot better and easier to demonstrate the set, which I'd be happy to do if I were close enough for people to drop by for a visit.

Yup. Thats the set i was trying to describe....

[chinchaga]

Ok, thanks one and all.
And I'm a law abider, I am a Junior Trapper, Registered Line, and all is legit. I wanted to see if there was anything guys were doing different then the fellow who is the Senior on this Line.

Thanks again for the advice and pics, I appreciate the effort.

[McLeod Valley]

I just set for marten and get my quota every year , 120 , horizontal box about 3-4 feet off the ground , 120 mag's hold'em .
Happy trappin !!!

[C-GMIC]

Dont over complicate things, just load your marten box up with a lot of beaver bait dont be cheap with the bait, good lure, again dont be cheap with the lure and a solid anchored sauvegau 2001-5 and that will take care of the rest. Ive caught every species in the set wolverine included. bush atm baby you never know how much your going to make.

[The Spruce]

[QUOTE=You can see one of the traps in the next shot, but not the method of holding the trap. Now that's the tricky part![/QUOTE]

Keg, please elaborate on this part....I ran this set a little bit last year and my trps were just pushed aside. Did you set the traps onto nails, thus holding the jaws? I tried wiring the spring loops down, but that didn't work.

Happy Trapping!

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by The Spruce

Keg, please elaborate on this part....I ran this set a little bit last year and my trps were just pushed aside. Did you set the traps onto nails, thus holding the jaws? I tried wiring the spring loops down, but that didn't work.

Happy Trapping!

Oh boy, I was afraid someone would ask. LOL

Okay, I'll probably have to draw a picture cause it's hard to put everything involved into words, but I'll give that a go first.

Hey, I have a camera! Give me a few hours, I photograph my method.

[KegRiver]

Well that worked, but I couldn't find any nails around the house.

I had to use screws but they would work the same as nails.

Keep in mind this was a first effort, I had planned on making a wire frame setup to do the same thing. This system had one big drawback.

About one in ten catches would not drop free, they would hang up on the nails (screws). The results were not always bad, but a lot of times it was.

Fur got damaged, birds and mice damage was #1 but the nails themselves would sometimes cause damage.

I believe a piano wire frame setup could be made via a jig that would eliminate the problems I saw and at the same time make setup far faster and easier.

I made a drawing of what I had in mind, I'll post that as soon as batwoman scans it for me.

SO here is what I did wind up using. It worked well aside from the problems mentioned. It held the trap rock solid and could easily be adapted to any size trap.



Details of the nail placement (screws)








Note how the nails (screws) are angled toward each other.
This is necessary so that the trap will ride up and hold against the heads.

Spacing is also critical but easily adjusted. Each set must be just far enough apart so that the trap jaws must be forced to close over them till they reach the set position.

This creates a spring action that holds pressure against the nail heads stabilizing the trap.

Here is the trap set on the nails (screws). The closeups show how the only thing holding the trap in place is the outward pressure of the jaws agaisnt the nails (screws)





A couple of notes.

The length of the nails determines how far above the pole the trap sits.

I found that six inch nails gave a good height for Marten and Fisher.

Another thing to keep in mind. Making this pole setup takes time, but once it is done it seldom needs any maintenance and can be used without any additional time input, for several seasons.

One last item to mention, I anchored one end of my pole as far up on one tree as I could reach. The other end set on a spike or similar holder and was not attached to the tree itself.
This allowed me to hinge the one end down to a comfortable handling level while keeping the bait and catch out of reach of most terrestrial scavengers.

I think that covers everything.

Opps, I forgot. I wired a halter clasp onto the pole to allow for quick and easy trap replacement.

At the end of each season I removed the traps and left everything else in place. When I returned for the next season all I had to do was hang the bait, clip on a trap and move on to the next set.

(Please do not use nails in trees where they could be logged.)

Now, here is the drawing of the idea I had for a wire bail trap holder for this pole set.







Rather crude drawing isn't it. But hey, it's 2:30am for me!

Gotta get some sleep before my next shift.

Talk at ya'll later.

[C-GMIC]

Jesus Jim, when did you get so technical, living in keg country has got you well educated. If your in YOJ soon im flying your neck of the woods for the next 3 weeks chasing down tuktu, keep your fingers out of the trap. it hurts

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by C-GMIC

Jesus Jim, when did you get so technical, living in keg country has got you well educated. If your in YOJ soon im flying your neck of the woods for the next 3 weeks chasing down tuktu, keep your fingers out of the trap. it hurts

I know it hurts LOL I know it all too well. LOL
Lost three fingernails to a 220 once. Knocked me out cold. Nothing broken but the nails turned pink, then red then blue about as fast as I type this.

So what is tuktu ? I probably should know, but it escapes me.
You flying off Hutch or the pavement?
I don't have any plans to head that way any time this year, but one never knows in this business.
Besides I haven't visited with the guys at the HL LGC for a couple of years.
I'd jump at a chance to spend some time up there.

Don't know about being high tech, but I am an inventor at heart.
I've come up with a few good ideas over the years.

Had a plan for locating downed aircraft before ELBs were made practical.
The CO at Cold Lake thought it would work, but maybe he was being diplomatic. LOL

Actually this set was a continuation of a system I came up with in co-operation with two other trappers as a method of holding traps in the so called bird box sets. You know, the open bottom boxes.

That also involved nails and it worked like a charm. No fiddling with the trap to get it to stay in place. No cutouts for the springs, it also would accommodate any size trap with ease.

[C-GMIC]

tuktu = caribou running a super 185 on tundra tires either going to land on heliport rd and taxi into the farm or the airport, time to make sure the girls are ok dont feel bad i got hit by a 2001-5 thank god only one spring just about cost me a thumb learn from our mistakes boys and girls use a trap setter if you can

[Torkdiesel]

Originally Posted by C-GMIC

Dont over complicate things, just load your marten box up with a lot of beaver bait dont be cheap with the bait, good lure, again dont be cheap with the lure and a solid anchored sauvegau 2001-5 and that will take care of the rest. Ive caught every species in the set wolverine included. bush atm baby you never know how much your going to make.

This is the exact same set up I use. I place all my Marten boxes on good sized standing spruce trees with the openings facing down. This keeps the birds out and set about 5 feet off the ground I feel that the little bit of extra work for the fisher to get in the box keeps his guard down about the steel in the opening. The Sauvegau 2001-5 just hammer them and I've never had one pull out or get away.

[KegRiver]

A kind gentleman has informed me that a convenient mount that would work well on these pole sets, is already available.

The link he provided shows a couple of options.
http://www.fntpost.com/Categories/Tr...ting+Brackets/


I think the Killer Clips might be just what one needs. In fact I suspect they would work better then what I had in mind.

[mark-edmonton]

I tried the killer clips and wasn't impressed with them. They would be better with longer spikes

[gutline homestead]

Well those are a good bit knowledge given there,I had you pegged as REAL ,nice to see.

[moose maniac]

I use the coni clips fast and easy, only problem I had was with belisle 120's you have to bend the clip a bit forthem to work properly.

[Brian Bildson]

Nails get frosty and also can move around. I gave up on them years ago. Also take too long to setup if you're doing lots of sets. I ripped wood blocks on my table saw. I dadoed out each side of the block creating a notch on each side. I run an eight foot board through then cut the blocks into individual pieces 4-5" wide. I pre-drill my nail hole so I don't break block when I use them. You can make hundreds of blocks in short order.


This year I was thinking I'd cut some blocks 7-8" wide and nail on running pole. Mount trap centred on block which should leave 1/2 " or so clearance each side of trap frame. I"ll take some waxed cardboard and bend over trap for cover using sides of block to fasten cardboard. I use bait bags which will block off back of cubby. Quick and cheap. I saw a variety of marten boxes made of cardboard at last years BC trapper convention and they work good according to trappers.

[The Spruce]

Thanks for all the time in sharing that info. Keg. I will surely give that a go. Card board boxes eh.....now you got me thinking Brian!

Happy Trapping!

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by Brian Bildson

I saw a variety of marten boxes made of cardboard at last years BC trapper convention and they work good according to trappers.

I thought about using wooden blocks but I suspected that they might not work because whatever was used might need to be able to flex.

I would have tried it had the proper tools been available. But this system was designed while I was living in my line cabin. I had a power saw a hammer and some nails to work with at the time. And not much time for experimentation.

I did design and use a cardboard marten box system, at a later date.

I found if handy for trapping areas where packing in wooden boxes was problematic.

It worked well enough but I didn't find any big advantage over using wood, other then cost.

The system did have drawbacks.

The cardboard was much more susceptible to damage, however, it was easy to replace.

Bait holding was always an issue. I devised a hook system to hold bait. It worked but it was not handy to work with and mice were able to steal all the bait at times.

I found that some animals, Marten especially would attempt to reach the bait from the top. They were more successful in those attempts when cardboard was used to build the box.

A convenient supply of suitable cardboard was sometimes difficult to obtain.

My brother devised a folding box setup that solved almost all the issues I had with cardboard. However, it was far more time consuming and expensive to build.

I have thought for some time that a box built with a wood back and one piece aluminum sides that hooked to the back might be a good alternative to both the systems my brother and I came up with.

Just to be clear, we both used fixed wooden boxes having a verity of designs. The folding and cardboard systems were attempts at addressing issues we had with the fixed wooden boxes.

One thing I think we pretty much solved was trap securement, both in the box and to a suitable anchor.


Holding the trap in the box as ultra simple.
I used two shingle nails driven into the back board, just below the opening of the box. The inside jaw of the trap hooked on these two nails and upon triggering the trap would drop free of the set.

I would nail my boxes to a tree right next to a sufficiently large branch to hold the weight of the trap and the catch.
I would then wire the toggle chain as far out on that branch as it would reach.
That way, when the trap triggered it would swing out away from the tree leaving the catch hanging in open air where the birds and mice seldom bothered it.

It also almost totally eliminated pine tar in the fur and in cases where the set did not work as intended, it greatly reduced the catches ability to fight the set which lead to the catch expiring much quicker and thus there was much less potential for fur damage.

For the young fellow here, some of this may seem obvious, but you have to remember, I learned to trap before conibears were invented.

Back then we used cubby sets and leg hold traps almost exclusively for Marten Fisher and Mink.
A few guys learned to use snares for these animals and we did employ snares for this purpose with some success, but on the ground cubby sets remained the go to set for most trappers.

When the conibears came along we soon realized they offered great potential for solving a lot of issues we had with leg hold traps. And snare sets, for Fisher and Marten.

We adapted what we had at the time. This was for us, making a living.
We couldn't afford to spend a lot of time or money experimenting.

Trapping continues to evolve. We have gone as far as we could go, now it's up to the younger generation to take over and take the profession to higher levels.

Don't be afraid to try new things, improvement is in everyone's best interest.

Think about how you can minimize the catches suffering, that WILL reduce fur damage and put more money in your pocket.

Think about the future of the species you trap. If you trap everything today you will starve tomorrow.

Think about your neighbor, trapping is a lonely and dangerous way to make a living, you may need thier help one day, and in the mean time, a game of cribbage sure chases the blues away.

And think about the others who want to use the land you trap.
You are part of the nature not Lord over all.

Wolves, fisherman, hikers and Grizzly Bears have as much right to use the available resources as you do. They will each enrich your life if you don't prevent them from doing so.

[Brian Bildson]

keg I made this set just for you yesterday. I ran out of boxes so thought I'd put in one last set using nails.