Trappers 2013/2014

[mark-edmonton]

[QUOTE=The Spruce;2223496]Mark,

You are good for beavers, lots of ice here south of you....well except for that run I fell through You end up finding some for bait yet?

Spruce[/QUOTE


I have 2 beaver lots of deer scraps. I large pike and about 10 grouse carcasses. Would have liked to get some more beaver as I heard its the best, but will have to find some of my own I guess. How will I know if I have muskrat around

[The Spruce]

[/QUOTE]How will I know if I have muskrat around[/QUOTE]

Very tough to tell if you are setting the river, although they are there, I don't know how to catch them in hard water conditions. Your slough/ponds are easy, just look for houses and push ups. Use board sets or baited 110/120's, you will be surprised what an area will produce.

Spruce

[braggadoe]

went in hoping for snow on the ground...... but wasn't any. took a moment and burned down an old line cabin that wasn't fit too stay in. going to rebuild in the exact spot next summer. watching a cabin burn down is kinda sad, thinking about how much work/love the previous trapper put into it. it was at least 30 yrs old and he didn't peel his logs.




took a dog in for the first time trapping. it was good to have to the company/bear alerter. but it limimited the amount of sets i could use on the ground, and large critter/wolf sets had to be limited aswell.
[/URL


wet and damp. ruined my camera. not sure if the dog enjoyed it. but i'll continue taking her.



finally snow!!



walking,,,walking,,,,,more walking. best way too keep the fuel bill down. would rather be riding!! someday.



nice!!




end of the day.



inside my main shack.

[jim summit]

Good to hear from you, are you done for the season or going back in? Was wondering if Mr. Grizz had found you. Having a dog along would be good company when you don't see humans for weeks.
See the new cabin has blinds, keeps the bears from looking in.
Nice pics.

[braggadoe]

no, not done. just a change in location so i can fill a cow elk tag here in southern ab. and trap with the little man for a bit. it's just getting going! prime time!

the blinds where on the the windows when i salvaged them, just left them on. classy eh! similar to your guys shack.

won't go without a dog again. the company is nice and she did run off bears. had to change around a bunch of low sets. and move all the wolf gear father away from the trail so she doesn't get into any trouble.

saw your pics here and on Tman. looks like your having a great time!

[6.5swedeforelk]

Originally Posted by braggadoe

...won't go without a dog again. the company is nice and she did run off bears. had to change around a bunch of low sets. and move all the wolf gear father away from the trail so she doesn't get into any trouble...

Very good chance that your dog will quickly catch on to what you're doing. Let her sniff & examine your catch, while praising her.
For starters walk to ground-based sets with her, seems after seeing a few expired Conibeared fisher, they understand.
I've seen wolves milling around my dogs' markings, a great attractant.

[braggadoe]

the dog had been around traps before and knows the gig. mostly i was worried about blind sets.

it's really hard to "set on sign" without any snow. interesting, after showing her some marten turds. she was searching for them. and was finding them. and it paid off.

[Brian Bildson]

Man that damp weather has got to be cold! I take Nikki on the line with me all the time. When I don't have her around I find myself looking for her. I leash her when i'm coming to a gang snare set location but she's good around footholds.

Keep the photos coming

[thunderheart]

love this thread ..thanks for posting guys

[thunderheart]

[QUOTE=braggadoe;2225519]went in hoping for snow on the ground...... but wasn't any. took a moment and burned down an old line cabin that wasn't fit too stay in. going to rebuild in the exact spot next summer. watching a cabin burn down is kinda sad, thinking about how much work/love the previous trapper put into it. it was at least 30 yrs old and he didn't peel his logs.




interesting ,,, what feelings an inanimate object can evoke in us ..it is sad really .one thinks of the scouting for a site, the laying the first log , the first fire .. the last fire to warm the shack ...
i fell the same way about boats i have had or see on the beach slowly going back to nature .... the way of all things really
thanks for posting

[braggadoe]

so i've always pinned the hind legs of the critters on the belly side(like the middle marten).



started pinning them on the back side,beside the tail. like the outer two.

i understand that it doesn't make a difference in the grading.(as far as i know). but they sure look alot better. i'm going to start pinning all critters on the back side.

what's every body else do? belly,sides, back?

just curious.

[northerntrapper]

This is always a debate, but I pin mine on the sides- half on the back and half on the front. Just gives the back a little more fur thickness in my mind. Also, don't pull real tight when stretching, just snug. This allows for a thicker hide, More $$. You don't want a papery hide.

[Thunder Elk Hunter]

Just started with the new Venture Multi-Purpose this past week. Very happy with the machine so far.
Have to get out and make some trails for the yotes to run on. Hopefully the lynx sets start producing. Went to all snares this year for the lynx. Will keep you posted as the season goes on if the snares work out for us.

TEH

[6.5swedeforelk]

Originally Posted by braggadoe

so i've always pinned the hind legs of the critters on the belly side(like the middle marten).



started pinning them on the back side,beside the tail. like the outer two.

i understand that it doesn't make a difference in the grading.(as far as i know). but they sure look alot better. i'm going to start pinning all critters on the back side.

what's every body else do? belly,sides, back?

just curious.

You're putting them up like NAFA wants their mink, so a buyer has a larger area of fur to view through the inspection window.

All other fur I'm doing conventionly until NAFA says otherwise.
I think that they sure look better as you stretch them.

[Brian Bildson]

I pin my legs on the inside as per NAFA specs. But I pull my backs tight first then I do the legs.

[Odyssey]

Cool catch

[PCP_ECOM]

Well finally my first coyote's,both males one large and one smaller one, smaller one really clear on belly, nice all over, bigger one off coloured.Put some deer scrap icecubes out Wednesday, gonna set up tomorrow,set up two snares on my in trail,coyote's should have trails of their own by now.Count should be three,but one broke off


rats 100
fox 1
coyote's 2

Having a blast

[dakotahunter]

any of the members have any knowlege of trapping in the mountains in Revelstoke area in Region 8?
Looking to find out how much snow they get from Nov to Dec as I am possibly going to trap a line in 2014,for 5 weeks come hm for Christmas depending on ho hard it is to get to the line The bummer is that on the line they are not allowed to trap Wolfs,wolverine,fisher or black bear

[jim summit]

Thought i would share some more pics from the line. Not much marten sign this year, not many young ones, so be taking down the marten line so and keep working the cats. Lynx look good, prob see them decline soon, as rabbits are found in pockets and not wide spread. Picked up a couple fisher so far, hoping for some warmer weather to get everything moving.

We split up and each checked one loop, and meet down by our log cabin for lunch and head back out. Got 4 cats now.
Thinkin 357XP might have some nice Lynx pics....

IMG_0153.jpgIMG_1618.jpgIMG_0154.jpg
IMG_0155.jpgIMG_1617.jpg

Tom the cat says "HI", he is a good passenger...

[PCP_ECOM]

Nice looking pic's Jim, unique looking marten,got mittens, now would it be one for taxidermy, seeing how he has socks that is, nice lynx and fisher also PETER

[braggadoe]

great pics jim!!

[Brian Bildson]

That's a unique Marten. Might be worth a bit more to a taxidermist. Thanks for the pics

[tankdog]

Great photos. Keep up the good work!

[The Spruce]

Nube, missed your earlier post. I have 348 rats, shut down the rat trapping for a little while. Concentrating on the bigger critters until their seasons sre shut down. Just about down finishing my Spring and fall beavers...damn they are alot of work. Oh well. Line is almost fully set. Starting a few new Coyote baits on the weekend, sounds like very few are being caught province wide. Prices may be up! I should start taking the odd picture, they are so nice to see. Happy Trapping, Spruce.

Fisher-2
Marten-2
Otter-2
Weasels-3
Coyotes-5
Beaver-12
Muskrats-348
Squirrels-1

[nube]

Originally Posted by The Spruce

Nube, missed your earlier post. I have 348 rats, shut down the rat trapping for a little while. Concentrating on the bigger critters until their seasons sre shut down. Just about down finishing my Spring and fall beavers...damn they are alot of work. Oh well. Line is almost fully set. Starting a few new Coyote baits on the weekend, sounds like very few are being caught province wide. Prices may be up! I should start taking the odd picture, they are so nice to see. Happy Trapping, Spruce.

Fisher-2
Marten-2
Otter-2
Weasels-3
Coyotes-5
Beaver-12
Muskrats-348
Squirrels-1

Awesome job Spruce. I hit 200 rats and quit. Got 53 yokes and quit as well. too Tough getting through the snow with a truck. I need new tires and I can't keep up on boarding these things. I called Halford and they said the date to have fur in at the latest is Jan6th which leave no time. I would think that would be for the Feb sale? Are any sales after that worth it to get decent prices from?

[Fer-Tak-Er]

Originally Posted by dakotahunter

any of the members have any knowlege of trapping in the mountains in Revelstoke area in Region 8?
Looking to find out how much snow they get from Nov to Dec as I am possibly going to trap a line in 2014,for 5 weeks come hm for Christmas depending on ho hard it is to get to the line The bummer is that on the line they are not allowed to trap Wolfs,wolverine,fisher or black bear

Revelstoke is a snow mobile hot spot. Any trails worthy of snomobiling will be rode on daily. I have talked to old boys in the past, they have made mention that the reason those lines come up is because theres to much sledding. keeps all the game away.
Good luck if you go

[jim summit]

Nube, the april/may sale is just as good as the Feb sale. Got till march to put up.

[nube]

Thanks Jim. How do you guys do it when your catching a lot of fur? I find myslef busy as can be working shift work and then checking traps and then skinning. It takes me about 2 hours to check my 3 coyote spots I have permission on and any more than that would make it tough to keep up. I find myself doing fine with it except getting th skins fleshed and on stretchers mostly. I think next year I will get another freezer and do what I can and then just do the rest over the summer and sell the following year. Are there any tips for keeping fur over the winter for the following year?

[braggadoe]

the past couple of years. i've heard of fur being sent in early feb, and still making the feb auction. can't confirm this. this year, going to send as much as i can in before jan 6. and another batch in early feb.

it sucks not to be able to get the jan fur into the feb auction.

[PCP_ECOM]

Originally Posted by nube

Thanks Jim. How do you guys do it when your catching a lot of fur? I find myslef busy as can be working shift work and then checking traps and then skinning. It takes me about 2 hours to check my 3 coyote spots I have permission on and any more than that would make it tough to keep up. I find myself doing fine with it except getting th skins fleshed and on stretchers mostly. I think next year I will get another freezer and do what I can and then just do the rest over the summer and sell the following year. Are there any tips for keeping fur over the winter for the following year?

I hear ya there Nube, I also work shift work, and boy it is a lot of work and exhausting, but wouldn't trade for anything, love it Peter