Trapping

in response to a earlier poster, if yu have never trapped yu prob dont undertand at all.the challenge of knowing where a animal will put its foot within 6 square inches in 500 acres probably eludes you.since fur price has been low and everybody stopped trapping ive seen many animals die a slow death from mange and other diseases. its very sad to see a fox or a coyote in january with no hair whatsoever.in years past a coyote was a prize now i know guys that just gut shoot them to be rid of them just because we take the furs and dont eat them do not make us bad people.its a tradition as old as this country!

I haven't hade great luck this year. I just have not had the time this year to really do my homework. I still enjoy it though yes the fur market has tanked out but, that's not what it's all about.

Fur prices are good enough to warrant trapping. Muskrat are averaging $6-$10 for large specimens. Coon as high as $28 for heavies. Otter around $40. Red fox $25. Bobcat are very sought after and command the highest prices. As always,fur prices are influenced by (1) market/demand,(2) size and quality and lastly and just as important (3) the skill of the hunter/trapper to properly prepare the pelts for market.

No coon today but...

I did get this nice tom.

^^^ My goodness man you are a cat trappin fool. I have been trapping 3 years and have yet to get one. My wholehearted yet jealous congrats.


I am just not sure what is going on this year. Hell even a trick that has always worked has not. My son took a nice little buck on Sunday evening. We drug the deer up a grass trail and into a thicket. The yotes were going nuts calling before we even gutted it. Anyway we drug the deer into the thicket along a trail. Feild dressed the deer and set two snares on the trail leading to the deer and another two heading away. Snares set 10 yards either side the closest then 7 yards furthur another snare staggered.

So Sunday overnight and Monday overnight. The gut pile has yet to be touched. Its been cold not breaking 25 degrees since the deer was taken. Tomorrow its supposed to warm up to upper 30's. So perhaps things will thaw and release some more scent. Just can't figure out why things have not been cleaned up at least. Yet my snares have not been disturbed in the slightest. Any ideas??

jbkebert
Could it be that there are enough gut piles in the area that they're not interested?

Very well could be. I am still pretty new at this game. I am enjoying it and learning as I go. I have never went along on a trapline before. Been talking with a buddy of mine who traps. So much like when I started deer hunting I fumbled around like a fool but paid attention and got pretty good at it.

I have a couple books one by the NTA and one given to me that is in pretty poor shape missing pages. Can anyone give me a clue to some good helpful books on trapping. Finding some info on the web but its been hit or miss.

Try Tom Miranda's books and dvds <http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/tom-mirandas-professional-predator-trapping-dvd.aspx?a=316452>

Good idea there jimmyraythomason. jbkebert you might want to pick up an issue of Fur Fish & Game, always good stories/ideas there too. Yes the ol fur trapping season is in most everywhere now. Fur, it's just like gas prices, up some times and down sometims. I've ran trap lines 1000 yards up to 75 miles. Bought fur for 15 years, and don't regret a single minute of it. Don't do any of it now, you have to be dedicated from the very first day till the last, or just love it for the outdoors. Try for every species, yes even skunks, to make any money. Put your own fur up and be proud of each hide.

I would do 700-1000 coon, 100-150 possum, 20-30 mink, 300-400 rats, 50-75 beaver. Depended alot on the weather how much fur there was. Alot of work with no one to help. Some times the wife would come out to comb fur and wipe hides for me. Could never get the kid to help, too busy playing video games. Everything is just sitting in the garage now. Too many irons in the fire. Hey good luck guys and be carefull out there.

I will definitely second the Fur-Fish-Game magazine. Don't know why I didn't think of it first (especially since there are about 40 issues by my computer dating back to 1967). I actually had a copy open to "The Trapline" at the time I posted last.

I picked up this nice male red fox this morning at a stump set. This set also produced a large female bobcat earlier.

Nice catch. When you skin them out do you go all the way down to the toes? Was always told by North Amercian not to bother past the elbows. Just wandering.

I do skin out the feet. I no longer skin the toes as I did in the mid 1970s. At that time I even left the claws on cat,mink and fox.

I actually had a copy open to "The Trapline" at the time I posted last.

Click to expand...

I have a book by that name somewhere, probably up in the attic at the moment.

This morning

I picked a couple of boar coon this morning. Both were caught in walk through sets for bobcat. Attractor was rabbit fur with cat gland lure.

for traps and supplies try fntpost.com---order will be shipped next day and will be on your back porch in couple days, depending on distance.

Second otter of the season

I took this male otter this morning in a walk through set for bobcat. The set was the same that took the tom and a very large coon. It had been awhile since this set had connected so to spice it up a little, I sprinkled some shrimp shells over it yesterday and bingo! Trap was a Duke #1 1/2 coilspring. Front foot catch by 2 toes.

Nice catch. Thanks for the picture, That ought to bring a fair price at auction time. The last I knew we can only catch 2 a season here in Ill..

Thanks. This one (second of the year) fits the stretcher perfectly but the first one is too long for it by several inches. The boards are professionally made and are 58" in length. Thankfully,Alabama has no bag limit for trapping any furbearer but otter and bobcat must be tagged within 14 days of harvest(no matter how harvested or even roadkill) by a representative of ADFW.

Weird and sad morning on the trap line.

Last night the yotes were going flat nuts. I figured they finally found or got hungry and went after the boned out carcass from my sons deer. I had set the carcass along a drive path and set a total of 8 snares around it. 5 of the 8 snares had been knocked off the support wire. Two were pulled almost shut the rest just knocked down. Not a thing in the traps.

I moved on down the line into some timber. It was still dark but I was walking without a flashlight. Had it in my pocket but if you walk a trap line enough in the dark. Its about like getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Anyway I round this little bend and I catch a glimps of movement right to my side less than 3'. I jump to the side and peer and find its a hawk sitting on the ground. He rears up and spreads his wings and opens his mouth. Looking at me like I will tear you up. I used my flashlight and cell phone to capture a really horrible picture.


I came up the path to find that I had snared another deer a very young one. Unfortunatly the yotes found the young deer before it could break the shear pin or before I could find it. All I found was hair a hind leg and a picked clean spine and rib cage. I won't post the pictures it tore me up pretty bad knowing that my trap caused the death of this deer. set was on a fence crossing in some pretty thick crap. Never would of imagined a deer would try and jump the fence here. :banghead:

Got done with the crime scene and was heading back to the truck. Now early day light I spot the hawk again sitting on a log about 15 yards from earlier. I headed to the house to get a real camera figuring the hawk was hurt. I got back and was not able to locate it again.

Bobcat #4

I took this tom in a downpour today. Set was in a decayed stump baited with rabbit,Blackie's Blend "Lightfoot" bobcat gland lure and bobcat urine. Stump is no longer there thanks to the very angry cat!

Small beaver or the tenderloins from big ones is excellent eating.

With the whole carcass cook it in a bag just like a turkey. The loins can be cut into 1" pieces and fried in a HOT skillet w/ a little olive oil--not too long. Should be slightly pink in the middle and get it out. Overcooking makes em like rubberbands.

Most people that dont like venison over cook it. Tenderloins should be quite pink when eaten.

This is an awesome thread, I love trapping. I recently built a live-cath box trap and have caught fox, 'coon, 'possum, and on tonite's menu: wabbit



a fox i caught "benext" to, as my daughter would say, the henhouse...

I moved on down the line into some timber. It was still dark but I was walking without a flashlight. Had it in my pocket but if you walk a trap line enough in the dark. Its about like getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Anyway I round this little bend and I catch a glimps of movement right to my side less than 3'. I jump to the side and peer and find its a hawk sitting on the ground. He rears up and spreads his wings and opens his mouth. Looking at me like I will tear you up. I used my flashlight and cell phone to capture a really horrible picture.


From above--
At night that was undoubtedly an owl rather than a hawk.